Earthquakes can be very dangerous for buildings, business and human life. The majority of earthquakes are not going to destroy buildings but can lead to business interruption or bodily injury. Mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems like sprinkler systems can go offline, damaging the building or adjacent building systems and causing business interruption. Although geographic regions may recover from a major seismic event, an estimated 15 percent of business is lost forever due to an inability to relocate, renovate or divert shipping needs. Thus, preventative measures like seismic bracing, are essential in seismically active regions and in sensitive structures.

Swaying and colliding generally causes damage to nonstructural components. For example, if one service is braced properly, it can still be damaged by unbraced services nearby. Proper bracing does not prevent components from moving but ensures the structure and everything inside it move in unison.

When the building is impacted by the earthquake and nonstructural components move, damage can be catastrophic. Therefore, hanging services like pipe, conduit, duct and cable tray must be braced. Similarly, large units on the ground like panel boards, power generators, air conditioners, furnaces and pumps need to be anchored to prevent tipping or sliding.

nVent CADDY has been a leading brand in seismic protection for fire protection systems, and recently expanded its seismic product line and capabilities to enable bracing of fire protection, electrical, mechanical, plumbing and datacom installations. nVent CADDY also offers application engineering, design support and inspection assistance, aiming to deploy a convenient, cost-effective and proven seismic protection system to both save lives and ensure business continuity in seismic conditions.