San Francisco Building Occupancy Resumption Program (BORP)
We can help you reduce the risk of business interruption after an earthquake by certifying your building is safe – typically within 24 hours – so you don’t have to wait for San Francisco building inspectors to allow you back in the building… which could take 10 days or more.
For the past twenty years, San Francisco building owners have had the option to enroll their properties in the City’s pioneering Building Occupancy Resumption Program (BORP). Registered buildings receive private post-earthquake inspection on an accelerated timeline, facilitating a faster return to business operations following a major event.
San Francisco Business Occupancy Resumption Program Details
In the days following an earthquake, a city’s resources are likely to be stretched thin. Building inspectors and mutual aid workers will prioritize the evaluation of critical infrastructure (hospitals, airports, etc.) and critically damaged buildings. San Francisco’s Department of Building Inspection warns that 3-10 days may pass before the City’s inspectors are able to perform the required rapid safety assessments.
However, in a major event with aftershocks necessitating extra rounds of reviews, the potential for a longer wait likely should not be ruled out. BORP exists for building owners and their tenants interested in a “rapid, individualized emergency response.”
The target turnaround time for the inspection of a BORP-registered building is typically 24 hours.
As part of San Francisco’s program, a written inspection manual is prepared on behalf of the building by a firm employing specially trained and pre-certified, licensed engineers. In creating the manual, the professionals get the opportunity to both familiarize themselves with the structural system and to identify any vulnerabilities that may be easily addressed to lower the risk of damage (missing equipment anchorage, seismic bracing, etc.).
The manual is submitted to the Department of Building Inspection for review, and, upon approval, the deputized professionals are given red, yellow, and green tags to post at the building’s entrances immediately following an earthquake.
If preparation of the inspection manual could be considered the first stage of BORP work, the second and third phases are periodic maintenance and post-disaster implementation. San Francisco’s Department of Building Inspection requires the periodic submittal of a renewal form and updated contact information. Inspectors must maintain their familiarity with both the building itself and the inspection plan, typically performing annual building walk-throughs.
The key benefit to enrollment in BORP and related programs is the reduction in business interruption costs.
The extended downtime that could result from awaiting public inspection is not a practical option for many businesses; for instance, medical research laboratories and financial data centers. Through BORP, not only does the inspection occur much faster, but it also can be performed with a greater degree of certainty.
Pre-certifying a building and inspection plan allows for a more targeted review of the building’s specific vulnerabilities and a more informed, and reduces the risk of an overly conservative assessment of the buildings safety. As structural systems are often concealed and may be complex, a deputized engineer directly familiar with the building (and with a tailored inspection manual in hand) simply is not subject to the same degree of uncertainty a mutual aid inspector would face.
To help clients mitigate the risk of business interruption, Meridian Survey has a team of licensed structural engineers specially trained and certified to act as deputized inspectors through BORP. In participating cities, we can prepare BORP plans resulting in program enrollment and prioritized post-earthquake inspections.
Contact Us Today about enrolling your building in the San Francisco Building Occupancy Resumption Program (BORP).
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COMPANY OVERVIEW:
Meridian Surveying Engineering, Inc., is a San Francisco based Settlement Monitoring and BORP certified Land Surveyor that provides professional land surveying, planning and related design engineering support services to Municipalities, Contractors, Developers, A/E firms, Utilities, and Landowners.
Founded in 1989, Meridian has strategically located offices on Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco, Central San Rafael, Alameda and Santa Rosa CA to strategically serve your survey requirements. Key project managers have extensive experience in accomplishing a variety of Land Surveying, Hydrographic, GIS, GPS, HD 3D Scanning & Civil Engineering support tasks in San Francisco, CA.
Meridian has large and small scale project management experience with clients such as UPS, Apple, Parsons, Kimberly Horn, Parsons Brinkerhoff, Swinerton, Kennedy Jenks, TetraTech, DOW, DuPont, Best Buy, State Farm, CalTrans, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Obyan Beach Resort (on the island of Saipan) and Montezuma Wetlands.
Meridian has extensive experience working for municipalities and Government agencies including The City & County of San Francisco, SMUD, PG&E, Brisbane, City of San Rafael, City of Larkspur, City of Redwood City, Pacifica, City Name, Mill Valley, Lodi, Sunnyvale, Santa Cruz, Petaluma, Tiburon and Berkeley to name a few.
The primary benefit clients receive when they hire Meridian is quality work. Meridian has incorporated the latest automation technologies (AutoCAD, robotic total stations, RTK GPS, Hydrographic Surveying, HD 3D Scanning, data collectors, etc.) thus we deliver the highest levels of accuracy, speed, and flexibility possible. Because of our dedication to continuous improvement, we ask questions, we communicate our approach, and, when it helps us reach our San Francisco Business Occupancy Resumption Program clients’ goals, we create and/or adopt new procedures.
San Rafael Office
777 Grand Avenue, Suite 202
San Rafael, CA 94901
Alameda Office
1101 Marina Village Pkwy Suite 201
Alameda, CA 94501
Santa Rosa Office
3558 Round Barn Blvd Suite 200
Santa Rosa, CA 95403