Oes State Of California - Business Resumption Planning Guidelines

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* ~c.e-.: Earthquake Program

BUSINESS RESUMPTION

PLANNING GUIDELINES

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BUSINESS RESUMPTION PLANNING

GUIDELINES

June. 1993

California Office of Emergency Services

Earthquake Program

Coastal Region 101 8th Street Suite 152 Oakland. CA 94607 (510) 540·2713

Southern RegIon 1110 E. Green Street Suite 300 Pasadena. CA 91106 (818) 304-8383

Southern Region 117 W. Micheltorena Suite D Santa Barbara. CA 93101 (805) 568·1207

The work th~ provided the basis for this publicatIOn ....·as supported by joint funding through a cooperative agreement belween the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the State of California Governor's Office ofEmergency Services. The recommendations and suggestions included in thisdocumentare intended to improve eanhquake preparedness, response and mitigation. The contents do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, me Governor's Office of Emergency Services and do not guarantee the safety ofany individual. structure or factht y In an earthquake. Neither the United States nor the Stat: of Califomia assumes liability for any injury. death or property damage which occurs in connection with a eanhquake.

T ABLE OF CONTENTS

Section

Pages

INTRODUCTION

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OVERVIEW OF BUSINESS RESUMPTION PLANNING -What is Business Resumption Planning?

-Objectives of Business Resumption Planning

-Management and Organizational Commionent

-Plan Scope and Assumptions

-Pitfalls and Weaknesses in Disaster Planning

-Real Life Disasters

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THE PLANNING PROCESS -The Process

-Business Impact Analysis

-Recovery Strategy-Critical Business Functions

-Cost Options

-Data GatheringIMinimum Requirements

-Recovery Strategy-Alternate Business Procedures

-Testing and Maintenance

-Organization of the Planning Effon

-Self Review Checklist

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ELEMENTS OF THE PLAN -Recovery Teams

-Recovery Team Activation

-Plan Elements

-Logi stics/fransponation

-Facilities

-Customer/Client Services

-Security

-Mail Distribution

-Business Relocation

-Vital Records/Offsite Storage

-Human Resources (HR)

-Accounting and Control

-Public Affairs

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IV.

DATA PROCESSING AND INFORMATION SERVICES

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-Mainframe Back Strategies -Dealing with yendors -Recovery of Non-Mainframes -Considerations in Planning V.

TESTING AND MAINTAINING THE PLAN

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-Infonnation Services Testing -Disaster Simulation/Organization Wide Testing VI.

FROM RECOVERY TO RESTORATION

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-Inventory -Insurance -Facilities VII.

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CONCLUSION

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The Governor's Office of Emergency Services. Eanhquake Program. Southern Region and Coastal Region would like to thank the author of these guidelines. Paul Coleman. Under contract to the former Southern California Earthquake Preparedness Project. Governor's Office of Emergency Services, he developed and revised them. Coleman is currently one of the Coordinators of Disaster Contingency Planning for Kaiser Permanente's Southern California Region. a health maintenance organization comprising ten medical centers, 85 buildings. 35.000 employees. and 2.3 million members. Prior to taking his position at Kaiser. he was part of the Business Resumption Planning group at First Interstate Bank. where he helped direct the recovery from the high-rise flre in the bank's headquarters in 1988. as well as recovery after the 1989 Lorna Prieta eanhquake.

INTRODUCTION Recent disasters highlight the need for business resumption planning. Damage and business disruption resulting from high-rise fir~. hurricanes, earthquakes and telecommunications problems have shown managers that business recQve.rY planning is a necessity. not a luxury. Developing a plan that allows your business to resume operations as soon as possible is a fonn of insurance coverage. A recent study revealed that: • • •

The average company will lose 2-3 percent of its gross wes within eight days of a sustained computer outage. The average company that experiences a computer outage lasting longer than 10 days will never fully recover. Fifty percent will be out of business within five years.

Despite these facts and the numerous disasters that have occu.rred recently. few organizations have taken business resumption planning seriously. Some organizations produce voluminous plans that sit on shelves and are not tested. personnel have never been trained. and there is no real management or financial commitment to the process.

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Advances in technology and our growing dependency in using computers have made companies and government agencies more vulnerable to disasters. Senior management must commit to developing viable plans. maintaining and testing them as pan of a dynamic process. If a plan is not "living" and changing. it soon becomes obsolete. These business resumption planning guidelines are designed to provide managers and planners with a generic set of guidelines for building an effective business recovery plan. They are equally applicable to either the public or private sector. They fulfill a need, because published material on the subject is either too detailed and technical or too brief and simplified. This document provides a road map for business recovery .

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OVERVIEW OF BUSINESS RESUMPTION

PLA!'INING

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OVERVIEW OF BVSINESS RESUMPTION PLANNING

What is Business

Resumptio~

Planning?

Business Resumption Planning (BRP) is the process of developing the capability to offset the effects of a disruption of business. The process involves arranging alternatives for critical business functions and planning for business or service survival.

Objectives of Business Resumption Planning •

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Resume critical operations within a specified time after a disaster. Minimize financial loss. Minimize interruptions to business operations. Assure clients/customers that their interests are protected. Limit the severity of the disruption. Expedite the restoration of services as quickly as possible. Establish awareness so that management and staff understand the implications of a disaster on services. Maintain a positive image of the organization.

Management and Organizational Commitment

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Commitment and financial suppon from owners and senior management are critical to the success of the effon. This commitment must include:

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Providing funds and resources. Assigning staff for planning and training. Obtaining commitment and suppon from middle management. Getting cooperation from user departments. Setting priorities for planning. Reviewing the development of the planning process. Testing plans. Establishing accountability for the planmng.

Plan Scope and Assumptions The scope of the plan must be addressed before planning can begin. Identify realistic assumptions to guide the planning process. What assumptions can be made aoout your organization in the process of planning for recovery? What is the scope of the recovery for which you are planning? The plan should be simple, flexible and based on reall SlIC assumptions. The plan provides for continuity. the use ofexisting resources and delegates authori ty while malO taining control. It coordinates the various elements of response and provides necessary orgamzalion .

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Sample assumptions: • • • • • • • • • •

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Planning as_sumptions should be based on likely events. The plan is designed to address long term business outage. as well as shon term outages. The orgar.ization can expect some inconvenience and financial loss if the disaster is severe. Planning will include all information services departments. Key computer applications win be operational within a 48 hour period after the disaster. The plan will address a "worst case scenario" such as a large magnitude regional earthquake. Utilities will be affected. Backup power will be available immediately for the critical functions. (A risk assessment of facilities can help guide the assumptions.) There will be limited telephone capability in the affected areas for 3-4 days. Mail delivery may be delayed. A percentage of staff will be unavailable for 48 hours. (Staff availability will be based on regional planning scenarios. employee home locations relative to the disaster. shift patterns. and past experience.) Payroll will be processed the same as the previous run. Backup files will be available from offsite storage within 24 hours. The backup data center will be fully operational 48 hours after a major disaster.

Pitfalls and Weaknesses in Disaster Planning • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Lack of integration of emergency preparedness and business recovery planning. Lack of integration of disaster planning into the management system of the organi­ zation. Key managers are not involved in the planning process. Senior management is not committed. flexible. or expects too much too fast. Budgeting is inadequate or not properly allocated . Too much is attempted quickly. Planning is not coordinated by a centralized entity. or is too centralized to be disseminated throughout the organization. Lack of a "big picture" view and/or lack of knowledge of the culture of the organization and its recovery needs. Information is not collected systematically. Infonnation is not disseminated systematically. Recovery teams are not trained or their responsibilities are not detailed enough. Risk/hazard assessment is insufficient. Plan is not tested. updated and maintained as a "living" plan. Users are not integrated properly into the planning process. Not enough liaison with local entities. Lack of urgency about emergency planning in critical areas of the organization. Confusion about roles in an emergency.

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Real Life Disasters It is critical that disaster recov_ery planners examine the lessOIls from real life ex.amples of effective and ineffective business recovery e~~ns and apply the lessons to their own planning effons. In the last decade tremendous advances in technology have made business easier to conduct. However, with this increased dependence on technology, there has been a corresponding increase in the risk associated with disasters. In many cases, it is not possible to return to the manual way of processing. Even if it were possible, in some cases the volume of processing is so great that manual processing would be very difficult. Several disasters have focused attention on disaster plan[ting. One of the most effective examples of business recovery was the response of First Interstate Bank to the high-rise ftre in its 62 story headquaners building in May, 1988. The rapid recovery by the Bank demonstrated the value of business resumption planning, and funher demonstrated that effective business recovery planning is possible when the process is taken seriously by senior management. This commitment is reflected in adequate budgets and resources for the planning effon .

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THE PLANNING PROCESS

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THE PLANNING PROCESS

The Process The business resumption planning process is intended to promote readiness in the organization. The process can be divided into three phases -planning, preparation and maintenance. The critical functions of the organization should be determined through a business impact analysis. Methods to reduce the possible losses should be developed, and resources such as equipment and personnel should be trained, identified and procured to implement recovery. The phases are: Senior management and users must be integrated into the process. Planning decisions must be weighed against projected recovery costs so that decisions are cost effective. Provisions must be in place to monitor plan development and to insure the timely completion of the steps involved. The plan must be kept up to date in order to be useful. The planning process for business resumption Includes six primary steps:

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Business impact analysis. Recovery strategies. Cost options. Data gathering or minimum requirements. Testing. Maintenance.

Business Impact Analysis (BIA) The business impact analysis is designed to insure a thorough understanding of the vital business functions and systems within the organization. The impact of loss of these vital functions must be identified. evaluated and categorized according to time within the recovery period. Based on this infonnation and analysis, the recovery priorities can be set. Business impact analysis drives the planning solUllons for recovery. Without an accurate analysis, the organization might adopt a recovery strategy t hJt 1\ far too generalized and not responsive to operational needs. It is very difficult to balance the cost ~nef1t of resumption planning without understanding the loss potential resulting from a disaster. The business impact analysis can be a difficu It and ')u bJective process. It is not easy to estimate the effect of losing a business function or a system for a "pee 1fled period of time, but it can be done. Some ways to approach it:

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Set a time limit for the process If obsolete by the time you finish .

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Use worksheets or questionnaires Page 7

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takes too long. the infonnation may become

help gather data.

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Quantitative measures of critical functiuns may be useful depending on the type of organization and -functions.

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Break down potential losses into timeframes, i.e. one day, five days, ten days, etc.

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Differentiate between potential losses "with a plan" and "without a plan". Even with a plan, some losses might be expected.

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Assess any non financial considerations in not operating, i.e. loss of customer confidence, lack of services provided. etc.

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Detennine whether there will be penalties if the functions do not operate. Will compensation have to be paid?'

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Detennine regulatory problems if functions do not operate. Will reimbursements not occur if reponing does not occur?

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Detennine costs associated with the reconstruction of vital records. Will there be potential income loss? Will new business be cunailed?

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Identify interdependencies between business functions. Will the dysfunction of one impact others?

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Detennine worst case assumption in tenns of loss.

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Detennine whether insurance coverage will offset potential losses. With a plan? Without a plan?

A completed business impact analysis should be reviewed and verified by users and management. This planning tool may be used to prioritize critical functions and systems during recovery.

Recovery Strategy· Critical Business Functions The next step in the process is developing a recovery strategy based on the business impact analysIS Identify resources required to suppon critical functions. Business functions should be defined and prioritized in tenns of specific activities. Consider the following: • • • • •

How the application or function is currently processed. The required timeframe to complete the processing cycle. The necessary staffing to carry out processing. The ponions of the system or function that must be performed and the interrelation­ ships with other functions. Procedures used.

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Equipment used. Telecommunications considerations. The degree,to which processing can be reduced.

