Mr. Shekerlian is a Registered Structural and Civil Engineer with over 30 years of structural engineering, project management, and design experience. He specializes in the investigation and analysis of failures in structural and non-structural building systems, accidents associated with construction activities and operational facilities, and evaluation of building code issues. He has specialized expertise in damage evaluation and repair of structures subjected to earthquakes and hurricanes and has evaluated hundreds of existing buildings utilizing state-of-the-art techniques.
In areas of earthquake investigation, he has conducted building assessments, provided recommendations for retrofit, and implemented repairs for earthquake-damaged facilities. He has studied earthquake damage following the 1989 Loma Prieta, 1990 Philippines, 1991 Costa Rica, 1992 Landers Big Bear, 1994 Northridge, 1999 Izmit, Turkey, 1999 Hector Mines, 2001 Nisqually, 2003 San Simeon, and 2006 Hawaii earthquakes.
In areas of hurricane investigations, he has conducted building assessments, provided repair recommendations, and implemented repairs for hurricane damaged facilities. He has studied hurricane damage following the 2004 Ivan, 2005 Katrina, and 2005 Rita hurricanes.
Mr. Shekerlian has been the structural engineer-in-charge for new design projects including industrial buildings, low-and high-rise office buildings, and hanger structures. Mr. Shekerlian has evaluated the dynamic response of structural support systems for nuclear power plants, and has qualified mechanical and electrical equipment for structural/seismic integrity through testing and analyses.
Structural Failures World Trade Center. Analysis of structural and non-structural response and damage at the WTC as a result of the September 11, 2001 attack.
Olivenhain Dam. Investigation and analysis of the collapse of a cantilevered steel truss conveyor system used to place roller compacted concrete during the construction of the dam. Based on the configuration of the debris and the failure of specific connections, a stepped analysis was performed to verify the sequence of the collapse and determine the origin of the collapse.
Westfield Shopping Center. Investigation and analysis of cracking and distress in a prestressed/precast concrete parking structure. A structural analysis was performed to determine the adequacy of the design for the precast double tees, L-shaped spandrels, dap ends, button corbels, and embed plates.
Lakewood Cove Apartments. Investigation of fire damage to a three-story wood-framed apartment building that consisted of identifying the extent of damage, the repairs necessary to return the building back to pre-fire condition, and to meet building code requirements and approvals based on the extent of damage.
Metro Gold Line. Investigation of concrete spalling and cracking of shear keys near the Chinatown aerial tramway station in Los Angeles. As part of the investigation, non-destructive techniques were implemented to identify as-built conditions and location of steel reinforcement. A cost-effective repair scheme was also developed.
Fountainbleau Casino. Investigation of a parking structure that collapsed during construction. A detailed investigation was performed that included systematic debris removal to identify the actual failure mechanism and location. Field work was supplemented with a structural analysis to confirm the failure mechanism based on loading at the time of the collapse.
Structural Design—Commercial Northrop, Hawthorne, and Pico Rivera Facilities. The scope of work included the design of a maskant tank and drying room addition to Building 1-58 and a vapor recovery system for Paint Booth 23 in Hawthorne, a vapor recovery system for Building K-8 in Torrance, and an expansion of Building 218 in Pico Rivera.
McDonnell Douglas, Building 5 Expansion. The work scope included the construction of the Aircraft Metal Finishing and Chemical Milling Processing Facility. The processing system consisted of anodizing, alodining, and chemical milling with maskant subprocess. The structure is a 216,000-square-foot industrial facility that houses 5 chemical milling tanks, 12 anodic tanks, and 1 maskant tank. The structure supports several 15-ton cranes from the roof trusses that span 160 feet.
Rockwell International, Buildings 221, 235 and 203. The work scope included seismic risk evaluation and retrofit of several large research and manufacturing buildings at the Rockwell Anaheim facility. The buildings were two-story structures with tilt-up wall panels, gypsum roof or metal deck diaphragms, and a concrete second floor. Three retrofit concepts were provided (exterior shear walls, interior shear walls, and buttress system).
Science Applications International Corporation. Detailed structural analysis of all Campus Point buildings. Provided recommendations for selected seismic upgrades. Developed detailed equipment and non-structural anchorage/bracing detail manual.
J.P. Morgan Investment Management, Water Garden Complex, Santa Monica, California. Project Manager for a damage assessment of the steel moment-frame connections for two multi-story buildings that are supported by a below grade cast-in-place concrete parking structure. Random steel joints were inspected and several cracked connections were discovered. Complete construction documents for repair were prepared (City of Santa Monica jurisdiction) and implementation of the repairs was undertaken during off-hours to minimize disruption to building tenants.
