While the pandemic controls the pH, remind Filipinos to prepare for another disaster – earthquakes

Louay’s Church in Bohol County was severely damaged during a 7.5-magnitude earthquake on October 13, 2014. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – In the nearly two years since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the still incurable disease continues to rank first in the world with a lot of energy devoted to finding a cure or preventing its spread.

But the collapse of an apartment building in Florida on June 24 was a grim reminder that the pandemic wasn’t the only disaster, man-made or natural, that people had to prepare for.

This is also the lesson that a Philippine tech startup, Usher Technologies Inc., is so proud of. , you want people to remember – the best response to events that affect structural integrity, including earthquakes, is to prepare while anticipating and minimizing damage.

“We cannot ignore the fact that even during this pandemic, the risk of a strong earthquake is always there, and still is, so it is important for us to be prepared,” said Dr. Francis Aldrin Oe, Dean of the University of Mapua and President of Usher Technologies. In an online interview with INQUIRER.net last June 23.

“Even if there is a pandemic, we still need to get this on our agenda,” he said.

An award-winning research team from Mapua University with the support of the government, launched the device and software of the same name in September 2019 – the Universal Structural Health Registration and Recording (USHER) system.

USHER device (orange box) displayed during the presentation. Image of user techniques

Read: Bad structures kill, PH says when tech launches to check building integrity

Since then, Usher Technologies has offered organizations an advanced option to monitor structural integrity, using a homemade device that analyzes changes in the building before and after the earthquake.

Uy and the rest of the engineers behind the project hope that accidents, such as a building collapse in Florida, can be avoided with tools and software like USHER.

How imminent?

Earthquakes are common in the Philippines due to their location in the Pacific Ring of Fire. One of the most destructive was the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that devastated some areas in Luzon, including Baguio City and Dagoban City, in July 1990.

This earthquake, according to Uy, stimulated his vision of Usher’s development.

In terms of earthquakes, local authorities’ eyes are now fixed on the West Valley Fault, a fault line running through Metro Manila and other provinces, which they believe is ripe for action.

Uy uses a simpler approach: an earthquake that occurs within a city-state is not a question of if, but when.

We hope to be more prepared next time with this project,” said Uy.

“Because you know, a strong earthquake, we always say in Usher, Big One, it’s imminent,” he said.

“It’s not about whether we’re not talking here about the possibility or it might happen,” he said, partially in Filipino. “It’s just a matter of time.”

The question now is, are we ready? Are we safe? Or are we just going to react? Or better yet, be proactive? ” He said.

Read: Imagine ‘Big One’ by doubling earthquake damage 25 years ago

There was buzz about the so-called “Big One” earthquake as early as 2010, but recent figures from private and government research centers show that the death toll for a powerful earthquake in densely populated Metro Manila could range from 40,000 to 52,000, with about 500,000 injured.

Ed Lustan drawing

Read: “Big One” scenario in the metro: 52,000 dead and 500,000 wounded

READ: Magnitude 6.5 to 7.2 earthquake in Metro Manila could kill at least 40,000 – Phivolcs

Uy explains that the solution is right at the doorstep of building owners – structural monitoring equipment, a device required by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for schools, hospitals, public buildings, commercial areas and other high-rise buildings, while complying with national structural code.

what’s he doing

Despite the order from DPWH, Uy said in his presentation that the compliance rate is only about eight percent at a time when structural monitoring equipment should be necessary.

But what does this device do? According to Uy, if USHER is exploited, his system analyzes the building’s structural composition to obtain baseline data before external forces, such as strong winds and earthquakes, strike it.

During and after an earthquake, the system also provides new data about the building, which is sent to a cloud server for comparison. From there, it can be determined if the building needs to be vacated or if it is still safe for occupancy.

Aside from avoiding potential loss of life due to the collapse of unanalyzed structures, the economy can avoid losses caused by construction managers second-guessing structural integrity.

Uy said there are parameters and indications that the USHER will check to determine if the structure has moved or has sustained damage beyond what it can handle.

