Buildings fail quake standards

An assessment of high-rise buildings in Wellington and Auckland has confirmed that most failed to meet standards designed to keep people safe from falling objects during earthquakes.

The survey of 20 commercial buildings across both cities – which The Dominion Post revealed was taking place in 2016 – found the majority of those inspected did not adequately secure fixings in line with standards for non-structural seismic restraints.

These restraints hold air conditioning, fire-sprinklers, telecommunications, electricity systems, lighting and ceiling support systems in place, and can pose risks to life and property if they collapse.

Many of the buildings surveyed are still not compliant today, a Wellington engineer says.

The survey results from Kevin O’Connor and Associates (KOA), were released to RNZ yesterday.

The report found ceilings were the least compliant element, with 89 per cent requiring upgrading to comply with the standard.

Partition walls, fire systems and air conditioning units also scored poorly, with about 80 per cent requiring upgrading.

There was a 100 per cent failure rate in Auckland and 73 per cent failure rate in Wellington for earthquake bracing of fire sprinklers and pipes.

About 55 per cent of plumbing was not up to standard and about 70 per cent of air conditioning units were not properly secured.

In Auckland, 11 out of 12 fire systems were not restrained at all.

The survey of random commercial buildings was carried out for the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and the Earthquake Commission.

It was prompted by earthquake damage to Wellington’s BNZ Harbour Quays office block in 2013, after a 6.5 magnitude quake shut down the CBD.

That quake caused air conditioning ducts, wiring tracks and pipes to break loose, and saw ceilings collapse on to desks.

In 2016, industry insiders who had seen a draft copy of the survey results speculated that the stocktake would be so damning, its fallout would prove bigger and more expensive than the leaky homes fiasco.

Reveal Seismic technical principal Terry Johnson said yesterday that despite industry warnings, many buildings were still not compliant.

Johnson, who specialises in non-structural elements, said the industry had been telling ‘‘the people in power’’ for a long time that non-compliance was an issue.

The lack of office buildings that complied with earthquake restraint standards was still a ‘‘shocking’’ state of affairs, he said.

‘‘So much stuff we see on a daily basis is still non-compliant.’’

He believed some people who were inspecting restraints did not know what they looked like, and some did not want to understand.

Reports were being commissioned, but they were meaningless unless action was taken, he said.

KOA engineers inspected 41 floors in 20 commercial buildings and focused on seismic braces and restraints, as well as the adequacy and spacing of the restraints, all fixings, and the suitability of structural elements fastened to them.

Engineers estimated the cost to upgrade all restraints to comply closely with the standards would be $64,000 per floor or $68 per square-metre.

They found little evidence that non-structural restraints were considered as part of the primary building design.

The report included recommendations for more research to be carried out and more training courses to upskill designers and installers.

It also suggested building owners consider removing all oneway heavy plaster tile ceilings, and for the study to be expanded to include 10 existing buildings in the South Island and newlyconstructed buildings in Christchurch.

‘‘So much stuff we see on a daily basis is still noncompliant.’’

Terry Johnson

Reveal Seismic technical principal