FASTENERS PROVE THEIR WORTH IN EARTHQUAKES

As evidenced in San Francisco, Northridge, Kobe and Seattle, the shaking intensity of a forceful earthquake can cripple the unprotected office in a matter of seconds. In the aftermath of the Northridge earthquake, the costs of the disaster to Southern California has been calculated at $30 billion or more according to FEMA and to some insurance estimates. According to the National Center for Earthquake Engineering Research, the damage to desktop computers alone during the Loma Prieta earthquake (San Francisco) was estimated at $100 million.

Least affected in these events were companies that had taken the precaution to fasten down their office contents for just such a contingency-computers, filing cabinets, and other important equipment essential to their business. The rewards were significant-minimal business disruption and departments functionally intact.

"This quake [Northridge] was a heck of a good test for the fasteners, " said Ed Pagenkopp, Administrator for Pacific Bell's Regional Emergency Operations Center in Sherman Oaks, a facility heavily equipped with PCs, TV monitors, communication equipment and desk furniture all fastened with Thumb Lock® fasteners. "We were hit hard," said Pagenkoop. "The fasteners held like a vise." Everything held tight and was fully operational." "Visitors to the EOC were astonished-the rest of the building was trashed." The fasteners were soon standardized by Pacific Bell for all high-tech and general purpose equipment throughout the company's California facilities.

A number of fastening products are marketed for earthquake safety, and have become an integral part of earthquake safety programs. Some of these are credited for having prevented major equipment losses in earthquakes, while preventing the resultant "soft loss" of equipment outages that can be even costlier to the survival of a business.

Fastening down office equipment, tall bookshelves, filing cabinets, desktop computers, and similar items can be very cost-effective and at the same time easy to implement. The up-front product and installation cost is small in comparison to the benefits: protecting people, property, and your business.

For more information, contact Bill Hopkins at Fastening Solutions at (949)661-2893 or visit www.fasteningsolutions.com