Earn and Learn. BSSC Colloquium on NEHRP Provisions Approved for 8.25 CEUs

Earn continuing education units (CEUs) while learning the latest about the soon-to-be-released National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) 2015 NEHRP Recommended Provisions for New Buildings and Other Structures. The National Institute of Building Sciences Building Seismic Safety Council (BSSC) will host a BSSC Colloquium on “Seismic Design Technology for New Buildings—The 2015 NEHRP Recommended Seismic Provisions, February 11, 2015, at the Embassy Suites San Francisco Airport – Waterfront in Burlingame, California.

The BSSC Colloquium is a great way for the architecture and engineering communities to learn about the key outcomes and major updates since the 2009 Provisions came out. The one-day event will include presentations on the development of the 2015 Provisions; highlight major changes from the previous Provisions, why they occurred and how they will affect structures to be built; explain new technologies; and address future research priorities.

Covered topics will include:

  • Intent of the Provisions and performance measurement
  • New U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) hazard maps and the NEHRP design maps
  • New site soil factors
  • Site-specific design requirements and parameters
  • Seismic qualification of new systems and components based on FEMA P-695 and P795 methodologies
  • Diaphragm design
  • Rigid wall/flexible diaphragms
  • Response history analysis
  • Base isolation and damping systems
  • Soil-structure interaction (SSI)
  • Strength-based foundation design
  • Foundations on liquefiable sites
  • Modal response spectrum analysis
  • Simplified seismic design for site design class (SDC) B

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has approved the course for 8.25 CEUs. Speakers from both the public and private sectors—all experts in their fields and active participants in the NEHRP Provisions update process—are part of the program. View the full agenda.

Under the sponsorship of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), BSSC administers an ongoing consensus-based process of updating and maintaining the NEHRP Recommended Provisions for New Buildings and Other Structures. The NEHRP Recommended Provisions and its Commentary embody the state-of-knowledge criteria for design and construction of new buildings subject to earthquake hazards. The new knowledge and technologies contained in this resource document are diffused into the model building codes developed by the International Code Council (ICC) and several national standards, including the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) ASCE/SEI-7 Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures. Learn more about the 2015 NEHRP Provisions.

The BSSC Colloquium will run from 8:30 am until 5:45 pm, and includes lunch. Registration is $150 for Institute members and $175 for non-members. Register now.