Earthquake preparedness is not always uppermost in the minds of business owners, often because of things like budgets and neglect of the threat of earthquakes, but seismic mitigation is a must if you’re in an earthquake zone.

Let’s face it, it’s probably not a hot button issue for some people and there is a cost involved, but given the unpredictability of earthquakes, preparedness is essential and part of being prepared is undertaking seismic mitigation programs.

Irrespective of how large or small your business is, you really can’t afford to ignore the need for seismic mitigation as it will ensure that you stay in business in the event of an earthquake.

If you’ve been paying attention to the repeated warnings from all the experts that we’re overdue for a big one, then you should also heed their advice about the need for seismic mitigation.

That’s right. They may not always use that exact phrase, but when earthquake experts across the United States talk about the need for earthquake preparedness they talk about the #1 thing to do which is to secure your space. That means your equipment should be fastened down.

Data Center Seismic Mitigation

Let’s use data centers as an example. If your business stores data, either for your own purposes or for other companies, you can’t afford to run the risk of losing it all should an earthquake literally knock over your mainframe computers, LAN cabinets or communication equipment racks.

Needless to say that would be devastating. It could be so massive that you couldn’t recover from it, leaving you out of pocket and out of business.

So how do you guard against a potentially crushing blow of that magnitude? You make sure that everything that can be fastened down is secured in place. And how do you do that? Bring in the seismic mitigation experts.

Many methods of fastening have been developed for large items through the access floor to the concrete subfloor. Fasteners can have a quick-disconnect feature so the equipment can be removed for maintenance. Many computer room access floors do not have braced vertical supports, making them susceptible to lateral collapse in an earthquake.

These problems and many others can be overcome.

Auxiliary framing, cable rack and fiber duct installation, as well as bay, cabinet and rack anchoring are all jobs that can be handled right there on your campus. All work can meet Seismic Zone 4 standards, or better and fastening systems can be designed and built to your specifications.

A site survey and evaluation will determine what needs to be done to secure your equipment. Installation services are available for large and small computer rooms.

Seismic Protection Products and Services

So how do you get started? A good beginning would be to call in the seismic mitigation experts who can recommend the right solutions to meet your needs.

If you run a business in an earthquake zone you need to be prepared and we strongly encourage you to start the process of seismic mitigation today.

Since we started blogging about earthquake preparedness we’ve written a lot about how to make work environments such as laboratories and data centers safer and in keeping with that office fastening is another important part of the strategy. 

So what exactly are we talking about?  Office fastening is a system for securing furniture and equipment around the office to ensure that it all doesn’t come tumbling down in the next earthquake. 

If your business is located in an earthquake zone, you should pay attention to what the experts are saying, which is that it’s not a question of if but when we get a big one.  And because of that, office fastening should be high on your to-do list. 

Office fastening is often overlooked or put off indefinitely because it’s not regarded as a priority, but as we can’t predict when or where the next earthquake will hit, your best defense is to be prepared. 

Look, if you’re in an active seismic zone the worst thing you can do is ignore the threat of earthquakes. Don’t lull yourself into a false sense of security by thinking it won’t happen where you are because it very well could and then what? 

Office Fastening 

In a previous article in which we discussed laboratory fastening, we posed the question can you afford not to have a seismic safety program in place?  The answer was no, you can’t and the same applies to your office. 

There are three main reasons why; a) it creates a safe work environment, b) complies with OSHA safety codes and c) ensures your business continuity. 

You might be surprised to learn how many potential hazards there are in your office space.  Unsecured tall, top-heavy pieces of furniture, file cabinets, computers, desktop appliances, wall hangings and breakables on shelves can all hurt you so they need to be fastened down. 

 

There are innovative and cost effective methods for preventing damage to equipment and injury to employees using countertop fasteners, floor fasteners and other office fastening techniques. 

Non-structural seismic mitigation programs are available for both large and small office environments.  A site survey and evaluation will determine what needs to be done to secure your equipment. 

Whatever you do, don’t procrastinate.  A lot of managers think it’s okay to put off the implementation of office fastening programs for a week, a month or until the next budget is framed, but that’s playing with fire and could end up being very costly. 

As we’ve pointed out, you just never know when an earthquake is going to strike and if your office space isn’t secured, you could suffer damages or loss, as well as risk injury to your employees.  The best plan of attack is to take action ahead of time before it’s too late. 

Seismic Protection Products and Services 

You can research the full range of seismic protection products and services at www.quakeholdindustrial.com 

If your business is in an earthquake zone you shouldn’t ignore the need to be prepared and we strongly encourage you to begin the process of office fastening today.

The Earthquake Preparedness team from Quake Hold Industrial stated that what puts their fastening system head and shoulders above anything else is that it features flexible nylon straps.

But what’s special about that? Well, flexible straps enable tall and top-heavy equipment or furniture to sway back and forth during an earthquake without crashing to the floor. The straps also act as shock absorbers to some degree as they can absorb some of the energy from a quake.

If, on the other hand, equipment or items of furniture are braced with metal brackets they could be ripped from the wall during shaking because metal is rigid and has no give in it, effectively defeating the purpose of securing the item in the first place. Therefore this special earthquake preparedness program will secure each and every furniture that can be a potential cause of injury during earthquakes.

