USRC Getting to Silver Ratings

The USRC Getting to Silver Rating provides a means for owners to achieve a USRC designation that sets their buildings apart as contributing to a resilient community and as good long term investments. A Getting to Silver Rating is:

  • awarded three stars in each dimension of SAFETY, DAMAGE and RECOVERY,

  • for buildings built to post 2000 building codes,

  • recognized by the USGBC in their RELi® resilience standard,

  • transparent – using national standards,
  • credible – designed to prevent manipulation,

  • easy for the lay person to understand.
An owner of a modern (post 2000) building can typically obtain a USRC Silver rating just by establishing memorandums of understanding with their engineer and contractor to perform an inspection and begin repairs after an earthquake, and with their lender or insurer to make sure that adequate repair financing is in place. It achieves performance in key measures of Safety, Damage and Recovery, indicating expected seismic performance:
  • in which loss of life caused directly by damage is not anticipated,

  • with an average repair cost of 20% or less of the building’s replacement cost,

  • with a functional recovery time of less than six months.

Getting to Silver Checklist

For Getting to Silver Rating pricing contact the US Resiliency Council

Ready to apply for a USRC rating? Click here to begin.

Disclaimer

USRC Rating Definitions have been derived from technical publications originally developed by the Structural Engineers Association of Northern California (SEAONC). SEAONC granted the USRC permission to use these documents. Any differences between USRC Ratings and related SEAONC documents are solely the work of the USRC and do not reflect any opinion, endorsement, or approval by SEAONC. While US codes and engineering practices are among the most advanced in the world, evaluations of building performance subject to natural disasters include a significant amount of uncertainty: unknowns related to forecasting actual event location, size and duration, the actual intensity to which the building is subject, and the quality of the building design and construction. Current building analysis, evaluation and correlation methods do not address or remove all these sources of uncertainty. Due to many factors including but not limited to variations in construction, differing site conditions, and variations in natural and man-made events, the performance evaluation of a single building includes a significant amount of uncertainty.