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Dave Brunsdon
Chair of MoE’s Engineering Strategy
Dave Brunsdon is a Director of Kestrel Group Ltd, a
consulting practice specialising in risk, continuity and
emergency management. He has a wide range of
experience across the building, infrastructure, emergency
management and research sectors. The majority of his work
involves the co-ordination of complex multi-agency projects
within and across these sectors.
Dave has been responsible over the past decade for
developing and implementing NZ’s national post-disaster
building safety evaluation arrangements, and has played a
significant role in the development of New Zealand's USAR
engineering capability. In September 2010 he assisted the
Christchurch City Council to co-ordinate the building safety
evaluation process, and subsequently led the NZ Urban Search and Rescue Engineering
team in the response to the devastating February 2011 aftershock. During the recovery
phase he has been the Chair of the Engineering Advisory Group to the Ministry of
Business, Innovation and Employment and since late 2012, Chair of the Ministry of
Education’s Engineering Strategy Group.
He is a Life Member of the NZ Society for Earthquake Engineering and Distinguished
Fellow of IPENZ. In December 2012 he received one of the inaugural Silver Awards from
the Minister of Civil Defence in recognition of his contribution to Civil Defence Emergency
Management in New Zealand.
Jerome Sheppard
Manager, Policy, Planning & Standards
Jerome Sheppard is the Manager of the Policy team in the
Schools Infrastructure Group of the Ministry of Education.
The Schools’ Infrastructure Group manages the state school
property portfolio which comprises around 2,300 schools. The
Group is responsible for the overall performance and
management of the property portfolio valued at $19 billion
replacement cost. This property portfolio is the second
largest state sector property portfolio in New Zealand.
Jerome has been involved in property for over 25 years and
more recently has been involved in leading work related to
the Ministry’s response to the Canterbury earthquakes,
including initial responses to ensuring schools were safe to be occupied and more recently
the strategy for repair, assessment and overall policy related to earthquake resilience
ABSTRACT:
Society expects building practices to ensure the safety of occupants. This is accentuated
in our schools, where the safety of our young people is a primary goal.
The Canterbury earthquakes directly affected over 200 schools, yet no students or other
occupants suffered major injuries. Additionally, the typical lightweight timber framed
buildings that make up the bulk of school buildings performed well, and in the great
majority of cases schools were back and operating on existing sites within a matter of
weeks. Internationally, this level of building performance is considered remarkable.
Over the last 50 years, the school property portfolio has gone through a series of
assessment approaches, structural strengthening upgrades and changes to building
methods, following changes to structural standards in New Zealand. The evidence from
Canterbury indicates that these changes to assessment and standards have been effective
at ensuring occupant safety in schools in an earthquake event.
The Ministry has set up an earthquake resilience programme, to learn from building
performance in Canterbury and plan for changes to the portfolio in the future. The
programme includes:
•
gathering evidence of school building performance after the earthquakes
•
development of an assessment methodology that reflects the predominantly
lightweight timber framed nature of the school property portfolio
•
consistent approaches to structural upgrades and repair work
•
appropriate standards for existing and new building work
•
an overall prioritisation framework for assessment and structural upgrade work.
To assist in the development of this programme the Ministry set up an external three
person Engineering Strategy Group (ESG) to provide advice on how best to achieve these
programme outcomes. Each of the three engineers are experienced in earthquake
assessment and strengthening, and have been involved with the school property
portfolio’s previous structural assessment and upgrade programmes.
The ESG has focused on the area of structural assessments, which continues to provide
significant challenges, as the current New Zealand approaches were not designed for
lightweight timber framed building. As a result of this group’s work, the Ministry has an
updated design standards policy and a light-weight timber framed building assessment
guide. The ESG is also co-ordinating efforts to obtain a greater understanding of seismic
performance of light timber framed school buildings through a destructive testing
programme. The results of this work will be fed directly into the update of the NZSEE’s
2006 seismic assessment guidelines.
