Washington State School Seismic Safety Assessments

Statewide Seismic Study of Schools. This statewide seismic study was a major first step taken by Washington State to understand the seismic risks of public school buildings. Reid Middleton conducted ASCE 41 Tier 1 seismic assessments and Rapid Visual Screenings of 561 school buildings and five fire stations across the State. 32 of the schools also received concept level retrofit designs to produce cost estimates. To document observations from the field, Reid Middleton developed and used a mobile application that efficiently gathered building and seismic evaluation data. Accomplished in several distinct and overlapping phases of work, the project included outreach to over 80 school districts to solicit participation in this study, creating the school building selection for this study, school facilities research and information review, field investigations and data collection, data review and seismic screenings, conceptual-level design and cost estimating for seismic upgrades, data analyses and entry, and reporting and documentation. Reid Middleton also prepared presentation and communication materials for use by the DNR-WGS, OSPI, and the school districts to inform the public and stakeholders. These project communication and public information materials were made available to the public to explain the goals and results of the project.

Awards

• 2024 Bronze Award for Exceeding Client/Owner Expectations, ACEC Washington