Cost 0 ptions Once the business impact analysis has been completed and the recovery strategy has been outlined. examine recovery costs against the potential losses. Research the generic resources needed for recovery and combine them with the costs each specific unit anticipates. What will be the cost for hardware? software? telecommunications? travel? Weigh anticipated costs against the potential losses. and. if warranted. implement the recovery strategy.

Data GatheringfMinimum Requirements The unit responsible for each critical function should identify minimum requirements for recovery. This can be an exhaustive (depending on the size of the organization) process. Minimum operating requirements are needed for the following items:

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Computers

-Processing capability.

-Storage capacity.

-Peripherals and special equipment.

-Network/te lecommunications.

-Processing equipment.

Software -Operating systems and suppon software. -Teleprocessing. -Data management. -Applications. Data and Documentation -Input requirements. -Backup master files. -Minimum repons. -Interfaces and dependencies with other systems. Communications

-Data.

-Voice.

Personnel Facilities Transportation Forms and Supplies Utilities

-Electrical power.

-Water.

-HVAC.

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Recovery Strategy· Alternate Business Procedures Recovery strategies can be validate-d based on the minimum resources and cost options. What is the best way to provide for the recovery? Some alternatives:

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Manual processing Service bureau agreements Reciprocal or mutual aid agreements Panicipation in a shared facility, such as provided by vendors In-house backup at another facility

Consider the following criteria when evaluating your final recovery strategy:

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Location - in relation to other businesses or clients Recovery timeframes Internal control Reliability C~pacity

Personnel availability Security Practicality Cost

Selection of a viable recovery strategy should take into account the following key elements:

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The business impact analysis. including the critical applications/functions Expected time line for recovery Backup site description infonnation Cost summary

Organization and staffing requirements

Testing and Maintenance Testing and maintaining the plan is a critical component of business resumption planning (addressed in Section V). Testing is done to insure that critical functions can be perfonned after a disaster. Testing can be expensive and time consuming; therefore it must be well planned. The type and extent of testing - application. system, business function, etc. - will vary from organization to organization.

Organization of the Planning Effort The organization of the planning effort is critical to its success. The overall development and continuity of the business resumption plan are based on the delegation of specific responsibilities and authority to the planning group and planning representatives in the critical areas. One key to success is having the critical areas "take ownership" for their recovery plans. It is the responsibility of the planning group to coordinate the development, testing, and maintenance of the plan Page 10

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- and to obca.in management decisions on kt:y issues.

Generally. it is a good idea to fonn a "steerins committee" (which may be comprised of senior managel to set policy and give direction to the planning group, An active. well-infonned steering committee call be extremely vaJuable-ind.~in make the difference between winning middle management and senior management suppon and simply treading water. A user committee that is a representative of the critical areas is also indispensable in implementing and developing the plan. The user committee should be a working body that meets more frequently than the steering comminee, although much of its work can be done on an infonnal basis. Functions of the Planning group include:

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Insuring that the environment is created to sustain business after a disruption. Assuring plan consistency. Coordinating testing. Acting as interface between data processing and business functions. Following up on deficiencies in planning. Developing plan methodology. Coordinating recovery locations. Fonning the emergency management organization to direct the response and recov­ ery. Training personnel in the recovery plan. Coordinating with all involved depanments.

Reponing to and interfacing with senior management. Re-assessing the plan periodically. Directing the business recovery of the organization as necessary.

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Scheduling and coordinating meetings. Developing policy. Coordinating and implementing the plan on an organization-wide basis. Delegating and directing tasks to be performed by critical users. Consulting with users and defining needed data gathering. Evaluating business case options. Preparing repons for all levels of the organization. Managing tests.

The planning group should be seen as internal consultants to the organization. It is ultimately responsible for the integration of recovery strategies to insure they are consistent in fonnat quality and that they will work in concen with each other to insure the recovery of the organization. .

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Self Review Checklist

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2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17.

Has your organization developed criteria for determining the imponance of busi­ ness functions? Have all business functions been assessed? Does the assessment include an estimate of potential losses over time intervals? Do the loss estimates consider intangible losses? Has a list of critical business functions and applications been developed and documented? Has the list been formally reviewed and periodically updated? Have the resources required to backup critical functions been identified? Are strategies in place for recovery of critical business functions? Are the recovery strategies properly documented?

Have the strategies been reviewed and approved by senior management?

Does the backup facility have the necessary resources? Can the resources be traIlsponed to the necessary recovery .locations in an accept­ able timeframe? Are master files, backup files. etc. in place for recovery? Have all critical functions and applications been tested? Is the plan maintained and up to date? Are facilitieslsttuctures secure, and how has vulnerability to eanhquakes, fires, and other disasters been mitigated? Have the possible effects of loss of power, water, and HV AC been adequately addressed?

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ELEMENTS OF THE PLAN

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ELEMENTSOFTHEPLAN

An effective business recovery plan includes three elements - recovery teams. the activation process, and the integration of these ele~ents with the documented recovery strategies. Recovery Teams Recovery teams are responsible for executing the plan. Specific team functions. responsibilities. and structure have to be clearly established before an event occurs. Recovery teams are usually composed ofindividuals from critical areas, as well as from management and suppon areas. The recovery team structure must be flexi ble enough to allow alternates to replace primary team members if necessary. Procedures should be in place to have employees who are familiar with critical business functions notify senior management about developing problems. Managers should be responsible for having their employees' home phone numbers and pager numbers available at all times. Business recovery teams should be a separate structure from emergency response/life safety teams. as individuals cannot perform both functions simultaneously or efficiently. repon~ng

Recovery team documentation involves:

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Function - Generic team function no matter what event occurs. Script - Activities of the team based on a specific scenario .

There are several approaches to developing and staffing recovery teams. Depending on the. size and resources available to the organization. it might be appropriate to develop generic teams, i.e. damage assessment team, management learn. operations team. etc. However. in medium to large size organizations, this generic structure will be too general. Teams will need to be based on the actual business function itself, i.e. the management of a panicular business function. Here are some suggestions for recovery teams that may be needed: • • • • • • • • • • • •

Policy/Senior Management. Audit. legaL Finance. Customer/Client Services. Security. Public Affairs. Human Resources. Facilities. Infonnation Services. Transponation. Emergency Operations Center (planning group included).

More specific teams may include: •

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Specific application teams. Telecommunications. Hardware. Purchasing/S upplie~ ... Systems development. Insurance. Restoration/salvage.

The following is an example of the functions that a Public Affairs team might perform:

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Handle media relations and encourage a positive public perception of the organiza­ tion. Insure that the press has access to the organization's media spokespersons and locations. Help in the creation of consumer affairs subteam if appropriate. Respond with facts to aid in rumor control. Issue bulletins to media. Answer inquiries from many different sources. Inform the Emergency Operations Center regularly about operations. Interface with senior management in forging correct policies. Establish a central point for Public Affairs to operate.

Scripts developed by a recovery team should anticipate likely events to occur. Examples might include:

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A disastrous regional event, such as a large magnitude eanhquake, hurricane. etc. A severe localized event, such as a devastating building fire. An internal disaster, such as computers going down, water pipe bursting, etc. A telephone or power outage.

Based on five or ten scenarios, establish recovery scripts for each event, detailing step-by-step what the teams would do. Be sure to include different scenarios for night and day, i.e. one scenario for 3 PM and one scenario for 3 AM, as well as scenarios for headquaners operations versus field operations. Whether business function or application testing, recovery team training should be done simultaneously with the testing ofplans. Business function testing rna y be in the context ofan organization wide disaster exercise which is discussed in more detail in another section. Recovery Team Activation How will recovery teams be activated? Who is responsible for declaring an emergency situation and mobilizing the teams? Decide who can activate the teams and how this will be done, especially if communications are compromised in the area. It is critical that phone notification lists. commonly referred to as "call trees", be in place, up to date, accessible and kept in safe storage by all appropriate personnel. Business resumption planning may take several years to put in place. "Call trees" should be an interim procedure put in place as quickly as possible. Recovery scripts or checklists are other items that should Page 16

be put in place relatively quickly. Each individual recovery team member should have his/her "call tree" 'responsibilities detailed before any event, and an alternate should be designated for each set of calls to be made, in case the primary is not available. Consider giving individuals their list of calls only, or you may give them the entire '-'cal.1·tree" structure· but only with phone numbers for their team "tree", If the organization is not too large, each recovery team member may receive the entire "call tree" with all phone numbers. Flowchans may be used to document the information flow, or recovery team structure. Rowchans are useful only if they are simple and easy to understand, One approach to documenting recovery tearn structure is lO use a simple organization chan approach to show !~arns, with a larger scale chart for the overall structure, and individual pages with subteams if appropriate. A numbering structure can help keep track of teams if the organization is large. For example. the Policy Team can be 1.0. and any subteams such as Legal and Public Affairs could be 1.1 and 1.2, respectively. Recovery teams should be trained and equipped to deal with difficult situations. This can mean outfitting them with hardhats, vests, and other equipment that they could, for example. keep in the trunks of their cars. It is helpful to provide recovery tearn members with special emergency or disaster identification photo cards.

Plan Elements Recovery strategies for business functions must be coordinated with critical support services, which will be necessary after almost any disaster. Logistics!Transportation - This department will be responsible for the transportation of personnel and physical data and items. It handles the coordination of couriers and mail distribution if items have to be transported from one location to another. To facilitate the movement of physical datalinfonnation. categories should be established and prioritized· priority items, interoffice items, and low priority items. Employees may have to be designated as couriers if the regular couriers are not available. After a disaster. the potential for fraud increases, thereby creating the need for verification ofcouriers or employees acting as couriers. Couriers and deliveries should be reduced to essential items only in a disaster situation. Facilities· Facilities will generally be responSible for leasing facilities, acquiring property and site construction or reconstruction. They may also be responsible for building maintenance. Managers are responsible for taking appropriate steps to minimize hazards and insuring that buildings meet codes, have sprinklers, backup generators, etc. After a disaster. Facilities will be responsible for managing and coordinating damage assessment and repair issues Other functions may include:

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Establishing priorities in damage assessment and repair. Obtaining approval for access to certam buildings. CoUecting damage assessment repons from various sources. Retaining architects, structural engIneers, and other necessary vendors. Assessing the operational capacity of facilities and estimating repair timeframes. Reporting damage to the Emergency Operations Center. Validating temporary space needs. Negotiating flexible lease terms. Page 17

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Handling special configurations and setups. Coordinating parking. . Managing the se~p of relocated personnel.

Customer/Client Services - This'team will handle customer mqulr'Jes andlor client problems. whether internal or externaL It is crucial that Client Services be kept up to date aLOC)l.1i disaster infonnation. as it will most often serve as interface between the organization and the "outside world". It may be proactive in contacting priority clients. They should also coordinate closely with the Emergency Operations Center and Public Affairs to stay current with information. Security - It is crucial to maintain adequate security after a disaster. Functions may include: • • • •

Protecting assets and personnel. Maintaining access control. perhaps through the use of special badges. Expanding security with off-duty police officers or contract guards. as necessary. Informing the EOC about all security issues and assigning representatives to the EOC.

Mail and Distribution - This team is responsible for sending. receiving, and distributing all mail. office correspondence. repons, tapes, and computer-related materials. It will interface with Transponation to coordinate courier activity. Mail distribution may have to be prioritized.

Business Relocation - Business relocation may be cntical in the event of a disaster and should be considered before any event occurs. Several different elements of relocation must be considered. Relocation of a data center is a critical issue that will be discussed under Information Services. A business function may relocate to other buildings that belong to the organization, a preferable approach in terms of convenience and cost Mutual aid agreements may be useful in this regard - set up an agreement ahead of time with another company to provide space for your business function(s). If an up to date lease space available list is maintained, flexible lease tenns may be negotiated.. Less critical functions may be operated out of employees' homes for a time. Consider the alternatives in advance.

