DNV launches a new service: B-READY. It provides a resilience index for your building and it's occupants to climate-related events.
DNV’s B-READY building resilience assessment tool helps building owners and managers translate climate-related, site-specific risks into actionable resilience strategies. The DNV B-READY Assessment covers over 140 aspects of building resilience, including strategies related to communications and security, electrical systems, fire protection, HVAC; equipment and furnishings, operations, plumbing systems, shell and structure, and site design. The results of the assessment are provided in a technical report that includes the building resilience index (based on a 1 – 100 scale) and a set of recommended resilience measures and projects for improving the building’s ability to withstand climate related events. The recommendations identify probably implications with respect to cost, operations, and occupants. B-READY incorporates a social resilience component in order to assess how resilient a building’s occupants are to climate-related events.
Why B-READY?
By and large, existing buildings were not constructed to withstand the extreme weather events and shifting conditions associated with climate change. Buildings vulnerable to power loss, equipment failures, and other damages may suffer from higher maintenance costs, displacement of tenants, and may be subject to higher insurance costs. Studies have shown that investing in resilience can yield avoided losses of USD 4–6 for every USD 1 invested. Targeted investments to improve the resilience of buildings can add immediate value to owners and occupants through decreased risk, lower operating expenses, and increased occupant health, safety, and wellbeing.
B-READY provides a detailed assessment of the local climatic hazards and a building’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as recommendations for measures that mitigate climate-related risks and improve resilience. Using B-READY can help you prioritize and make targeted investments that reduce your risk. With over a century of risk management expertise, DNV’s risk and resilience experts can help you efficiently identify building vulnerabilities, analyze your building’s resilience, and recommend resilience measures, rooted in industry best practices. B-READY provides a resilience index for your building to allow for benchmarking over time or across a portfolio of buildings. Currently, B-READY is available for commercial, municipal, and multifamily properties.
B-READY Process
Hazard Mapping & Vulnerability Assessment
DNV uses C-GEAR Core (Climatic Geo Enhanced Assessment of Risks), developed by climate scientists in our Group Technology and Research team, to conduct the vulnerability assessment. This is an integrated state-of-the-art tool that consists of several applications and platforms that capture, collect, and monitor information from the environment. Focusing on climate and weather impacts, our aim is to support the decision-making process by translating data into risk-based information.
The "C-GEAR Core" is a virtual platform embedded in a dynamic geographical information system. It consists of a computational core and an intuitive user interface which can be accessed by decision makers, technical experts and other stakeholders. C-GEAR allows users to visualize how climate change will impact their buildings.
Resilience Measures
DNV’s extensive database of resilience measures covers 12 building systems. The measures can be viewed based on climate-related hazard or building system.