Training
Training takes many forms and long ago our director at +Lab recognized a gap in providing forms of training to address challenges in preparing before disasters as well as how to respond when a disaster takes place.
There is a gap in Industry understanding of what resilience is, how it relates to risk, what does it look like? Furthermore, how can the AEC industry engage in building a resilient future? The +LAB and its team offer varying degrees of resilience and regenerative training through exercises, community engagement and partnership. We have a cadre of certified personnel, from CERT and Cal EMA SAP trainers as well as certified trainers through NDPTC.
If you’re seeking to elevate your team or add competency in recognition of resilient measures and capacity, let our team give you a hand.
CHALLENGE
Communities across the United States and the world have been on a steep learning curve to understand and address the impacts of climate change and the risks associated with where they live. Preparing communities through training - of agency officials, architects, and engineers - to design better buildings capable of withstanding shocks while building resilient capacity is an enormous challenge. Post-disaster training, focused on going into the field to evaluate and assess damage following disasters and weather-related disturbances, presents an additional set of challenges. A broader challenge is educating the AEC industry about designing resilient buildings that can withstand the challenges of climate change and associated extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, windstorms, fires, and earthquakes.
ROLE
We recognized that there were various gaps in getting essential certifications and knowledge to qualified professionals and leaders. +LAB has certified instructors for the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) Safety Assessment Program (SAP) and as well as certified trainers with the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center (NDPTC) for FEMA-approved various courses, including the HURRIPLAN Resilient Building Design for Coastal Communities. Through this work, our methods of community engagement and wholistic approach to design have been part of our consultation services. The office trains design teams and professionals on a variety of assessment methods and resilient strategies to elevate the consciousness and spreading essential knowledge and skillsets to communities across the United States and the world.
OUTCOME
We have been part of training thousands of design professionals, code officials and community stakeholders over the years. Through the HURRIPLAN Resilient Building Design for Coastal Communities program, we have trained hundreds of people throughout the U.S. and its territories.
Our director has trained thousands in SAP - Saftey Assessment Program Certification. Managed by CalOES, the SAP program certifies AEC professionals as building evaluators.
Training scores of building crews in proper reconstruction techniques. Working with local builders in US. Virgin Islands, Dominica and the Bahamas crews have incorporated essential techniques into their recovery and rebuilding efforts.
As trained second responders, members of the +Lab team have deployed to disasters around the world, including post-Tohoku Japan, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Dominica. Our Director has coordinated disaster relief in Nepal, Colombia, Costa Rica, Haiti, the Philippines, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and the Bahamas.