Vital RecordslOffsite Storage - Effective business recovery requires that vital computerized and paper­ based data be stored offsite and readily available Stonng vital records in production areas is counterproductive in terms of disaster recovery. Offslle storage should be the responsibility of the user depanments and can be arranged with commercial offme storage vendors. Recovery locations should provide space for storage of vital records as necessary Examples of vital records include: • • • • • •

Program suppon procedures. User procedures. Vital files and records. Special supplies and forms. Program operating procedures. Employee and payroll records Page 18

.' If critical data is not back.ed up regularly according to a set and synchronized schedule, utilizing offsite storage will be of little use. Human Resources (HR) -.:Staffing is critical to the recovery process. Oftentimes. human resources is not included in the planning process, which is a serious mistake. HR should be responsible for many recovery issues:

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Scheduling staff to work as needed and insuring relief rotation for staff is adequate. Locating qualified staff from non-critical areas to work. in critical areas. Procuring staff from temporary agencies and state employment agencies. Tracking and monitoring employees for assignment or reassignment. Working in the EOC to coordinate HR issues. Developing staff notification and reporting procedures in concen with the planning group. Monitoring the status of employees after a disaster. Coordinating transponation of employees to different work. locations in concert with the Transponation Depanment. Taking care of employees' temporary housing needs if homeless or relocated.. Dealing with provisions for meals for relocated employees. Dealing with employees' expenses during and after relocation. Controlling. monitoring and tracking employee work hours. Dealing with family suppon issues for relocated or otherwise displaced employees. Mitigating the psychological effects of the disaster on employees through counseling and/or employee assistance. Monitoring and guiding compensation, expenses, per diems, telephone usage. and general relocation issues. Orienting new employees in disaster preparedness before an event occurs.

Accounting and Control- This critical function encompasses many pans of an organization. including: • • • • • •

Finance. Insurance. Legal. Inventory. Audit. Damage documentation and reimbursement procedures

Finance and Insurance functions may include:

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Reviewing insurance coverage with Audit. Facilities, and Legal to detennine appro­ priate levels of coverage. including exclusions and limits (business inteffilpnon insurance should be considered). Creating subteams as appropriate . Activating "extra expense" units as appropriate to track. disaster expenses separately from normal operating expenses. Divide extra expense into overtime. temporary Page 19

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help, temporary space, equipment. moving costs. and other miscellaneous COSts. Reviewing accounting implications of any disaster, including taxes. Handling third p4fty ~laims for personal injury, propeny damage, business interrup­ tion. etc. Liaison with outside counsels, insurance adjusters. insurance brokers. consultants, cleaning and restoration companies. Managing the inventory process, setting up filing systems, resolving issues of loss, filing proof of loss, settling and negotiating with insurance companies, and account­ ing for losses. Addressing financial issues affecting the company that normally fall under the purview of Finance.

Audit responsibilities may include:

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Insuring that processing. procedures, and controls used during recovery are adequate. Determining if previously used functions need to be modified. Identifying and resolving issues relating to security and control for alternate process­ ing. Auditing financial repons produced after the disaster to insure accuracy.

Legal responsibilities may include:

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Evaluating potential liability to third parties. Evaluating the organization's rights in relation to insurance costs. Evaluating and providing guidance on employee liability arising from the disaster. Providing guidance to departments concerned with conforming to government regulations. Reviewing contracts negotiated for temporary space, equipment,etc.

Public Affairs - This is one of the most critical functions in recovery, yet it is one of the most frequently ignored in the planning process. It does not generate revenue nor products, but is critical to an organization's success. General responsibilities of Public Affairs have been detailed in the sample team duties earlier document. There are, however, several principles that apply to crisis public relations. • •

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Be honest with the media wh:' : keeping in mind that you are not obligated to answpr questions posed. I'fyou do not know the answer, say you do not know, and get back to the person with the answer if feasible. If you don't tell your story, the media will tell your story, possibly in a way you won '( like. Mishandling the press can have a huge financial and public relations impact. The first response to the media is very imponant, and it will set the tone for the basic message. Respond to the media about rumors, but not in a defensiv~ way. Page 20

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Public Affairs is an integral pan of the business resumption plan, and it must participate in the planning effon. Public Affairs will most likely be resyonsible for: ,­

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Media relations. Consum~r affairs. Government relations. InteIfacing with senior management about public affairs issues. Internal communications.

Internal communications are critical and may in fact be handled by another department if your organization is large. Several forms of communications may be used to notify employees of events ­ electronic mail, internal newsletters, posted signs, employee meetings, media announcements, and/or public address announcements. Media relations are the lifeblood of Public Affairs. It is crucial that the organization speak in a "single voice" when communicating to the media, employees, andlor customers/clients. Public Affairs should serve as the focal point for these communications in consultation with senior management The team can also playa critical role in gathering information, as it will interface with the EOC, the media, employees, senior management, and other sources. Official spokespersons must be thoroughly briefed before any press conference or meeting.

If the Public Affairs staff is not large enough to handle the volume of inquiries. other employees who are aniculate may be "drafted" to serve in the media relations area supervised by Public Affairs personnel. Sufficient staff must be available to handle the potential flood of media calls. It may be a good idea to establish a media andlor employee andlor customer "hot line" to field the incoming calls. It may be advisable to separate the three areas by designating three different phone numbers. It may also be advisable to predesignate a "hot line" location before any event occurs.

•

Page 21

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DATA PROCESSING AND INFORMATION SERVICES

IV.

DATA PROCESSING AND INFORMATION SERVICES

Organizations today have become increasingly dependent upon computers. The advantages of automated processing is offsc:.tby the fact that manual processing is in many cases no longer possible due to large volumes. or by the fact ~hat there is often nobody left in the organization who can remember how to manually process items. Therefore, backup or recovery strategies for these services become critical. Computer use has also become increasingly decentralized in many organizations with the use of mini and micro computers. Local Area Networks (LANs) and Wide Area Networks (WANs) playa large role in many organizations as well. It is important that the organization view business resumption planning from the business function perspective. rather than from the once traditional view of being driven solely by data processing needs. This once traditional view has given way to planning for business functions recovery - and the data processing needs arising from them. Infonnation Services needs to be and should be integrated into the overall planning for the organization. Information Services is a critical component of disaster recovery .

.A problem that may be encountered by the business recovery group is that in many cases the "ownership" of critical applications may reside with non-technical business function managers. Interface between these managers, data processing personnel, and the business recovery group becomes even more critical. Many applications have become so specialized that they are difficult to backup. If an organization does not have a strategic technology plan in place, it is easy to have different systems proliferate. thus making disaster recovery a much more difficult process. Business recovery concerns need to be incorporated into the systems development process upfront. What applications are the most critical? This should be determined by a subset of the business impact analysis. Consider the interaction of the applications with the business functions. The backup strategy must be considered in light of the offsite storage strategy - the strategies are interdependent.

Mainframe Backup Strategies A number of mainframe backup strategies might be employed by an organization. Some of these strategies depend on the facility risk assessment that should have been conducted early in the process. Backup strategies for mainframes fall into three categories: • • •

In:emal recovery. Commercial or vendor recovery . Mutual aid recovery.

Internal recovery invol ves use of a backup data proce ssi ng location within your organization. Th is option has several advantages: • • • •

Guaranteed access. Management or planning group control. Security. Organizational resources available. Page 25

The disadvantage of an internal recovery site is the expense. If the backup data center is currently in use for other production needs. cost will not be as high. At an internal site it will be easy to test your backup for critical computer applica.tion~: The cost of testing hours at vendor sites can be quite expensive. An internal site affords consistent security standards, control over hardware configuration. and rapid access if a disaster occurs. If an organization has multiple data centers, backup can be perfonned at another site. However. one problem with this approach is that the backup production needs combined with the nonnal production capacity needs of the other center may overwhelm the computer capacity. You may have to decide to delay or suspend some non-essential production to accommodate the critical applications. Commercial or vendor recovery strategies have advantages and disadvantages. Vendor sites are generally a cheaper alternative than in-house backup. Suppon staff is available as are telecommunica­ tions capabilities. Access is fairly immediate in most cases. Most vendors are very knowledgeable a bout the recovery business, and testing can be done on a prearranged basis.

Generally. the disadvantages include inadequate amount of testing time included in contracts. Large

organizations require many hours of testing for critical applications which can add up to great expense.

There are also unique problems associated with a major regional disaster. If commercial vendors have

a large number of subscribers in an area prone to major regional disasters such as a large magnitude

eanhquake. can vendors really handle the potential volume? Some deal on a first-come, first-serve basis.

an obviously risky proposition.

Others guarantee access to all subscribers, also a risky proposition in a major regional event. Other

disadvantages to a vendor backup strategy can be logistical· moving your critical personnel to a backup

site far removed from your primary location of business. Cooperative strategies or mutual aid is an alternative strategy to consider. If the other organization. or

shared facility, is in the same geographical location as your data center, it too may be impacted by the

event Configuration differences may be a serious problem. testing very difficult. and the potential

occupancy time very limited due to a shared situation. However, costs will be lower.

Dealing with Vendors When considering commercial or vendor recovery strategies, take into account the following: • • • • • • • • • • •

Is there a disaster declaration fee? A daily usage fee? How is access? First come. first serve? Guaranteed? How much testing time is included In the contract? What is the cost of additional testing time? How long could you stay in the vendor data center? How far away is the vendor site from your nonnal operations? How will the vendor handle your staffing logistics? How will you handle telecommuntcatlons? Is their support staff adequate and \I. hat are their responsibilities after a disaster: Is there a limit on subscribers in anyone area? Are their facilities vulnerable to eanhquakes and other disasters? What are their backup strategies and where are their backup locations? Page 26

~

Recovery of Non-Mainframes

When considering recovery of non-mainframes, these are possible strategies: • • •

Replacement. Redundant hardware. Consolidation of applications on a larger processor.

Considerations in Planning

When planning for recovery of infonnation services and data processing, consider the following:

•

• • • • • • •

• • • • • •

• • • • • • •

•

• •

• •

•

•

Computer facility layouts. including utility lines. Hardware configurations. Lists of vendors and vendor contacts. Descriptions of disk and tape files. Operating manuals and written procedures. Processing requirements and schedules. Priorities for application recovery. Systems software. Telecommunications recovery for computers. Database management. Power, air conditioning, utilities. Backup power. Offsite storage of critical files. Data or information security. Transponation/logistics. Computer capacity planning. Applications JCL. Technical suppon staffing. Administrative support staffing. Operating supplies required. System audit conaol requirements. Program libraries. Crucial systems flow in recovery. Liaison with non-technical users of systems. Possible costs of recovery - need to be tracked. Production disk and tape backup. On-line and batch systems interdependencies. Source documents.

This is by no means an exhaustive list. More technical books or personnel should be consulted for more detail.

Page 27

•

•

TESTING AND MAINTAINING THE PLAN

v.

TESTING AND MAINTAINING THE PLAN --

In order for a business resumption plan to be effective, it must be a "living" plan - constantly changing in response to changes in the organizational srructure, technology, or philosophy. The business resumption plan must be part of the overall emergency plan which makes provisions for emergency preparedness, life safety and crisis management. Plans must be regularly tested in order to assure viability. Testing in this section will be separated between application or data processing testing and simulations or business function/organizational readiness testing.

