You may have noticed that despite warnings about being prepared, many businesses weren’t ready when New Zealand was rocked by an earthquake. The same thing is true of facilities stateside when it comes to laboratory fastening.
The unpredictability of earthquakes means a laboratory that hasn’t undergone a program of non-structural seismic mitigation runs an inordinately high risk of damage and loss of equipment that could result in the loss of critical research data. And there are lots of labs in this category.
More often than not laboratory fastening is well down a business’s list of priorities, but the reality is being prepared is the wisest choice you can make if your company runs a lab in an earthquake zone.
Not sure if you’re in a seismic zone? There are excellent maps on the USGS website that will answer that question.
Earthquake experts constantly sound the warning bells about us being overdue for a big one, so it makes good business sense to listen to them and do something proactive about seismic mitigation on your campus. And it’s not just the West Coast that’s at risk; states in the Midwest and South have the New Madrid fault to worry about.
The bottom line is if you live in earthquake country don’t behave as if you don’t. Heed the warnings and do something now about laboratory fastening before your business is knocked into next week by the next big earthquake.
There’s a reason why that old saying ‘better safe than sorry’ was coined in the first place.
Seismic Mitigation
If you are an EH&S or facilities manager, the question you really need to ask yourself is can you afford not to have a seismic safety program in place for your lab? The answer is abundantly clear - no, you can’t. Why? Because it helps to create a safer work environment, it complies with OSHA safety codes and it will ensure your business continuity.
To that end, laboratory fastening programs can be custom designed for every aspect of your facility.
Typically, labs contain all kinds of valuable equipment such as HPLCs, mass spectrometers, centrifuges, robots and a host of other countertop items.
There are also Minus 80s, deli coolers, production equipment, flammable cabinets and liquid nitrogen tanks. It all needs to be fastened down.
There are innovative and cost effective methods of floor equipment fastening for all these things based on client preference.
All laboratory fastening work can meet Seismic Zone 4 standards, or better, and getting it done is not difficult. A site survey will determine what needs to be done to secure your equipment.
The biggest mistake you can make is to procrastinate. Many business owners fall into the trap of thinking they can put it off until next week, next month or the next financial year - just ask people in Christchurch how that worked out for them.
As mentioned above, if your lab isn’t secured beforehand, you could lose your expensive equipment and all of your valuable data in the next earthquake.
Seismic Protection Products and Services
Earthquakes are unpredictable, so being prepared is the most practical course of action to take. If your equipment is unsecured it could be damaged or lost and the best way to prevent that from happening is to take action now to avoid major financial and logistical headaches later.
QuakeHOLD! Industrial is the leader in laboratory fastening and earthquake preparedness. Check us out and research the full range of seismic protection products and services that we offer. And regardless of the size of your lab, a free evaluation will determine how best to meet your needs. If you run a lab in an earthquake zone you need to be prepared and we strongly encourage you to start the process of laboratory fastening today.
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