On-demand Webinar

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This webinar was co-sponsored by ASCE's Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) and ASCE Continuing Education

Instructor:  Bob Pekelnicky, P.E., S.E., LEED AP

Course Length: 1.5 Hours

ASCE 41-13 bridges the inconsistencies found in older ASCE standards. It provides greater and more consistent evaluation and retrofit provisions, discusses explicit direction for existing buildings of different risk categories, lists new design code equivalent performance objectives, and provides greater consistency with ASCE 7. This webinar discusses the new organization of the ASCE 41 standard, provides an overview of major changes to the general provisions of the standard.

Purpose and Background

The webinar presents an overview of the new ASCE 41-13 standard, which is a combination of ASCE 31-03 and ASCE 41-06. The new standard provides a unified method for evaluating and retrofitting existing buildings for earthquakes and eliminates significant inconsistencies between the two previous standards. This webinar will act as an introduction to the new standard and a primer on the general provisions. Topics include the new standards Structural and Nonstructural Performance Levels and Seismic Hazards. Participants also learn about the underlying philosophy and history of the ASCE 31 and 41 standard.

Primary Discussion Topics

  • New organization of the ASCE 41 standard
  • Overview of major changes from previous standard
  • Performance-based design methodology
  • Overview of evaluation and retrofit procedures

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

  • Determine organization of the new standard
  • Properly select an evaluation procedure using the three tiered procedure for evaluation
  • Recognize Performance Objectives and Building Performance Levels as part of developing a retrofit feasibility study

Webinar Benefits

  • Learn the latest methodology for evaluating existing buildings for seismic performance
  • Be able to perform seismic evaluations of existing buildings of various structural systems
  • Gain familiarity with various retrofit strategies
  • Avoid costly retrofits and strengthening for seismically adequate buildings

Assessment of Learning Outcomes

Students' achievement of the learning outcomes will be assessed via a short post-assessment (true-false, multiple choice and fill in the blank questions).

Intended Audience

  • Civil and Structural engineers with an emphasis on existing buildings
  • Building officials
  • Building owners and managers
  • Architects
  • Federal and State agencies
  • Building materials testing specialists

Webinar Outline

  • History of Existing Building Tools
  • Summary of Performance-Based Design
  • Overview of the Combined Standard
    • Why Combine?
    • Overarching Philosophy
    • Outline of the New Standard
  • Performance Objectives
    • Basic Performance Objective for Existing Buildings
    • New Standard Equivalence
  • Performance Levels
    • Structural
    • Nonstructural
  • Seismic Hazards
    • Hazards for Basic Performance Objective for Existing Buildings
    • Hazard for Basic Performance Objective Equivalent to New Building Standards
  • Use of Deficiency-Based Provisions vs. Systematic Provisions

How to Earn your CEUs/PDHs and Receive Your Certificate of Completion

To receive your certificate of completion, you will need to complete a short on-line post-test and receive a passing score of 70% or higher within 1 year of purchasing the course.

How do I convert CEUs to PDHs?

1.0 CEU = 10 PDHs [Example: 0.1 CEU = 1 PDH]