Information Services Testing The business resumption planning group should play the coordinating role in critical application testing. There are several types of testing: functionality testing, where each critical application is tested by itself; group or "string" testing, in which logical groups of applications are tested together in the logical sequence of production; and "24 Hour Testing". where all the critical applications are brought up in their logical sequence. The following sequence is suggested for application testing:

• •

• •

• • •

• •

Service Request - Provides specific information for testing each application. The systems development group should position the test in the work queue. Project Meeting - Creates the project plan and allows discussion of tasks. Test Objective· Establishes the application testing criteria. Project Plan - Details dates. tasks. duration. personnel and details. Test Script· Outlines actual test steps to be performed. Test Walk Through - Verifies test steps and familiarizes personnel with test. Test - Verifies functionality of application. Evaluation - Reviews and documents all issues penaining to the test. Management Approval- Management signs offon test and application functionality.

Disaster Simulation/Organization Wide Testing Disaster simulations or organization wide bUSiness recovery testing are much wider in scope than application testing. This type of test can invol \. e a specific division, business unit, or the entire organization. The most common testing of this nature Involves critical personnel. It may be wise to stan with smaller scale exercises and work towards a large scale organization wide simulation. Large scale simulations are extremely complex and can take as long as six months to plan for. In general, four main objectives could be stated

•

The exercise problems must be solvable by the consensus of panicipants. The unwritten number one objective should be to have the simulation be a success. as failure or embarrassment will only demoralize participants and hun the credibility of the planning group. Page 31

.. • •

The scenario chosen for the exercise has to be realistic. It is sometimes a good idea to use a worst case scenario - such as a regional eanhquake - in order to more easily enable recovery from lesser events. The exercise haft
The design process could be broken down into the following steps:

• • •

• •

• • •

•

Define test objectives. Establish the scope of the test and how to detennine success or failure. Define the scenario. Develop the ground rules and scripts for the test. Create the timed problems to be solved by the participants. ArTange for the logistics and locations to be involved. Conduct the test. Evaluate the test. Summarize the findings and make recommendations for improvement based on the documented results.

Example test objectives:

• •

• • •

•

Develop an awareness of the business recovery process. Exercise and validate recovery checklists. Familiarize recovery teams with recovery locations. Familiarize recovery teams with emergency communications systems. Mobilize recovery teams and validate membership. Test the Emergency Operations Center as the clearinghouse of infonnation.

The scope of the test may include: • • •

Activating Emergency Operations Centers and/or command centers in designated locations. Defining the participants and locations that will be included in the test. Determining the recovery teams that will be mobilized. and outlining the business functions that will be tested.

An example of a scenario that might be used in CaliiomlJ

• • •

•

An 8.3 magnitude earthquake occurs on the southern segment of the San Andreas fault, and the epicenter is located 40 miles northeast of Los Angeles. Damage in Southern California is Widespread. and the casualties are heavy. Document the impact of the quake on employees. and its effects on the major buildings of the organization. What are the effects on communication') systems? What has been activated?

Pagl! 32

List test ground rules: .. !'."

• • •

• • •

• •

What time is it? Five hours after eanhquake? Twenty four hours later? What is the timeframe for the exercise itself? Will the ~ame time be the same as real time, or will one hour of game time be equivalent to 24 hours of recovery time? What rules will govern the use of phones and other communications systems? Who will panicipate in the exercise and in "'~at capacity? What fonns will be used and how will they be used? Describe the flow of the exercise. Will there be facilitators? Will there be evaluators for the test?

Scri pts may be developed for use by facilitators and/or umpires. Creating the timed problems for speci fic areas or divisions should be coordinated by the planning group. in concert with representatives of those areas. Staff involved in the development of test "problems" could serve as group facilitators in their respective areas. Evaluation forms are critical to obtaining worthwhile feedback on the exercise. Questions on the evaluation form could include: • • • • • • • •

•

Did you find emergency communications systems easy to use? Were you able to communicate with critical areas? Are there areas of the organization that did not participate that you feel should have" Was the scenario detailed enough? Were your recovery checklists validated? Was your awareness of business recovery issues strengthened? Were the members of your recovery teams the appropriate individuals? How did you find the functioning of the Emergency Operations Center and/or command centers? Do you have any general comments about the exercise?

Schedule a de-briefing immediately following the exercise. When all evaluations have been processed and the planning group has conducted an overall evaluation of the exercise. call a meeting for key participants to discuss lessons learned. It is a good idea for the planning group to publish a document summarizing findings and lessons learned. as well as detailing recommendations for improvement.

Page 33

•

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FROM RECOVERY TO RESTORATION

.J

VI.

FROM RECOVERY TO RESTORAiION

After a business disruption, the firSt phase can be seen as the response phase -life safety issues have the

first priority. The recovery phase begins after the life safety issues have diminished to a manageable level. The recovery phase is then followed by the restoration phase. These phases have significant overlap, as items addressed in recovery often continue throughout the restoration period. At the same time, restoration issues are often immediately addressed, even as the recovery begins and/or continues. Some overlapping or concurrent issues in recovery and restoration might be: • • • • • •

Management lines of authority. Prioritizing telecommunications issues. Prioritizing delivery of supplies and the installation of equipment. Prioritizing item processing by critical business areas. Restoring organizational proouctivity while being sensitive to employee needs. Damage assessment and documentation.

The team directing restoration should: • • • • • •

Centralize responsibilities that will need to continue for a longer period of time. Manage the relocation of business areas. Consolidate requirements from area representatives for telecommunications needs. Establish relocation sequencing for equipment and files. Coordinate transportation of office contents if necessary. Coordinate procurement and installation of office furniture and equipment.

The purpose of having a restoration team(s) is to transfer the responsibility away from the business resumption planning group. The planning group should direct the recovery from the disll1ption and should remain in control until the situation has stabilized and recovery processing has become somewhat standardized. There should then be a phase out of the planning group involvement, as well as the Emergency Operations Center and command centers. Control can then be switched back to normal operating procedures and the restoration teams can direct the necessary functions. Restoration team srructure may include the following teams:

• • • • •

Structural Restoration. Salvage. Inventory. Insurance. NonstrUctural Restoration.

Teams can be drawn from appropriate work areas, i.e. Structural and NonstrUctural from Facilities, and Inventory and Insurance from Finance.

Page 37

mventory Inventory can be a critical function after a disaster. Inventory may detennine what items can be restored and what items need to be replaced. The official inventory d(x:uments support the organization's insurance claims. Appropriate fonns should be developed to track items. Special inventory supplies may also. be needed. A detailed inventory can be used to: • • • • •

Suppon insurance claims. Assess the magnitude of the loss. Validate fixed asset records. Plan for the replacement of damaged propeny. Enable the removal of damaged property.

Recommendations for effective inventory control: • • • • • • •

Maintain current asset records. Divide inventory responsibility among specialized areas. Do not inventory items that will be cleaned in their original locations. Update inventory records to differentiate between total loss and repairable items. Keep "families" of equipment together, i.e. computers and peripherals. Establish which items are not economical to restore. Give total loss items to salvage companies in dual custody so there will be no disputes later. Make an effective detennination as to the value of supplies lost.

•

Insurance An Insurance Team is critical after an event. The team could be structured as a task force to guarantee representation from appropriate jlreas. Detennine if the following expense categories would be covered by insurance: • • • • • • • • • •

External consulting for insurance services after an event. Data restoration. Recovery services. Payments to salaried employees for overtime. Air freight costs to expedite equipment receipt Equipment upgrades. Employees' personal propeny. Data holding costs prior to cleaning. Temporary help costs. Temporary space costs.

Page 38

• Rentals of equipment.

Facilities

Strucrural and/or Nonstructuralltestoration Team responsibilities might include: • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

'w

Coordinating with vendors. Restoring life safety systems and providing for environmental safety. Insuring that the building(s) are in compliance with codes. Performing repairs. Coordinating cleaning. Restoring utilities. Coordinating meetings to deal with damage assessment issues. Establishing building reoccupancy schedules. Creating propeny and equipment databases. Restoring and cataloging files. Relocating business units. Perfonning salvage of data processing equipment or coordinating the salvage. Removing. restoring and returning employees' personal effects: Relocating and installing equipment.

It may also be necessary to consider fonning specialized teams to deal with restoration ofdata processing equipment and establish relationships with vendors who do salvage and/or restoration work before any event occurs. This might also include environmental hygienists and other vendors who might be useful depending on the expenise available internally in the organization.

Page 39

· VII.

CONCLUSION --

Effective business resumption planning requires senior management commitment mea;:;ured in dollars and resources. This committnent must be sustained, even after an effective plan has been put together. Plans must be maintained to be effective, indeed they must be "living" and aynamic. In a sense, business resumption planning can be seen panially as a marketing, promotion and public relations function. Selling the benefits of long term planning to an organization that has daily crises and productior needs is an an! In order for the business resumption planning group to stay effective, they must stay on the "cutting edge" of the growing and dynamic business recovery "industry". Too many planners put together an effective plan and then think they can rest on their laurels· constant effon is required to assimilate new lessons and incorporate them into the planning. The planning group should attend seminars. liaison with other planners. attend planning peer group meetings, and stay abreast of the issues in the field. Reading the periodicals now available will enable the planner to stay current. Never assume you know too much! No matter how good your plan and planning group is, there are new lessons to be learned from each disaster that occurs - take advantage of others' experiences to learn lessons for use by your organization.

Page 40

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Endosed is a rough draft of the lnsbuctor's guide for the Reb·ofit training course. Sections 4 and 6 have not yet been written. Please review this draft and senJ me any comments that you have ooncerning material that should be added. deleted. reorganized. or explained in a different way. Send written oomments to me or call me to discuss.

cc: Hassan Sughayer Alexis Navarro Angela Kucherenko

I

i2i8i94 I

I

SEISMIC RETROFH fRAINING

FOR

BUILDlNG CONTRACTORS AND INSPECTORS

INSTRUCTOR'S GUIDE

INTRODUCTION This course has been developed as a guide foe training building contractors and building inspectors involved in seismic retrofitting ofone to tOur unit timber frame dwellings. The intent of the focus of the course is on teaching the audience the correct methods foe doing typical seismic retrofits that have been designed by an engineer or architect oe described in a prescrip~' ;tandard. The intent is not for the contractors to be able to learn how to design 3 seismic retrofit.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Cllifomia Office of Emergency Services (OES), and the Building IndustJy A~ (BIA) da.;ded that there was a special need for additional training of building contractors and inspectors because of the surveys of buildings done after the January 17, 1994 Northridge Earthquake. Many buildings that had been retrofit were found to have deficiencies in the installation of the seismic retrofit

This manual has been prepared foe the instructor(s) to use in preparation and presentation of the course. Each of the major sections of the course has been numbered 1 through 6. For each section, II copy of the visuals to be presented is reproduced in this manual Along side of the visual is a description of the material that should be discussed when the visual is displayed. At the end of this manual is also a list of additional references, with an annotated bibliography, that the instructor(s) should review to be able to direct the attendees to read on particular subjects if they have further questions. The students must be able to demonstrate some understandi 19 of the material being presented in the course for the course to be considered effective. The measurement for this understanding will be by testing the students follo,""ing each ofthe sections. Several questions will be asked covering the material foe each section. The student will need to have a passing grade in order to receive a Certificate of Attendance.

COURSE PRESENT ATION The c~ has been prepared as a six hour course to be given in two three hour sessions. The material is intended to be presented in lecture format using slides for audiences of at kast 100 attendees. Many of the slides are also available in overhead transparency format, which can be used in conjunction with the photographic slides. This may be more suitable for a smaller audience. The following is a list of items that is neces"aI)' for conducting the course: fhi.<; instructur's Guide, including A set of 35 rom slides A set of overhead transparencies One Student Manual for each of the attendees A tezt answer sheet for each attendee A 3:) rom projector and screen An overhead projector (if overheads will be used) A microphone

Prior to the start of the course, the im.1ructoe should verifY that the facility is properly set up. The instructor should have a podium fium which to speak. The podium should be equipped with a reading light for the presenter and a control for the slide projector. The facility where this course will be given should provide for an adequate number of seats for all attendees, each with an unobstructed view of the screen and the podium. The seats should be arranged in a classroom

Retrofit Training Course - Instructor's Guide - Draft 1217194

Page 1

setting with a chair and table space for each student Sample Agenda

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Introduction

40 minutes

I

Questions

5 minutes

I

Shear Walls

110 minutes

I

j2\lestions

10 minutes

I

.... ** TEST u**

15 minutes

II

COIUlections

40 minutes

II

Ouestions

5 minutes

II

Foundations

40 minutes

II

Questions

5 minutes

II

Miscellaneous Elements

40 minutes

II

Questions

5 minutes

II

Other Topics

40 minutes

II

Questions

5 minutes

II

++++

TF~T

++++

1 " minnt.· .