“The structural design is likely to be perfect, they’ve passed the codes, that’s for sure,” Uy said, partially in Filipino. “But note, when you go to the construction phase, there are a lot of variables out there — fabrication, materials, construction methods, etc.,” he said.

And that’s what a system like USHER looks at, so you can distinguish the building,” Uy said.

“During the earthquake, what he does is watch if the standards are exceeded,” he said, in part in Filipino. “Has the building’s movement exceeded the designed level? Because if the movement is too large, it will most likely damage the building.”

“So the so-called threshold, or boundary, is monitored,” he said.

He said businesses constrained on budgets by the pandemic shouldn’t worry because there are packages in the USHER system that are easy to get.

“Because you usually (if) you buy this, you buy this directly, and you buy the system directly,” Uy said.

“But I think we’re the only ones in the market that have this package for building owners who don’t have enough funding,” he said.

“It’s back to back as a package, and that saves them the Usher unit, and all they need is to pay on a monthly basis,” he added.

“We’ve come up with new packages that will help our fellow countrymen – given the impact of the pandemic, of course we know everyone has insufficient funding, and they’re focused on how to deal with the pandemic, but of course we’re trying to educate people that’s why we’re offering more and more free educational programs on Internet for people.

Some of the programs related to Usher Technologies’ campaign to raise awareness of structural integrity issues included the upcoming Hackaton event that runs July 15-17, and another webinar on July 23.

Dealing with prejudices

As of now, many buildings, bridges and infrastructure projects have tapped Usher Technologies to provide them with the device and monitoring system – from the Aurora-Katipunan Bridge to the Audit Committee Building.

During a program on June 23, Asher and the Philippine Structural Integrity Monitoring System (PhilSIMS), also led by Uy, signed several agreements with various institutions that adopt the USHER system.

But despite the successes, Uy admitted that some players in the industry are still hesitant about USHER – only because of the tendency to patronize foreign products even if domestic products are of equal or higher quality.

“You know Usher didn’t just come from anywhere, I’m not a businessman who went somewhere abroad and just looked for a product I wanted to sell in the Philippines,” Uy said.

“No, it came from a research study […] And this is the product of, as I say, the best engineering college in the country, the University of Mapua.

“So this didn’t come from anywhere, it was studied,” Uy said in Filipino. “Our proprietary technology is something we can really be proud of,” he said.

“What we’re really lacking is that our Filipino colleagues have confidence in our country, and that’s always a challenge,” he said.

But apart from its accolades—such as being one of 45 winners out of 430 World Summit Awards (WSA) nominations in the “Smart Settlements and Urbanization” category—USHER has a selling point against foreign competitors:

Why buy from foreign suppliers whose maintenance services can cost a lot and take some time when you have a Filipino team ready to answer urgent calls?

“Based on their experience really, they are having a hard time with the aftermarket,” said Uy of foreign technology suppliers. “Because it’s easy at first, I can say that all of the similar products out there will have roughly the same thing to offer at first,” Uy said.

“The product is good, especially if it comes from abroad, they will say it came from Japan, from the United States, etc.,” he said.

But the really problem, then, is the after-sales service,” Uy said.

“We have to understand that when you install this type of device, this is a long-term association,” he said.

“It’s not the end after installation – because the design life of the building or structure is at least 50 years,” Uy said.

“Imagine that it takes long-term engagement and that’s something we’re offering to our customers, that we’re here, we’re local,” he added.

Uy said he hopes more Filipinos can come to terms with the fact that Filipino technology is now outperforming on the global stage as well, just as in the case of USHER. After all, the goal is to protect lives during earthquakes.

“We are Filipinos made, this is our own technology, so if there are problems we can work on, we can do it on our own. No need to ask a foreigner maybe come here just to inspect your building,” he said.

“Our ultimate goal is that there will be more and more USHER deployment, because if there is more USHER deployment, that will be a measure of structural resilience for us because we are able to observe the structures,” he added.

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