Risk-Based Structural Evaluation Methods

Prepared by Technical Council on Life-Cycle Performance, Safety, Reliability, and Risk of Structural Systems of the Structural Engineering Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers

Risk-Based Structural Evaluation Methods: Best Practices and Development of Standards provides a comprehensive summary of the findings from a survey of attitudes of researchers, structural engineers, and government agencies to risk-informed structural engineering practices and a follow-up workshop. Risk analysis principles are well established from a theoretical point of view; however, a number of barriers have hampered a wide-scale implementation of risk-based methods in decision-making processes. This book examines the progress made on the application of risk-based structural evaluation methods (RBsEM) and provides recommendations to help enhance their implementation in engineering practice. The issues addressed include:

• Risk evaluation for new and existing structural systems,
• Hazard assessment and statistical projection of expected extreme natural and human-made events,
• Probabilistic analysis of structural systems,
• Assessment of physical damage to structures and infrastructure systems and evaluation of consequences,
• Estimation of associated direct and indirect losses and risk quantification,
• Risk communication to different stakeholders including the general public,
• Establishment of optimum risk acceptance criteria that take into consideration public attitudes toward risk, and
• Prioritization of risk mitigation strategies.

This report will be a valuable resource for engineers, owners, regulators, and policy makers working toward implementation of RBsEM as the basis for managing our structure and infrastructure systems.