INSTRUCTOR Q(JALIFICATlO~S 1be course can be given by one to four individuals. Using more than one person per session is preferable to allow for more variety in the method of presentation. All of the instructors should be familiar with the material that they are presenting and have experience in teaching to nontechnical audiences. A minimum of 10 hours of teaching experience in the past year for similar course material is recommended. The instructor( s) for this course should be able to speak from experience about the typical problems that are encountered, not only from the contractor's perspective, but also from the perspective of an engineer or building inspector whl:' bas seen deficil-"llcies in construction. The instnlct~·<; for this course should have working knowledge of seismic retrotitting of timber framed buildings.

Retrofit Training Course - Instructor's Guide - Draft 12: 7/94

Page 2

SESSION I SECTION 1 - INTRODUCTION Course Title and Credits This is a tr.Iining course 011 seismic retrofit of buildings for building contractors and building inspectors. The course was de\clopedfurthe Building htdustry Association with the assistance of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the State of California Office of Emergency Services. The instructor should also introduce themselves and briefly describe their qualifications for teaching this course. Introductory M;l~1.l The intent of the course is to describe methods for seismicaUy retrofitting timber framed buildings. The focus will be on residential buildings containing one to four units. The basic type of structure to be COVeTed are single family houses. built prior to the 1950's, that are raised up on cripple walls. These buildings are often not bolted to the foundation and the cripple wall\; ate generally vel)' weak for resisting earthquake forces. The fOCus of the course is restricted to one to four unite timber frame residential buildings for several reasons: 1) there are It large number of houses fitting this description that have structural weaknesses; 2) the typical retrofit for these houses is usually simple to install for contractors and mllJ1Y homeowners; 3) buildings that are larger or more constructed of material other than light timber framing often require a more exten.'iive retrofit using teclmiques that cannot be described thoroughly in a short seminar. Examples ofbuiJdings that are NOT included are apartment buildings with more than 4 units, single family houses built on hillside locations, mobile homes. and commercial buildings. The course will describe the seismic retrofit methods that are typically incorporated into a retrofit designed by an engi:1eer or that has been described in a prescriptive standard. For each of the retrofit techniques described, the course ",ill discuss the typical errOTS that are made, some of the problems that are often encountered by contractors, and tips for avoiding problems. Quite often a contractor will run into unforeseen conditions when working with existing construction. The course will present some guidelines for the contractor to aid in deciding when the conditions are serious enough to require the contractor to stop and get assistance from an engineer or other person before proceeding A prescriptM: standard for voIunlaly seismic strengthening of light, wood frame residential buildings has been developed and is currently being considered for adoption by the International Conference of Building Officials. When adopted, these pIO\'isiom could be used to develop a seismic re ; withoot theRoo.QQ(3Jt-M.chitect.or:.aJH~n~. e ~'. s Angeles, as weU as other citi , are considering making seismic retrofit of single family h~~-S mandatory. fore there will be many houses . s, e 0 retro . ast expenence om e anuary , NOOhridge earthquake tound that there were many errors in construction of the houses that had been retrofit prior to the earthquake. If installed incorrectly, the retrofitted houses will be damaged just as much as if they had not been retrofit. This course was developed as a means to describe the correct methods of installing the retrofit so that it will be effective in reducing the damage to the houses during the next earthquake.

~

Earthquake Basics Earthquake Forces When an earthquake strikes an area, the ground below each building receives strong shaking in all directions. The amount of shaking the each house feels de1Jends on a number of factor.; including: the magnitude of the earthquake, the distance of the building from the epicenter, and the composition of the soil between the epicenter and the building. As the ground below the earthquake shakes back and forth, forces, caned inertia forces, are felt by the building. Every part of the building feels these inertia forces. The concept of inertia fOICes can be explained by the example of a person standing in a mO\llng vehicle. When the vehicle starts or accelerates, the vehicle moves forward, but the people inside feel an inertia force moving them backwards Similarly, when the vehicle stops or decelerates. the person feels an inertia force pushing them forwards. When the whicle is moving at a steady speed (no acceleration or deceleration) the person feels no force. The amount

Retrofit Training Course -Instructor's Guide - Draft 1217194

Page 3

of inertia force that a petrol\, or a building experiences, depends on the weight of the person or building and the amount of acceleration or deceleration. Increasing the weight of a building increases the inertial force in proportion to the weight.

An engineer designs a building to withstand horizontal earthquake forces equal to about 10 to 18 percent of gravity times the weight of the building. That would be equivalent of turning the building on a 10 to 20 degree angle. However, large earthquakes can produce accelerations of more than 1 times gravity: equivalent to turning the building on its side. This may soWld like the engineer and the building code is being negligent, but there are many justifications for not designing for the real earthquake forces. One of the ,justifications is that wood framed buildings, which are properly designed and constructed, have historically survived major earthquakes w.dhout aDowing the building to collapse, thus protecting the lives of the people within the building. Thus the additional cost of designing for larger forces is not ,justified when the intent of earthquake design is to protect the occupants of a building from being killed. Lateral 'Force Resistin& System Buildings designed to resist earthquake forces have two structural systems. One system is prmided for the building to hold up the vertical loads on the building, including the dead weight of the building and the loads of people or moveable furnishing that may be placed in or on the building. For typical timber framed buildings, this usually includes plywood floor and roof sheathing nailed to wood joists or roof rafters. These are supported by timber columns or on wood stud walls, which are framed down to the foundations. This is the Vertical Load Resisting System, To resist earthquake forces, the building must also have a structural system to resist the lateral inertia forces that are generated by the earthquake. The roof and floor systems act as structural elements in the plane of the floor or roof. The forces from those e1ement~ and transferred horizontally to stiffvertical elements, such as shear walls. Without structural walls, a wood frame hous( would be very tlexible and could easily be pushed ov\.."[ in a sIrong wind or earthquake. The shear walls stiflen up each level of the building down to the foundation. For this system to be effective, all portions of the building must be connected together to allow the inertia forces generated by each element to be transferred to the structural elements and then out of the building. Structural ttulure occurs if there is any weakness in the path that the load., must travel to get out of the building.

Most boucles have plenty of walls, most of which can act as shear walls. Fora complete load path to be present, the walls must be attached at the top to the floor or roof diaphragm and at the bottom to the floor diaphragm. For the latenl furce resisting system to be effective, the shear walls must be continued an the way down to the foundation. Many older houses have the first floor supported on short walls, referred to as cripple walls, around the perimeter of the~. These wans must also act as shear walls because there are usually no interior walls to act as shear walls. Types of Damage Earthquakes can strike at any time in many areas of the countly. Since the majority of structures in any area are timber framed houses, more of these buildings are affected by the earthquake. Many small wood frame houses withstand earthquake shaking with little damage. The damage that does occur is usually cosmetic and does not threaten the life safety of the occupants. Because of good histOl}' of typical timber frame construction, the building code allows simple wood frame houses to be designed and built without the need for an engineer to design the house. llowever, past earthquakes have ;liso pointed out common structural weaknesses in light, wood frame houses that have led to extensive and costly damage. The most significant weaknesses are: 1) the foundations below the exterior walls are missing or are discontinuous; 2) the exterior walls are not adequately connected to the fOWldation; and the cripple waDs below the first floor are not adequately braced. The following pictures will present some examples of typical damage that occurs to timber framed residential buildings subjected to moderate earthquake shaking.

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Page 4

Need for Retrofit Building code requirements for designing to resist earthquakes have changed dramatically in the last thirty years. However, there are hundreds of thousands of houses that were built prior to modern building codes. These houses have many ofthe weaknesses that led to failures of similar houses in previous earthquakes. Many home 0\WerS "in chose to strengthen their house for future earthquake, either voluntarily or because of requirements oflocal ordinances. Most of the seimlic retrofits only attempt to correct obvious weakness in the original design or construction. Most of the time, the retrofit does not bring the building up to a level of earthquake resistance required for new construction. This is usually justified because the cost of a full upgrade is much more than a home owner is willing to spend, and the ex.pense of a full upgrade is cost beneficial. If all of the major weakness have been corrected, most timber framed houses will sustain only cosmetic damage after an earthquake, not enough to require the building to be evacuated.

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SECTION 2 - SHEAR WALLS Shear Wall Description Shear waDs are vertical elements of the lateral force resisting system. Shear walls are typically wood framed stud walls that are <:overed with a structural sheathing material, such as plywood. When the sheathing is nailed to the stud wal framing, the shear wall is capable of resisting forces directed along the length of the wall One of the futK:tions of shear walls is to transfer inertia forces from the roof or tloor directly aoove the wall, as well as forces and overturning moments in shear walls above, through the wall to shear waDs, cripple walls or foundations below. Another function of shear walls is to prevent the roof or floor aoove from displacing laterally so far that the waD framing supporting the roof or floor collapses. Shear walls that are designed and constructed properly should haw the strength and stUfuess to function as intended. It should be noted that stud wall framing Mthout sbucluraJ sheathing material will not have the strength to resist in-plane earthquake related forces nor stUfuess to prevent the waRs from coUapsir:g.

In describing shear walls and the forces within the wan, the profession uses a beam analogy in which the sheathing is considered the web of the beam and the boundary hold down posts at each end of the wall are considered the flange of the beam. Using this beam analogy, shear forces in the wall are earned by the sheathing (web of the beam), and overturning forces are earned by the boundary hold down posts (flanges of the beam). For the beam to function as designed, !he sheathing (web of the beam) must be adequately connected to the boundaIy hold down posts (flanges of the beam). To provide a complete and continuous load path for the earthquake related forces, shear walls must be adequately connected to the roof or floor above and the shear walls, cripple walls, or foundations below Boundary hold down posts must also be adequately connected through the floor. How Shear Walls Work Forces and Overturning Moments Horizontal forces from the roof, floor, and/or shear wall above are delivered to the shear wall double top plates through connections that ",111 be discussed in a later session. The horizontal forces are then transferred to the sheathing via the fasteners between the sheathing and the double top plates. The horizontal forces in the sheathing art: similarly transferred to the shear wall sill or sole plates via fasteners. The fasteners that connect the ~hear waH to the framing below the floor sheathing transfer the horizontal forces out of the subject shear wall. The horizontal torces in the sheathing are called shear forces.