Back to Speakers overview
consulting practice specialising in risk, continuity and
emergency management. He has a wide range of
experience across the building, infrastructure, emergency
management and research sectors. The majority of his work
involves the co-ordination of complex multi-agency projects
within and across these sectors.
Dave has been responsible over the past decade for
developing and implementing NZ’s national post-disaster
building safety evaluation arrangements, and has played a
significant role in the development of New Zealand's USAR
engineering capability. In September 2010 he assisted the
Christchurch City Council to co-ordinate the building safety
evaluation process, and subsequently led the NZ Urban Search and Rescue Engineering
team in the response to the devastating February 2011 aftershock. During the recovery
phase he has been the Chair of the Engineering Advisory Group to the Ministry of
Business, Innovation and Employment and since late 2012, Chair of the Ministry of
Education’s Engineering Strategy Group.
He is a Life Member of the NZ Society for Earthquake Engineering and Distinguished
Fellow of IPENZ. In December 2012 he received one of the inaugural Silver Awards from
the Minister of Civil Defence in recognition of his contribution to Civil Defence Emergency
Management in New Zealand.
Jerome Sheppard
Manager, Policy, Planning & Standards
Jerome Sheppard is the Manager of the Policy team in the
Schools Infrastructure Group of the Ministry of Education.
The Schools’ Infrastructure Group manages the state school
property portfolio which comprises around 2,300 schools. The
Group is responsible for the overall performance and
management of the property portfolio valued at $19 billion
replacement cost. This property portfolio is the second
largest state sector property portfolio in New Zealand.
Jerome has been involved in property for over 25 years and
more recently has been involved in leading work related to
the Ministry’s response to the Canterbury earthquakes,
including initial responses to ensuring schools were safe to be occupied and more recently
the strategy for repair, assessment and overall policy related to earthquake resilience
ABSTRACT:
Society expects building practices to ensure the safety of occupants. This is accentuated
in our schools, where the safety of our young people is a primary goal.
The Canterbury earthquakes directly affected over 200 schools, yet no students or other
occupants suffered major injuries. Additionally, the typical lightweight timber framed
buildings that make up the bulk of school buildings performed well, and in the great
majority of cases schools were back and operating on existing sites within a matter of
weeks. Internationally, this level of building performance is considered remarkable.
Over the last 50 years, the school property portfolio has gone through a series of
assessment approaches, structural strengthening upgrades and changes to building
methods, following changes to structural standards in New Zealand. The evidence from
Canterbury indicates that these changes to assessment and standards have been effective
at ensuring occupant safety in schools in an earthquake event.
The Ministry has set up an earthquake resilience programme, to learn from building
performance in Canterbury and plan for changes to the portfolio in the future. The
programme includes:
•
gathering evidence of school building performance after the earthquakes
•
development of an assessment methodology that reflects the predominantly
lightweight timber framed nature of the school property portfolio
•
consistent approaches to structural upgrades and repair work
•
appropriate standards for existing and new building work
•
an overall prioritisation framework for assessment and structural upgrade work.
To assist in the development of this programme the Ministry set up an external three
person Engineering Strategy Group (ESG) to provide advice on how best to achieve these
programme outcomes. Each of the three engineers are experienced in earthquake
assessment and strengthening, and have been involved with the school property
portfolio’s previous structural assessment and upgrade programmes.
The ESG has focused on the area of structural assessments, which continues to provide
significant challenges, as the current New Zealand approaches were not designed for
lightweight timber framed building. As a result of this group’s work, the Ministry has an
updated design standards policy and a light-weight timber framed building assessment
guide. The ESG is also co-ordinating efforts to obtain a greater understanding of seismic
performance of light timber framed school buildings through a destructive testing
programme. The results of this work will be fed directly into the update of the NZSEE’s
2006 seismic assessment guidelines.
Back to Speakers overview
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