Another unique feature as described by the earthquake preparedness team from Quake Hold Industrial is the Thumb Lock design in their seismic mitigation systems. This system consists of buckles and tear-proof locking straps with pre-cut holes. The buckles attach to the item to be secured and to the surface using extra strength 3M adhesive and the straps lock in place inside the buckles.

The buckles can be moved and locked in either direction on the strap, providing unlimited adjustments for securing unusual sizes and shapes. The United States Navy has been using this system for years to secure valuable equipment on its fleet of vessels. The constant pitching and yawing of a ship is not dissimilar to the affects of an earthquake and can cause items to fly off shelves or topple over if not secured. Hence, the new earthquake preparedness program introduced by Quake Hold Industrial should ensure complete security to both home and business.

When most of us think about earthquake preparedness, we don’t automatically conjure up thoughts of laboratory fastening, but it’s part of being prepared particularly for companies in the biotech and life sciences fields.

It doesn’t matter if yours is a multi-national corporation or a smaller independent business, earthquakes don’t differentiate between the two.  A laboratory that hasn’t undergone a program of non-structural seismic mitigation runs an extremely high risk of damage and loss of equipment.

And it’s not as if we haven’t been warned about that risk.  Earthquake experts constantly tell us that we’re overdue for a big one, so it would make good business sense to listen to them and do something about seismic mitigation on your campus.

Laboratory Fastening can sometimes be an afterthought, or put into the ‘I’ll do it later basket’; although as earthquakes are so unpredictable, being prepared is the smartest thing you can do if your company has a lab in an earthquake zone.

Bottom line is if you live in earthquake country don’t stick your head in the sand and hope you’ll be okay.  All that will do is leave your business wide open to potential disaster.

A laboratory is a good case in point.  Typically, labs contain all kinds of valuable equipment including HPLCs, mass spectrometers, centrifuges, robots and a host of other countertop items, all of which need to be fastened down.

And don’t forget about the Minus 80s, deli coolers, production equipment, flammable cabinets and liquid nitrogen tanks.  There are innovative and cost effective methods of floor equipment fastening for all these things based on client preference.

If you are an EH&S or facilities manager, the question you really need to ask yourself is can you afford not to have a seismic safety program in place for your lab?  Clearly the answer is no, you can’t.  Why?  Because you want to create a safe work environment, you want to comply with OSHA safety codes and you want to ensure your business continuity.

To that end, non-structural seismic mitigation systems can be custom designed for every aspect of your lab.

All work can meet Seismic Zone 4 standards, or better, and getting it done is not difficult.  A site survey and evaluation will determine what needs to be done to secure your equipment.

The biggest no-no is procrastination.  It’s a trap that many fall into thinking they can wait until next week, next month or the next budget, but that’s pushing the envelope unnecessarily.

As mentioned above, you just never know when an earthquake is going to strike and if your lab isn’t secured beforehand, you could lose your expensive equipment and all of your valuable data.

Seismic Protection Products and Services

So how do you get started?  You can research the full range of seismic protection products and services at www.quakeholdindustrial.com and schedule a free risk assessment of your operations. If you run a lab in an earthquake zone you need to be prepared and we strongly encourage you to start the process of laboratory fastening today.

This article is an exponent concern of the potential parameter of Earthquake Preparedness Mechanism built with “non – structural seismic mitigation” portability to safe-guard human used valuable equipments & resources if  located at  intense  earthquake zone.

Earthquake Preparedness is much more than a state of mind. It’s a combination of many things geared to get you and your business through an earthquake and these days many more states

are taking it much more seriously.

Authorities in states in the South, including Tennessee, Kentucky and Arkansas, and in the Midwest, such as Indiana, Illinois and Missouri, realize the very real threat of earthquakes and are becoming

proactive about educating residents on the importance of earthquake

preparedness.

 In case you’re wondering why this is, there’s a little matter of the New Madrid Fault that runs through or near those states that’s the reason.

If you’re not familiar with the fault’s history, back in 1812 it ruptured in such a major way in a series of shocks that it caused sections of the Mississippi River to temporarily run backwards.

Nearly 200 years later, emergency management authorities throughout that part of the country are doing what they can to get people prepared because outside of the West Coast, it is the nation’s most active

seismic zone.

On top of that, earthquakes of magnitude 7.5 or greater strike along the New Madrid every 200-300 years and experts say there’s a 25% chance of that happening by 2040.

Non Structural Seismic Mitigation

So, if you own and operate a business anywhere within the New Madrid strike zone, or in any earthquake zone for that matter, you ought to be thinking about how you can protect your investment.

Non-Structural Seismic Mitigation is the solution and it’s really the only way to safeguard your data and equipment against damage or loss in an earthquake. It will also enhance your business continuity plan.

What it entails is a program of seismic mitigation of your valuable equipment. You start the process by identifying all the potential hazards on campus and then securing them.

A professional earthquake preparedness company can take all the stress out of that process because they will have the solutions.

Equipment in data centers, server rooms, labs and such like that could crash to the floor need to be secured.

We’ve been in the business of seismic mitigation for a combined 50 years.

You can may also research the full range of seismic protection products and services that are available to you by visiting our website www.quakeholdindustrial.com

Risk Assessment

To help determine your needs you may contact a professional earthquake preparedness company to schedule a free risk assessment of your business.

As we’ve been reminding you repeatedly this year, if you run a business in a seismically active zone you need to become pro-active about earthquake preparedness and we strongly encourage you to start today.