The USC University Hospital in Los Angeles opened in 1991 as the nation's first base-isolated hospital. The hospital sustained only minor damage in the January 1994 Northridge earthquake. The bearings are very flexible in the horizontal direction, which isolates the building from shaking of the ground during an earthquake. Currently, testing standards do not exist for these three types of tests. Standards would provide comparable data on different seismic base isolation systems and components and would define minimum levels of acceptable performance.
Guidelines are often the first step in the standards-making process.
The testing guidelines, formulated over a three-year period with extensive industry collaboration, have been developed to be independent of the application, such as buildings, bridges, and storage tanks and of the type of isolation system. SD researchers, led by Dr. Andrew Taylor, believe that these guidelines will lead to the development of reliable and high-quality seismic base isolation systems. Those who work or live in buildings with elevators know the cardinal rule that in a fire one is to use the stairways and not the elevator. It may come as a surprise to learn that fire fighters use elevators during fires to get themselves and their equipment to higher levels. While today's elevators are not designed for fire egress and should not be used for evacuation, there is growing concern over how to evacuate people, especially those with disabilities that prevent them from using stairs.