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Seismic Retrofit Guidance

In 2004, the Ministry of Education (EDUC) engaged Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia (BC), with support from the University of British Columbia (UBC) Civil Engineering Department, to assist with the implementation of a seismic upgrade program for low-rise school buildings in BC.  

The long-term goal of this program is to mitigate, within a reasonable period of time, the risk of seismically deficient buildings in EDUC’s inventory. The SRG were developed to achieve two important goals: 

  1. Implement seismic retrofits that achieve a life safety objective in a cost-effective manner 
  2. To adopt a common engineering approach to the seismic retrofit of low-rise school buildings 

The EDUC has directed that the Seismic Retrofit Guidelines (SRG) be applied to all schools undergoing a seismic assessment and retrofit under their school seismic mitigation program. On a voluntary basis, with appropriate permissions from authorities having jurisdiction and/or project decision-makers, the SRG may be used for other low-rise buildings in BC.  

Training on SRG 

Only firms who have had one or more registrants trained on the current SRG are granted access to the guidelines and seismic performance analyzer. At this time, the training requirements are mandatory for structural engineering firms to conduct seismic assessments and retrofits using the SRG and optional for geotechnical engineering firms.  

The current version of SRG is the Seismic Retrofit Guidelines, 2020 Edition (SRG 2020). The Seismic Retrofit Guidelines, 2023 Edition (SRG 2023) will be released and training will occur in the fall.  

Additional Information

Read more on this page:

Project Initiation, Documents and Resources 

To initiate a new seismic project identification report (SPIR) under EDUC’s seismic mitigation program, the structural engineer of record is required to: 

  1. Log in to the School Seismic Upgrade Program Member Portal and complete the Initiate New SPIR Project form. 
  2. Record the SPIR number provided on the confirmation page. 
  3. When a new project is initiated, the portal confirmation is also sent to the TRB Manager. 
  4. The TRB Manager will assign TRB Reviewers to the project and will advise the Engineer of Record accordingly.
  5. The Engineer of Record and the assigned TRB Reviewers are then required to communicate with each other to discuss project details, timelines, and expectations. 
  6. Work can then start on the SPIR. 

Engineering firms should use the standard fee schedule for SPIRs as outlined in the SPIR Guidelines document. 

If you are a structural engineer working in one or more school districts interested in gaining access to the online database that tracks seismic risk and status of all schools in British Columbia, as well as school key plans, photos, and completed SPIRs, please fill out the Confidentiality Agreement and email it to Allison Chen, Manager, Built Environment and Seismic Initiatives at Engineers and Geoscientists BC. 

Supporting Documents:

Technical Review Board Memorandums:

Key Contacts

Allison Chen, Manager, Built Environment and Seismic Initiatives
[email protected] 
604.412.4880 

Phillip Chambers, TRB Manager 
[email protected] 
250.216.8906 

History and Administration

The implementation of EDUC’s SMP for BC schools included the development of seismic assessment tools and guidelines for the performance-based seismic retrofit of BC school buildings. 

The advice and technical assistance of Engineers and Geoscientists BC in this area has been provided to the EDUC through the organization’s Seismic Peer Review Committee. The committee is comprised of professional engineers with specific expertise in seismic assessment and retrofits of buildings, appointed by the Board of Engineers and Geoscientists BC. 

The EDUC has also worked with Engineers and Geoscientists BC to fund the establishment of a Technical Review Board consisting of structural and geotechnical engineers. The board updates the Seismic Retrofit Guidelines (SRG), provides technical reviews of Seismic Project Identification Reports (SPIRs), responds to questions and comments regarding the application of the SRG, and advises the Seismic Peer Review Committee on innovative seismic retrofit techniques which should proceed to formal testing. 

Only firms who have had one or more registrants trained on the current SRG are granted access to the guidelines and seismic performance analyzer. Five versions of the Seismic Retrofit Guidelines (SRG) have been released to date:  

  • Bridging Guidelines (2006) 
  • SRG-1 (May 2011) 
  • SRG-2 (November 2013) 
  • SRG-3 (June 2017) 
  • SRG 2020 (November 2022)
  • SRG 2023 (coming Fall 2024) 

The guidelines have evolved as detailed below:  

  • The (interim) Bridging Guidelines for the Performance-based Seismic Retrofit of BC Schools were created to provide consistent and rational retrofit methodologies for Engineers and Geoscientists BC members who were undertaking work on the seismic assessment and retrofit of BC schools. 
  • SRG-1 replaced the Bridging Guidelines. 
  • SRG-2 applied the same performance-based methodology used in the previous editions, but also included enhanced information on seismicity by community and common school construction types, prioritizing structural elements that are at greatest risk, as well as a complementary web-based tool (Seismic Performance Analyzer [Analyzer I]) which allows practitioners to instantly generate seismic resistance criteria for specific types of construction. 
  • SRG-3 was expanded to include pre-event and post-event evaluation and retrofit design, consideration for liquefaction potential, updated seismic hazard data per the 2015 National Building Code, and further refined Analyzer I.  
  • SRG 2020 incorporates the seismic hazard data from the 2020 National Building Code and introduces new definitions for damage state drift limits—from minor damage to total damage—to further aid the ranking of school blocks within the existing rating system. Notably, SRG2020 includes two new geotechnical features: Vs30 and site-specific response analysis. 
  • SRG 2023 will be released in fall 2024 and include refinements to the research and guidance on Vs30 and site-specific response analysis, incorporation of Vs30 into Analyzer I, updates to post-earthquake evaluations, and additional retrofit strategies, particularly for wood frame classrooms.  

Awards and Recognition

The Seismic Retrofit Guidelines have been recognized for their innovation and technical expertise. Awards include: 

  • Canadian Society of Civil Engineering – Excellence in Innovation in Civil Engineering (2010) 
  • Association of Consulting Engineering Companies BC – 'Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Engineering Excellence' and 'Award of Excellence - Soft Engineering' (2013) 
  • Association of Consulting Engineering Companies Canada – 'Engineering a Better Canada Award' and 'Award of Excellence – Special Projects' (2013) 
  • Applied Technology Council (ATC) and Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) of the American Society of Civil Engineers – 'Champions of Earthquake Resilience Award - Extraordinary Innovation in Seismic Protection of Buildings’ (2015) 
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