Volume 4, Number 6, April 2007TASK COMMITTEE B WORKSHOPFIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC RESEARCH PLAN ONTECHNOLOGIES FOR NEXT GENERATION BUILDINGSTask Committee B, Next Generation Buildings and Infrastructure Systems conducted a Workshop during
25-26 February 2007 addressing high-performance buildings’ abilities to better resist the effects fromextreme wind, earthquakes, and fire loads and to effect informed decisions about design procedures thatincorporate environmental quality and sustainability. The Workshop was sponsored by the U.S. NationalScience Foundation and Japan’s Building Research Institute. At the Workshop the US and Japanparticipants identified two enabling foundations that the design and construction industry and owners,facility managers, and users must embrace:
1. Building Hazard Resilience and
2. Building Health and Sustainability.
Through this international exchange of technical information evolved a process to develop a five-year
strategic research plan that addresses high-performance buildings’ abilities to better resist the effects fromextreme winds, earthquakes, and fire loads and to effect inform decisions about design procedures thatincorporate environmental quality and sustainability. This evolution was achieved through clustering withthe Panel’s Task Committee D on Wind Engineering and Task Committee I on Structural Fire Performanceand collaborating with experts in discipline areas of Indoor Air Quality, Public Health Following Disasters,and Buildings of 2020. Addressing these themes is central to advancing the Panel’s mission for new
technologies and methods that support improved design and construction practices and sustainabledevelopment.
The workshop focused on:a. Reviewing state-of-knowledge in selected hazard areas and current approaches to key issues inmultiple hazard design of buildings. The issues include:• High-performance materials and advanced technologies• Performance-based design methodology• Multi-hazard resistance design -- earthquakes, wind, fires, environmental health hazards
including indoor air quality and biological threats• Advanced building sensor and data/intelligence management systems• Innovative building physical security system and proceduresb. Identifying goals and defining the scope of T/C B activities in the focus area of High-Performance
Buildings during the next five years (2007-2011).
c. Formulating an action plan to achieve the goals through implementation of cooperative projects.
At the 39th Joint Panel Meeting and shortly thereafter the Task Committee will finalize its five-year research
and action plan with targeted research activities that incorporate advanced technologies to improve theperformance and resilience of buildings to multi-hazards.
Contacts: Dr. George Lee, MCEER, University at Buffalo, gclee@buffalo.edu; Dr. Takashi Kaminosono,
Building Research Institute, kamino@kenken.go.jp; and Dr. Masaomi Teshigawara, Nagoya University,Nagoya, teshi@corot.nuac.nagoya-u.ac.jp

“DISASTER INFORMATION SYSTEM”- EVALUATION AND REFINEMENT BY DEMONSTRATIONEXPERIMENT AND DRILL Introduction
Since FY2003 the Earthquake Prevention Division of the National Institute for Land and InfrastructureManagement (NILIM) working in collaboration with NILIM’s Information Technology Division and theInformation Access Division of the Geographical Survey Institute (GSI) jointly developed the “DisasterInformation System” (referenced below as the System). The objective of the System is to provide a platform
for information sharing among several organizational sections and enhance the capabilities on earthquake
crisis management within related organizational sections and their staff. To achieve this objective research
focused on performing two thrusts:i) Harmonization between information system and the current workflow. An initial survey of existingdisaster information systems identified a key factor to the success of the System’s introduction is its ability to
be consistent with current business transactions. In general, current transaction of business ofadministrative bodies is rigid; the newly-introduced System is expected to allow for mutual harmonization of
the current task flow. Most related systems that ignore this principle are abandoned.
ii) Continuous evaluation and refinement. Evaluations and refinements have been performed throughout
the development process. This System was developed under close cooperation with the Chubu Regional
Bureau (CRB), Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT) and introduced to CRB as a test modeland incorporated into practice in August 2006. Evaluations and refinements of the System have continued.
Demonstration Experiment
An important finding from this demonstration experiment is the importance of current transaction of businessof all related staff. Evaluation findings from the national highway offices and the river offices under the CRB
have been incorporated into the System for improvements.
Disaster Prevention Drill
In Japan, the 1st of September memorializes the M 8.3 Great Kanto Earthquake that struck the Kanto Plainand destroyed Tokyo on 1 September, 1923. Annually on the first of September, Disaster Prevention Drills
are conducted throughout Japan. During CRB’s Drill, the System was operated as a tool for information
communication between CRB and its branch offices. After the Drill, System researchers conducted users’survey and incorporated the result into the System’s development.
Future Challenge
The System is expected to provide useful information when future earthquakes strike the Chubu region. TheSystem is achieving a higher level of crisis management through information sharing within the Chubu
region. It is expected other Japan Regional Bureaus will recognize the importance of information sharing
and will introduce the System into their practice.

Disaster Information System Demonstration ExperimentContact: Yasuhiro Shoji, National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management, shoji-y92pc@nilim.go.jp