TIte horizontal tbrces acting on the lop of the shear wall not only create shear forces in the wall but also creates 8ll mWuming moment at the base of the wall that tends to lift up one end of the wall and push the other end of the wan down. In some extreme cases the overturning moment can even tip the wan over. When the horizontal furt:es cause the wall to tift up and push down, forces nre developed in the boundary hold down posts at each end of the shear wall. The forces in the boundaty hold down post place the post either in tension or compression. Boundary hold down posts are typically interrupted by the floor framing and, as a result, special hardware and framing is required to transfer the tension or compression overturning forces in the boundaty hold down posts through the floor framing. Sheaf WaD Location Shear walls are required on all floors of a building and within the crawl space. The walls should be aligned vertically from the foundation to the roof, where possible. On each level of the building, shear walls should be distributed throughout the floor or crawl space area. Shear walls should be located on aD sides of the building and within the interior. As a general rule, shear walls should be located every 25 feet in each direction. In order to maintain shear wall continuity through the floor framing and to transfer shear and ~ tOrces, speciaJ hardware and framing is required. Floors or crawl spaces that only have a few shear walls or a nmnber ofshort length shear walls may be considered a weak or soft story and will typically require

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shear walls \\7'ith heavy ply\vood nailing, large lmldowns, and additional framing and hardware. Shear Wall Dimensions For shear walls to be considered effective in resisting lateral forces, walls must meet UBC code height-length aspects ratios For example, the maximum aspect ratio for plywood shear walls is 3-112 to 1 (2'-3" long wall for II 8 foot floor to ceiling height) and for unblocked gypsum board shear walls is 1-112 to 1 (5'-4" long wall for a 8 toot floor to ceiling height). Recent tests on shear walls indicated that tall and narrow shear walls behave differently than shear walls that are longer than tall. Limits are placed on the height to length aspect ratio tor shear walls because a waH that is too narrow will not perform as intended and will usually be too flexible and may not have the required strength. Shear Wall Components Components are added to conventionally framed stud walls 10 form shear walls. Sheathing is secured to the stud wall framing using nails or staples. The fasteners must secure the sheathing to the sill or sole plate, the top plate of the double top plate, the boundary hold dOM} post, and along the edges of the sheathing. Supplemental nailing is added in the field of the sheathing to prevent the sheathing trom buckling when loaded. Depending upon the magnitude of the overturning forces, hold dom. posts and hold down hardware are added at each end of the shear wall to carry the tension and compression forces. Sheathing Plywood Plywood i<; available in a variety of thicknesses and grades. The grade of plywood is based upon the number and quahty of the plywood veneers. The strength of tb~ ply\vood sheathing is based upon the plywood thickness as well as the number and quality of the veneers. OSB plywood may not be equivalent to plywood and bard board siding is definitely not equivalent to plywood. The thickness and grade of plywood as well as the size and number offasteners securing the sheathing to the framing determines the allowable shear capacity of the shear wall. Gypsum Board Gypsum board that is used as sheathing for shear walls can be liZ inch or 5/8 mch thick. The allowable shear capacity of the gyv>"UIll board ~heathing is based upon the thickness of the gypsum bnard, the size and number ofnails and whethcr the edges of the sheathing are blocked. For liZ inch gypslUTl board to qualifY as structural sheathing. the gypsluu 1~.131d must be fastened to the framing with 5d cCKlier or drywall nails. Even though 5/8 inch gypsum board can be tilstened ~vith 5d nails for fire purposes, for 5/8 inch gypsum board to qualifY as structural sheathing, 6d cooler or drywall nails must be used t<:> 'lecure 5/8 inch gypsum ooard to the framing.

Following the Northridge Earthquake and as a result of recent testing, the allowable shear capacity for gypsum board waD sheathing has Ix:en reduced in order to improve the performance of gypsum board shear walls during an earthquake. Cenlent Plaster Cement plaster can be used as sheathing for shear walls provided the plaster and metal lath is of adequate strength and, more importantly, the lath 1S fastened to the framing with the cOITed size and number of staples or nails. As discussed earlier. the lath must be fastened to the top plate of the double top plate. the sill or sole plate, the boundary bold down posts, and the studs for the cement plaster sheathing to function as a shear wall.

Comparison of Strength and Stiffness

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In general, the strength and stiffuess of a shear wall will depend upon the type of sheathing and the size and number of fasteners used to secure the shealbing to the framing. As an example, a heavily nailed plywood sheaf wall will be stronger and stiffer on a per foot of length basis than an unblocked 1(2 inch thick gypsum board shear wall .." ith nails spaced at 7 inches on center. As a general rule of thumb. on a per foot of length basis, plywood will tend to be stronger and stiffer than other sheathing material, followed by cement plaster. Gypsum board will usuaDy have the least strength lind sti.ffi1ess than other sheathing materials. However, an extremely long, gypswn board sheathed shear wall may be stronger and stiffer than a short, heavily nailed, plywood sheathed shear wall. Combining Sheathing Materials Because the s1rength and stiffitess of a shear wan depends upon the type of sheathing and the size and number offiIsteners used to secure the sheathing to the framing, it usually not acceptable to combine the strength of two different sheathing materials. The primary rea30n for not allowing two different sheathing materials on the same wall is that, as the wall detects, the stiffer sheathing material will reach its ultimate strength betore the softer sheathing material. As an example, consider a shear waD ..'lith plywood on one side and gypsum board on the other side, and assume that the shear wall was designed by combining the allowable shear capacities of the p1).wood and gypsum board. When the wall is loaded to the combined allowable shear capacit)', because the plywood is stiffer than the gypsum board., the plywood will be loaded beyond its allowable shear capacity while at the same time the gypsum board will b ~ loaded less than its allowable shear capacity. The only time two sheathing materials can be combined is when the materials have the same stiffuess characteristics under cyclic loading in the elastic and inelastic range. Fasteners Types of fasteners In order to provide II complete and consistent load path for seismic and wind forces through a timber framed structure, the building components that makeup f.e lateral resisting system must be tied together by fasteners and hardware. Typical fasteners for timber framed structures are nails and staples. Screws should not be considered as a substitute tor nails or staples. A design protessionalmay specifY screws for II particular application. However, the contractor must provide the specified screw that satisfies strength and ductility requirements. As an example, hardener screws do not satisfY the ductility requirements because they tend to break rather than bend when loaded. Unless a screws type fastener is reviewed and approved by a design profeslo,ional, the screw should not be used. There are many different nail types available to II contractor. However, nails are not all alike and vary in strength. Design pmfessionals normally specify common nails. Suppliers for contractors will typically have available not only common nails, but also box nails, green vinyl sinkers, gun nails, brights, electroplated galvanized nails and hot-
In addition to using the correct fa:.1ener, fasteners must be instaned correctly. Do in part to the quantity of nails required in plywood sheathing, fasteners for securing the plywood to the framing are usually installed with a nail gun. If nails are instaned too close to the edge of the sheathing the fastener may prematurely split the sheathing when laterally loaded. As a result, the shear wall will not have the required strength and will not pertorm as intended. Ifnail guns are not adjusted correctly or are not fitted with a flush head attachment, nails

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can be overdriven , fracturing the surface of the sheathing. Overdriven fasteners significantly reduce the capability of the shear wall to resist load. Fasteners that have penetrated and fractured the surface of the sheathing should be abandoned and a new fastener placed within 2 inches of the defective fastener and driven by hand. Fasteners that are associated with manu.factured hardware must sallsfy the manuiacturers' wnUen specifications. Nail<; that dQ not match the manufacturers' shank diameter, length and head diameter should not be substituted. Wrong size nails that are installed in hard\vare will usually not satisfY the strength requirements for the hardware and \vill not perform as intended. Framing Typical stud wall framing is used in all shear walls. Supplemental framing may be required for a shear wall to function as intended. When the sheathing is fastened to the studs, the studs prevent the sheathing from buckling prematurely when the lateral loads are applied to the shear wall. Where two adjacent sheathing panels hutt one another over a common stud, the common stud functions as a load transfer member between the 1\vo panels. At the ends of each shear wall, boundary hold down posts are framed into the stud wall haming to sene as boundary members. As discussed earlier the posts carry the tension and compression overturning forces associated with the shear wall. If the overtuming forces at each end of the shear wall are low, double stud boundary members that are normally framed into each end of a stud wall can adequately carry the torces a.nd supplemental hold down posts are not required. The double top plates, and sill or sale plates that are associated \"ith typical stud wall framing transfer horizontal forces from the floor framing above and below the shear wall, respectTvely, into the sheathing As discussed earher, for the shear walls to function as in >nded, the sheathing must be fastened to the top of the double top plates, the sill or sole plates, the boundary hold dO\\:ll posts or double end studs, the common stud at adjacent panels, and intermediate framing. Holdm"m; The horizontal tarces acting on the top of the shear wallllot only create shear forces in the "all, but also creates an overtuming moment at the base of the wall that tends to lift up one end of the wall and push the other eud of the wall dam}, 'Vhen the horizontal forces cause the wall to lift up and push dO\\TI, forces are developed in the bmmdary members at each end of the shear wall. The forces in the boundary members place the hold d(miTI posts or double end studs either in tension or compression. Boundary hold down posts or double end studs are typically interrupted by tht.! tloor framing and, as a result, special hardware and framing is required to tnmsfer the tension or compression overturning forces in the boundary members through the floor framing. Holdoym Types To provide a complete load path through the floor for the boundary members when they arc in tension, manufactured hardware is required and is typically called a holdown or a holdowll strap. Holdo'W11S typically come in pairs and arc interconnected by a holdo~iTI rod that passes through the floor. One holdo'WTI is bolted to the boundary hold dO\\:1\ post asso.;:iated with the shear wall directly above the floor and the other holdo'W1\ is bohed to the boundary hold down post associated wi'h the shear wall or crippI.:: wall directly below tlle floor. The tension in the boundary hold do'Wn post abm.ce the f oar 1s transferred into the upper holdown, through the holdoWIl rod, into the lower holdown and into the boundary hold down post below. Holdown straps are mtended to connect the boundary hold down post above the fioLl[ to the bOWldary hold down post below the floor. The strap must be long enough to pass through the floor framing and be attached to the boundary members so that the required number of nails or bolts are provided between the strap and the boundary member,

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Holdown Installation Errors Holdo\Vl1 straps must be long enough to engage the boundary members above and below the flooL If a strap appears too short, the strap may not have been specified properly by not discounting the length of strap that is associated with the height of the floor framing, sill plate and double top plates. The straps should always be centered so that an equal number of fasteners are installed in each boundary member When hold down posts are specified, such as a 4x4 or 6x6, the contractor must provide the specified timber and not double or triple up studs. The allowable capacity of holdowns from a manufacture are typically based upon bolt values into solid timber. Since the bolt value tor a 2x member is substantially less than the bolt values for 4x4 or 6x6, the capacity of the holdown assemble is correspondingly reduced. Hold down post should be installed at each end of a shear wall. Sometimes contractors frame stud walls without the required hold dmm posts and holdm'<ns, and attempt to add them after the wall is in place. As a n:sult, the hold do\Vl1 posts are not installed at each end of the :;heCl~ 'yall, and are sel in from the end of the wall. In some cases, the holdown rods are set in the correct place but the hold down posts are rotated inward, away from the end of the wall. With the hold down posts set in, the sheathing will normally only be nailed to the end studs and will not be nailed to the hold doy,n post. With the hold down post set in, the tendency to overturn is greater and the loads in the boundary are correspondingly higher than anticipated. If the ho/do\';l1S are installed incorrectly as noted above. they have a detrimental effect on the pertC)mlanCe and behavior () f the wall. Cripple Wall Considerations Cripple walls with sheathing and hardware installed will SCf\"_~ as shear walls between the first floor and the foundation. In addition to the requirements for shear walls, spcoal care must be takcn with cripple shear walls to insure that the repairs or retrofit do not adversely .,treet the exis+;"~ framing and conditions. Crawl space access should be considered and some minor improvements in the interior post cOlUlections may be required. Access Typical crawl space access is usually satisfactory for personnel, small equipment, and tools. However, it may be diffieult to bring large sheets of sheathing into the crawl space without cutting them up into useless small pieces. Sheathing should be installed using the few.,st nwnber of pieces. In ·,ler to get large sectlons of sheathing into the crawl ~;pace, it may be necessary to tt'mporanly remove a tew ot the cripple wall studs. The temporary construction access opening should be located in a non-bearing section of cripple wall that will not be receiving new sheathing. If the temporary construction access is required to be located in a bearing cripple wall, the section of wall where the studs will be removed should be shored. Ventilation "' () reduce the potential for wood decay in the cavities where the new sheathing is placed on the inside face of the cripple wall, ventilation holes should be cut in the sheathing. The holes in each cavity should be .:.ircular and located 1 inch above the sill plate and 1 inch below the top plate. The holes should also be centered within the cavity. The new sheathing should not block existing vents. Where sheathing must be placed over a vent, an op~ning must be cut for the vent. blocking installed ar.:>und the vent opening, and the length of shear wall extended the y,idth of the vent opening to the ncawt stud. Decav Prevention Adequate crawl space ventilation is olle of the best ways to minimize potential wood decay. As noted above, adequate ventilation must be provided within the crawl space and within the stud cavities that are covered on both sides with siding and sheathing. Another way to prevent wood decay is to insure that water is not allowed to continuously saturate wood. Water entering the crawl space through the cripple wall siding and saturating wood will cause wood decay. Leaking pipes and other sources of water that saturates wood will also cause

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wood decay. \Vhen the retrofit work is being perfonned, the contractor should also check for sources of water

intrusion that could cause wood decay.

