lDynamic Certification Laboratory
CUSTOMER CASE STUDY

Healthy Shakedown
MTS supports the launch of a new seismic certification facility for hospital equipment.

Dynamic Certification Laboratory (DCL), a new contract test facility in Sparks, Nevada,focuses specifically on California Office of Statewide Health and Development (OSHPD)
certification, which mandates that all “nonstructural” equipment used in healthcare facilities
meet certain requirements for seismic readiness. When enlisted to help plan the DCL facility inearly 2009, Dr. Patrick Laplace turned to MTS for a mechanical test solution capable of generating
the complex displacement, velocity and acceleration required for OSHPD certification.
C US T OM E R CH A LLEN G E

Seismic activity occurs to some degree every day in the southwestern U.S., especially
California. To protect people and property, strict laws are in place to ensure that all
equipment used in public facilities will withstand the forces of a major earthquake.

“We had a specific and difficult requirement but
didn’t have the expertise to realize it, and MTS
fulfilled that need perfectly through its technology
and service.”— Patrick Laplace, PhD

Member, Board of Directors,
Dynamic Certification Laboratory (DCL)
Large Scale Structures Laboratory Manager,
University of Nevada, Reno (UNR)

The California Office of Statewide Health and Development (OSHPD) enforces one
such law, which mandates that all “nonstructural” equipment used in healthcare facilities— generators, HVAC systems, storage shelves, TV wall-mounting brackets, etc. — meetcertain requirements for seismic readiness. In recent years, OSHPD certification
requirements have moved away from numerical modeling and toward more specificand rigorous modes of mechanical testing.
Consequently, demand has steadily risen for OSHPD certification testing services, and thedemand has drifted well beyond California state lines. OSHPD provisions are now part of
the International Building Code adopted by many U.S. states. They are also being used inChina and Japan.
In early 2009, Joe La Brie, a structural engineer from California, began planning theconstruction of a contract test facility focused specifically on OSHPD certification. He
found an ideal site in Sparks, Nevada, just a few miles from University of Nevada, Reno(UNR) and its significant seismic engineering resources. In addition to hiring test
engineers and technicians, La Brie also enlisted the expertise of Dr. Patrick Laplace tohelp make smart facility planning decisions at the outset.
Dr. Laplace, a structural engineer who has managed UNR’s Large Scale Structures
Laboratory for 11 years, knew that generating the necessary seismic motions for OSHPD
certification would be a primary challenge for the new facility. These motions prescribe
severe and complex displacement, velocity and acceleration response spectra from which
a motion time history must be generated. Adding another layer of complexity, the spectra
must be matched within extremely tight bounds.
Dr. Laplace also recognized another reality for this type of testing: you only get one
chance to get it right.

be certain.

CUSTOMER CASE STUDY“Clients ship one test article for OSHPD
certification, which are often unfit for
use after being subjected to a simulated
earthquake,” Dr. Laplace said. “So if the test
isn’t performed correctly, it’s back to square
one and both the test lab and the client areout lots of time and money. I couldn’t
overstress the importance of specifying thebest test technology available for this newcertification lab. From my decades ofseismic testing experience, I knew we had
to work with MTS.”
MT S SOL U TIONIn May 2010, the 7,500-square-footDynamic Certification Laboratory(DCL) officially opened for business,with Dr. Laplace serving on its Board ofDirectors. The MTS 353.20 Multiaxial
Simulation Table (MAST™) was selected
as an off-the-shelf test system from thestandard MTS offering, so that the lab
could begin running certification tests
as quickly as possible.
Although the MAST system is primarily
used for automotive vibration testing, MTS
and DCL staff determined that it is also
ideally suited for OSHPD certification
testing. “MTS really got creative here,
which is something I’ve grown to value
during my history of working with thiscompany,” Laplace said. “Instead of confining
their search to their seismic test solutions
offering, MTS engineers took a step back,listened carefully to what we were trying toachieve, and found the best possible
solution, albeit from a surprising place.”lDCL also specified a high-capacity MTSSilentFlo™ 120gpm Hydraulic Power Unit(HPU) to provide the oil flow needed toproduce the lower-frequency seismic
motions with relatively large strokes anddisplacements required for OSHPD testing.
Advanced MTS control technology andeasy-to-use application software facilitate
the precise, repeatable control of force andmotion required to meet the narrow test
parameters set forth in the OSHPD code,
while keeping data acquisition and time
history generation processes tightly
synchronized.
“The simplicity, reliably and turnkey natureof the MTS test system allowed DCL tofocus immediately on the testing, which
helped us get off to the strong start weneeded,” Laplace said. “The system performs
exactly as specified, and operators wererunning qualification tests the minute weturned them loose. Our first OSHPD
certification was completed just a few
weeks after the MTS MAST system wascommissioned. Pretty amazing.”
C US T OM E R BEN EFI TS

According to Dr. Laplace, partnering with
MTS played an integral role in making DCL
such a success from the very beginning.
“We had a specific and difficult requirement
but didn’t have the expertise to realize it,
and MTS fulfilled that need perfectly
through its technology and service,”
Laplace said. “The MAST system andsupporting technology make it simple togenerate the specific seismic qualification
motions needed, with superior dataacquisition tools to give us confidence inthe test results. We are truly a one-stop
shop for OSHPD certification testing.”

The MTS 353.20 MAST™ system proved
instrumental in helping DCL quickly establish
OSHPD certification testing capabilities

Laplace says that as seismic compliancerequirements continue to evolve, DCL willleverage the adaptability of MTS hardware
and software to keep pace. “The MAST
system is the first of hopefully several stagesof growth for DCL. If in the future DCL
requires a second MAST table, MTS has theknowledge and capabilities to seamlessly
link the two systems together and operatethem as one. This may prove useful forrunning OSHPD certification tests onlarger, more spatially distributed equipment.
“The bottom line is that the infrastructure isalready in place, and making modifications
will be relatively affordable and easy to do,”Laplace said. “DCL is already phenomenallybusy this early on, so there is already talkabout possibilities for expansion. The
current MTS infrastructure serves as aperfect foundation for wherever we decideto go next.”

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