Interior posts

Foundation systems may include a series of individual concrete piers and wood posts that support floor beams.

The wood post are normally tie-nailed to the tloor beam and to the wood sill plate on top of the concrete pIer.

During an earthquake, the building may move enough to cause the wood posts to collapse. In order to improve

the connections and reduce the potential collapse problem, clips and brackets should be installed between the

wood post and the floor beam, and and concrete pier.

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S~CTION

3 - CONNECTIONS

Load Paths We\'e talked about the need for a complete load path to carry the earthquake forces to the ground, and about how shear waDs re!.istthe earthquake forces delivered to them by the horizontal diaphragms (the Hoors and roof). This section is to discuss considerations required fnr proper connections. Most of this discussion will cover connections for platform framing; then we will dIscuss connections for balloon-framing.

The load path can be thought of as a chain; it is only as strong as its weakest link. The roof and floor diaphragms and vertical shear waDs are two kinds of links; the connections between the root; walb floors and foundation, are other types of links. Without adequate connections to complete the load path, the chain will have missing links. [show examples offailures dun' missing or inadequate connections). For a platform-framed, two story building or a one story builcling over cripple walls, the following elements must be attached to each other in tum (indicate each on the wall section graphic1to develop a complete path for loads to be carried from the roof to the ground: the roof and ceiling to the double top plates, the top plates to the shear wall, the shear wall to the sill plate, the sill plate to the floor framing, the floor framing to the double top plate of the wall below, the double top plate to the shear wall, the shear wall to the mudsill, and the mudsill to the fmmdation. When these elements are connected they form an unbroken path from the roof to the ground that will transfer the roof loads. :'I. similar path must be traced to the ground from each of the floor decks (diaphragms). Without proper connections, these elements will separate or slide past each other when the earthquake strikes Connection<; are created with combinations of added wood blocking and metal hardware sueh as nails, clips, holdowns, and straps. Of course, the process of building for vertical loads creates some of the necessary connections to resist horizontal (earthquake or wind) toads, but not enough connections, nor necessarily the proper types of connections.

Tyues of Connections Obviously, two pieces of wood that are butted together can be easily pulled apart if not connected by some type of splice. A strong connection can be made if a wood splice plate or metal strap is nailed across the joint, or if the two pieces are lapped and nailed Similarly, two pieces lying one on the other can be slid past each other if not nailed together or fastened with steel plates across the joints.

Less obvious is the inherent weakness of wood in cross-grain benciing. Anyone who has ever split fire wood knows that wood i') much easier to split lengthwise than crosswi"e. In order to achieve satistactory resi"tance to earthquakes it i" important that sawn wood members not be subjected to significant crossgrain bending. The most common example of iailure in cros.'>gr3in bending occurs when a ledger IS attached to a wall with bolts near its centerline and to the plywood decks along its top edge. When earthquake forces attempt to pull the wall from the roof, the ledger can split lengthwise either at the nail') or at the bolts, and the roof can collapse. All connection') within a building should be designed to prevent cross-grain bending conditions. Nails I t should be noted that green vinyl sinkers that are in almost wliversal use as both hand-driven and gun nails are impmperiy named. Just as a 2 x 4 has not measured 2 inches by 4 inches for many years, a 16d or 8d sinker is not the same as a ltd or 8d box or common nail. Through extensive te;"ing it has been determined that the strength of a nail in wood is determined by three variables: species of the wood the length of nail penetration into the wood, and the diameter of the nail shank. A 16d sinker is 1/4 inch shorter than a 16d box or common, but that seldom reduces the JXlletration bekJW the required minimum. The 16d sinker's shaak diameter, however, is smaUer--the same as a 10d box nail1herefore, it carmot cany the same load as a 16d box: or common nail. Similarly, a 8d sinker has the same shank diameter and load capacity as a 6d box While it is unlikely that contractors are going to stop using silli\ers, most engineers and architects have not adapted to

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this reality and continue to design buildings counting on the strength of the common and box nails they specif)'. Assuming the sinkers' length is not too short for a particular application, they can still be used if the number of 16d sinkers is increased by about 10% when substituted for specified box nails and 30~~ when substituted for conunon nails. Also, 8d sinkers can be substituted for 8d box and 8d common if the number is increased 20% and 35il-o, respectiwly.

Ibe discus.'OOIl of the connecring elements that follows assumes that the wood framing is in good condition. Obviously, rotted or insect-weakened wood cannot resist earthquake forces as well as undamaged wood. When investigating wood structures after a moderate earthquake, one often finds the most severe damage has occurred in decayed framing. Similarly, metal fasteners must be in good condition to perform adequately. For example, in salt-air enviromnents unprotected metal connectors can corrode away in a short time leaving portions of a building much more vulnerable to earthquake damage. Top Plates The top of a wall nomlally has doubled top plates UpOll which the floor or roof framing rests. On some older construction only a single top plate was installed. The top of a shearwall is nailed into the top plates. For adequate transfer of forces, it is necessaJ)' to also attach the top plate to the framing above it. Code comoentional framing requirements call for each joist to be attached to the double tup plate \Vllh 3-Sd nails. For shear forces in the plane of the wall this amount of attachment may not be adequate. \fetal right angle clips nailed into the doubled top plate and the rinI blocking or rinIjoist \\till strengthen the connect'ln between the 1100r framing and the shearwall below. For shallow 2 x 6 or 2 x 8 _joist') it may be difficult to attach the dip into the nm blocking and top of the double plate. However, with patience the clips can usually be installed. It pneumatIc equipment is available, a pahn-nailer is Yery helpful for mstaUing nads in difficult access areas. Alternatively, if access to the top plate tor nailing of the clips is impossible_ additional bloclung may be added between the _joists that is flush with the near surta(~e of the double ten 'Jlates. Th('n Hat metal plates can be nailed across the 10int between the blocking and the top plates to proVIde sheClr transfer. 'Jhe doubJe top plates also fulfill another function. If you recall, earlier we discussed how diaphragms can be thought of as deep beams. As a beam is loaded and bends, the edge away from the load is stretched and put in tension. On horizontal diaphragms such as floors this tension force must be resisted by the top plates of the wall below If there is a continuous rim joist instead of a series of short rirn blocks, the joist may also resist this tension force. Wooo is very strong ill tension; however at the splices between sections of the plates and rim, there is no resistance to tension forces. Therefore, it is important for splices in the double top plates to be properly lapped, and for the laps to be well nailed Ifthe splice of the double top plate was not properly built--or 1f there is only one. discontinuous top plate--a long metal strap should be nailed across the splice to provide the necessary continuity. Alternately. if the jomt between sections ot the rinl joist is exposed. a pair of straps can be added across the end loint to provide continuity.

SILL PLATES At the bottom of a shean'llall, the anachment of the sill plate and the floor decking to the floor framing below transfers shear forces from the higher elements to the lower. This attachment is normally made using nails. Each nail should be sufficiently long to penetrate through the sill plate and dee king. and into the floor framing below at least the mininIum distance required by the code. If the wall framing is exposed above the tloor--as in new framing that has not yet had plastel or wallboard attached-the nails can be mstalled hom above. However, III some retrofit situations, the wall framing above is not-or C3IDlot be--exposed. In this case it may be possible to add sheet-metal bracket,> (clips) such as Simpson A-35's or A-34's at the intersection of the underside of the floor and the rim blocks or rim joist. Short joist­ hanger naili; can be usI:Xl to attach the clips to the rim" and longer nails driven up through the flooring into the sill plates.

The nails used shoukl be, at a mininlum, those required by the building code. The {'BC and CABO codes require 16d common or box nails spaced 16 inches apart. If sinkers are used, the nail spacing should be decreased slightly to 14

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inches to account for the lower load capacity of the sinkers.

light weight concrete or poured gypsum (gypcretc) is sometimes applied over the floor deck to provide dampen sound trammigsioll between the upper and lower floors. The gypcrete is normally installed after the wall framing was erected, and, if the framers were planning ahead, a Ix or 2x spacer (or screed) was inserted below the sill. This raises the sill above level of the gypcrete so the sill can provide support for the bottom of the wallboard. However, the extra 3/4" or 1-1/2" thickness means that longer sill nails must be used in order to develop the code-required penetration into the floor rim joist or blocking. In these cases 20d, 30d, or perhaps 40d nails will be required. Anchor Bolts Connections at the bottom of a wall are perhaps the most important cOIUlections in a building, since shear loads from the roof and fiO<'r le'rels add together as they travel downwards, and are greatest at the fowldation level. Shear loads are brought to the top of the foundation by the sheruwaD, where it is nailed to the mudsill. The mud<;ills must be firmly attached to the foundation with anchor bolts that are firmly embedded into the concrete. Minimum UeB and CABO anchor boh requirements are 1I2-inch bolts, embedded 7 inches into the concrete (not counting the thickness of the mudsill.~ at 6-foot spacing. However, proper anchorage of heavily loaded shear walls often require larger bolts, more deeply embedded.. and at smaller spacings. Also, the codes require ever piece of mudsill to have at least two anchor bolts, and every piece must have a bolt within 12 inches of each end. For new COI.lStruction, careful layout of anchors is an unportant task to undertake befOre the 1oundation is placed. W1Ule this is often the job of the carpenters working with the concrete contractor, it is a good idea to have the framing contractors' carpenters working alongside them to ensure proper placement (lfthe bolts. For retrofit construction, anchor bolts c.an be installed using either wedge anchors, or all-thread rods with nuts and washers set into epoxy-filled holes. In either case. the bolts must be of the proper size and length. The holes through the mudsiIls can be drilled with normal wood bits, and the holes in the foundation concrete drilled with special carbide bits driven by a hammer-drill. If the floor joists are set directly on top of the mud"ill, is often not possible to gain drilling access for new anchors. In this situation, some rough hardware ma.nufacturers are marketing large steel plates, bent in the middle, tha.t can provide the necessary shear transfer. These plates are to be secured to the side of the foundation with anchor bolts, bent over the top of the mudsill, and nailed to it. The hole diameters through the wood and concrete should be no more than 118 inch greater than the diameter of the bolt. For epoxy-anchors, it is ex.trentely important the dust be carefully cleaned out of the hole usmg a combination of a bottle brush and compressed or vacuum air. The concrete should also be dry before the epoxy is placed. When placing the epoxy anchors, enough liquid epoxy should be placed in the hole that when the anchor rod is put into the hole, a small amount of displaced epoxy is extruded from the hole. Also, the washer and the nut should already be mowlted on the threaded rod, since epoxy squeeze-out on the rod will make i.t impossible to install the nut and washer later. BaUoon Fnunina BaBoon-framed structures were common on the east coast and mid-west from about 1850 unill recently. Many buildings employing balloon framing are still in service. Whc'll retrl'fitting balloon-framed houses the same principles for creating load paths apply. Blocking and connectors sufficient to transfer shear loads may be required at the roof, intermediate f1oorIines, and at the siB. For the connections to be effective, additional blocking must usually be added between the floor ~ to pnMde shear transfer nailing at the top and bottom of the shearwaHs. Also, Since the floor decks (diaphragms) do not extend into the wall spaces, there is no natural path for shears to transfer fTom the decks to the shearwalls. Where the joists are parallel to a wall, additional nailing fTom the decking into the ledger joist and from the ledger joist into the blocking will be sufficient. Where the joists are perpendicular to 8 wall, additional shear transfer blocking and

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nailing will be required between the joists under the edges of the floor decking to transfer shear from the diaphragm into the floor framing. Usually, this second set of blocks can be nailed directly into the first set of blocks.

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SECTION 5 - MISCELLANEOUS ELEMENTS

Chinmm Most older residences have chimneys constructed of brick. The brick in older chimneys is not reinforced with steel, and therefore has velY little s1rength to resist earthquake shaking. The most ..'lllnerable are of the chimney is the section above the roof line The chimney usually ooends several feet above the roof During the earthquake, this portion of the chimney can whip back and furth, causing cracking to occur in the chimney at the roof leveL assuming that the chimney is attached to the house near the roof. The top section can then either faD over. During the JWle 1993 Landers earthquake, a boy was killed when the section of the chinmey above the roof fell into the house and on t()P ()f the boy who was sleeping next to the fireplace.

Another type ofdamage occurs if the chinmey has not been att'lched to the house near the roof level. In this case, the chimney wilt cracks and bend from the top of the fire box. This is where the bending force is greatest on the chimney section Theme box section is usually stronger, so the cracking will start just above the fire box. If not attached at the rooflevel the entire section of the chimney wi1llean out away from the house and will fall over if the earthquake shaking is large enough.

There are two basic methods for dealing with unreinforced brick chimneys. One method is to brace the chimney and the other is to replace it. There are several considerations when deciding which method to chose fm a building. Replacement of the chinmey is the most costly solution. It involves removing all of the brick above the fire box. The

new chimney can be edher II reinforced masomy chimney or a wood framed chimney with a metal flue. The important areas when replacing a chimney are the attachment to th. (:tisting fire box; the attachment of the chimney to the roof framing at the roof line; and the continuity of the framing ab<- ie the roof line so the section above the roof can resist ~'1\ding.

Bracing an existing unreinforced chinmey usually includes a steel tie strap aroWld the chinmey near the roof line. This must be attached to roofframing members that have the strength tu keep the I.~himney from pulling away from the hOlL'le when excited by an earthquake. The section above the roof neede; to be braced usually with a steel strap aroWld the chinmey connected to angle braces to keep the chimney from lillling over. Again, these braces must be well attached to the roof Jraming or the attachment ",ill pull out away from the T"of.

Dwing an earthquake, a braced chimney will be shaken, but the bracing may not be sufficient to prevent cracks from developing in the wu-einforced brick Once the chimney is cracked, it cannot be used until the cracks are repaired or the chinmey is replaced. Cracks may not be obvious so a thorough inspection of the chinmey would be needed after any significant earthquake to make sure that there are no cracks. Cracks in the chimney can allow hot gases to leak into the wall or roof framing and start a fire.

Building Attachments Most houses have either a porch, a deck, an exterior staircase, or other type of framing that is attached to the outside of the house. Most of these are attached to the house or.~:: to support the vertic&lload of the attachment. All portions of the building, including those attached to the outside, ~ .• peri'~nce horizontal inertia forces from the earthquake. Few of the attachments are still or strong enough to resist the earth("~U3ke forces by themselves. Therefore, they need to be attached to the house so that the horizontal forces from the attachment are resisted by the house. Most attachments are connected using nails cOIUlecting a ledger for the attaclunent framing to the building framing. Nails are usually not a sufficient method of attaching to the existing home because the can easily pull out. If the attachment is not braced on its own or adequately attached to the house, it \'jill collapse during the earthquake. This creates a falling hazard if the attachment is a roof. Since most of the attachments are located near the doors, it can also create a hazard for e.liting the house if it collapses.

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The roofor porch should be attached to the house to resist the lateral earthquake forces. In some cases this may easily accomplic;hed by installing Jag screws through the ledger to the framing of the house. The connection of the roof or floor deck to the ledger may also need to be strengthened. There will be many instances when a simple attachment detail will not be adequate to hold the porch or roof to the house. Ifthe length of the attachme"lt, measured as the distance from the house to the furthest point of the attachment <Wlay from the house is more than the width of the attachment, the engmeer may also require straps at the ends of the attachment to resist the horizontal swaying of the attachment. TIns is similar to the requirement for holddowns for a shear wall.

TIle other concern with roofoverhang> or elevated porches is that they may sway too far during the earthquake, causing the colwnns ' .. . JSts supporting the outside ends to become unstable or to detach. Many ofthe IJosts may have little or no attachment to the roof or floor deck A strap or brackd is usually installed to allow the post to move without separating from the roof or floor deck. Brick or Stone Veneer Many houses have a cowse ofbrick or stone veneer attached to the outside face of the exterior waDs. Older houses may not have any attachment of the brick veneer to the wall except for a layer of mortar. Some houses may have wire ties connecting the brick to the structural framing of the wall. If these .ies exist, many times that will not be adequate because they are too widely spaced or because· they have corroded or det
If the attachment of the veneer is not adequate, the bricks may be come dislodged during the earthquake causing the brids to fall. If the brick veneer is only a foot or two high, thi may not be a problem If the veneer is more than five feet high there is the chance that it could fall on top of a person nearby or could obstIUct exists out of the house. Mortar, especially older mortar, has very li1t1e strength for resisting earthquake forces. The mortar may also have deteriorated during the years since the onginal construction. Poor quality mortar, or deteriorated mortar can usually be identified by observing cracks or pitted areas of the mortar. The mortar strength can be roughly tested by scraping it with a fingernail. If it scrapes off easily, then the mortar may be weak or deteriorated.

The hamrd associated with brick veneer is usually addressed by adding additional restraints for the bricks or removing the bricks. If the bricks are removed, there needs to be a replacement exterior waD covering in the area of the removal. ~ is w;ed as 8 replacement must be weather tight and should be well attached to the building framing. The bricks could be reancltored to the framing. This requires holes drilled through the mortar joints to the structural framing. Wire ties are then inserterl through the hole and attached to the framing The space around the \\-ire is then filled \\-ith epoxy grout to bond the wire tie to the mortar. The wire ties should be at least 9 gage steel and should be spaced not more than 16 inches apart in both the horizontal and vertical directions. Adding the wire ties is not a guarantee that all of the bricks wiD remain intact during the earthquake. Some bricks may become dislodged during the earthquake sbaking. The wire ties are intended only to prevent conapse of the entire section of the veneer. Gas Lines Fires often erupt fonowing an earthquake because of broken !,as lines. The leaking gas is ignited by a spark, causing a potentially violent explosion and fire. One method to prevent catastrophic fires is by the installatiQn of automatic shutoff valves on the g;JS line. 1hese valves are attached downstream of the gas meter for the building. The earthquake shaking causes the valve to stop the flow of gas. Most of the time, the leaking gas will dissipate so that there is less chance of a large quantity of gas present where a spark might develop. If there is a break in the line and a spark develops, there may still be some gas in the air to start a fire. The shutoffvalve makes sure that there is no additional fuel to the fire so that it is less likely to get out of control.

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The City of Los Angeles has passed an ordinance that requires automatic shutoff valves be installed in all new residential construction. In addition, when the cost of modifications due to remodeling or seismic retrofit for a house exceeds $10,000, the automatic shutoff valves will need to be installed.

CUrrently, there are several manufacturers that make automatic shutoff valves. The American Gas Association (AGA) has a standard Z28.7 (1981) that describes the requirement~ for shutoff valves. At the present time, this is the only standard available for shutoff valves. Any shutoff valve should be checked to verifY that it meets this standard. hlstaDation requirements for shutoff valves varies by manufacturer. Some manufacturers require that the valves only be installed by approwd contractors. Others allow anyone to install them. In addition to the plwnbing work to put the valve in the gas line, the valve must also be rigidly attached to the building. If the valve is not rigidly attached, someone could accidentally hit the valve, causing it to trip and shut off the gas for the house. A new standard is being developed and is expected to be produced in 1996. Shutoff valves u,staUed after that standard has been adopted should meet the newer standard.

Homeowners should also be aware that Southern California Gas is working on a program for low cost instaDation and service ()f shut()f[ valves They are expecting t() have the program in place in mid 1995. Water Heaters One of the most common causes of fires associated with earthquakes is the rupture of gas lines when the water heater overturns. Water heaters are usually very taU, heavy (because they are filled with water) and narrow. These characteristics make them vulnerable to tipping over during an earthquake. Water heaters are usually set on the ground, or on II pedestal and are not anchored down The earthquake shaking produces lateral forces on the water heater at its center of gravity. The higher the center of gravity, the less force that is DCCcssaI)' for the water heater to ovcrturn. To prevent overturning, the top of the water heater is braced to resist the earthquake force

lhe typical detail for bracing a water heater uses a strap plwnbers tape "Tapped around the water heater near the t()p. The plumbers tape is then anchored into the wall framing using lag screws. The critical features are that the plumbers tape i-. wrapped all the way around the water heater and the lag screws are anchored into a stud. The stud must be one that is continuous from the sill plate to the top plate. In addi1ion to the slrap near the top of the waler heater, there also needs to be a strap near the base of the water heater. The reason fur the bottom brace is that the earthquake shaking can cause the base of the water heater to shift and slide out. If it moves far enough it will be unstable and will fall.

The final item is that the gas line and the water lines connecting to the water heater should be replaced ""ith flexible oonnectots. Even though the water heater is braced, there will still be ::cme movement of the water heater since there wiD be some slack and stretching of the straps. If the connections into the water heater are rigid, they will break when the water heater tries to move even a small distance, causing a gas leak or flooding the area with water. The flexible COJUlcctions allow the water heater to move several inches without breaking. ~

A water heater is a type of water storage tank. Many houses have other types of tanks to store water or fuel. Usually these tanks ;-Ire located outside the house and are l,lised up "h of the ground. Like a water heater, these tanks are vulnerable to tipping over. Tanks that contain any type of fuel are a concern because if they tip over an spill there contenCs, they can ignite and C3ll'le a fire. The two lmIJQrtant considerations for elevated liquid storage tanks are: bracing the legs of the tank, and providing a large enough coucrete pad under the tank. Bracing the legs of the tank is needed for the same reason as bracing the cripple wall of a house. If the tank sways too far during the earthquake, the legs can become unstable and the tank will fall over. Braces need to be provided in both directions on each side ofthe tank. The concrete foundation pad is needed below the legs of the tank to spread out the

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overturning force on the soil to prevent a soil failure that would cause the tank to tip over. A single pad under the entire tank is preferred. When casting the footing, be sure to cast in anchor bolts for attaching the legs of the tank to the concrete. It will usualJy be sufficient to place welded wire fabric in the footing. The bracing and the footing will usually be designed by an engineer so that the bracing wiD be strong enough to resist the earthquake force generated by the liquid in the tank Other NonstructuJal Items Houses can contain many other items that could be a hazard to the occupants during an earthquake. The two most important types of hazards arc those items that may faU and block exits and those that may fall and injure someone. These items are usually referred to as nonstructural elements of the building since they are not part of the structural framing system. Nonstructural elements generally includes architectural items such as windows, doors, and roofing; mechanica.l and eh;tri :a1 e