Callaway Golf. Development of construction documents for the seismic upgrade of a steel frame office building in San Diego, California.
Brinderson Towers. This design project consisted of six structures: a 15-story, 386,000-square-foot, ductile steel-frame office building; a 13-story, 300,000-square-foot, ductile steel-frame office building with a shear wall basement; two post-tensioned parking structures; a cast-in-place parking and plaza structure; and a central plant.
Koll Center in Orange. Structural design of a 14-story, 200,000-square-foot, ductile steel-frame office building.
Texas Instruments Corp. Field investigation of process and assembly equipment seismic vulnerabilities for the Texas Instruments semiconductor manufacturing facility in Bagio, Philippines. This facility was heavily damaged during the July 1990 Philippines Earthquake.
Plan Check/Plan Review California Department of Corrections, California Division of the State Architect; California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. Responsible for structural/seismic plan-checking of various school, healthcare and prison facilities.
Best Buy Distribution Center in Denuba, California. The distribution center consisted of a one-story tilt-up structure with approximately 750,000 square feet of floor area. The structure also supports conveying systems and there are hundreds of storage racks throughout the warehouse. In addition, the peer of the building provided review of non-structural items such as the storage racks.
Structural/Seismic Reviews for Del Webb Corporation, Sun City Palm Springs. Wood-framed condominium, other attached and detached housing units, and administration and recreation facilities in Sun City, Palm Springs. Evaluated structural designs by the engineer-of-record for conformance to the intent of the code and recommend design improvements as appropriate. Provided construction observation services to ensure that recommendations were implemented by the contractor.
Residential Investigations Managed the implementation of a pilot program to perform 200 assessments for the Applied Technology Council in the earthquake evaluation of wood-framed dwellings for the City of Los Angeles.
Evaluation of the structural system performance of a two-story, wood-frame complex. The facility had suffered extensive cracking in the walls and ceilings. After destructive investigations and analyses, the resulting damage was attributed to structural design defects and soil failures.
Uhlmann Residence, Sherman Oaks, California. Project Manager responsible for a damage assessment and development of repair details for a 3,000-square-foot, two-story wood-framed structure. Also performed structural engineering studies for a new addition to the existing residential building.
Residential Earthquake and Hurricane Damage and Repairs. Investigations of various single-family and multi-family residential buildings that were damaged as a result of several earthquakes and hurricanes. Investigations consisted of assessing damage, developing repair methods, and implementing strengthening designs.
Government Facilities Emergency Operations Center, Camarillo, California. Project Manager for the seismic retrofit of equipment and non-structural systems in the Ventura County Emergency Operations Center.
Ventura County Medical Center. Project Manager for the structural evaluation for the hospital facilities to determine the building and equipment performance categories in accordance with Senate Bill 1953. Scope of work includes detailed calculations and providing a final report of findings for the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. Total square footage of the facility is nearly 200,000 with concrete and masonry shear wall construction.
Redland's Municipal Corporation Yard. The project included the design of several Type V structures.
Air Force Anechoic Facility. The work scope included the design and construction of a 132,000-square-foot Parent Building that houses a 66,000-square-foot Anechoic Chamber. Within the chamber is an 80-foot diameter by 30-foot deep turntable used to rotate aircraft during testing. The Parent Building itself is a hanger-type structure with braced frames and roof trusses spanning 320 feet, and houses four levels of offices, equipment, and storage space.
Industrial Facilities Northrop Building 902, El Segundo, California. Project Manager for the design and development of construction documents for seismic strengthening of a 750,000-square-foot industrial building. Responsible for providing construction support throughout the project including on-call field support, resolving field interferences, and construction observation. The retrofit of this one-story wood truss structure, constructed in the early 1940’s, includes the addition of steel columns and truss strengthening constructed with no interruption of the ongoing production in the building.
Anheuser-Busch, Van Nuys Power House. The work scope included the seismic risk evaluation and retrofit of the Powerhouse building at the Van Nuys facility. The structure, built in 1954, consisted of steel moment and braced frames. The retrofit incorporated additional bracing and a lateral buttress system.
Educational Facilities
University of California at Irvine. Seismic risk assessments of all buildings at the University of California at Irvine, including all campus buildings, student housing, School of Medicine and UCI Medical Center. Buildings consisted primarily of 1960s vintage, multi-story concrete frame and concrete shearwall construction. Detailed structural analysis and preliminary retrofit concepts are being developed for several high-risk buildings.
International Projects Seismic risk assessment for all Bristol-Myers Squibb pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in Puerto Rico. Site included buildings of all construction material types and vintages dating back to the 1950s.
Philip-Morris Corp. Detailed engineering review of proposed seismic strengthening measures for a confectionery manufacturing facility in Costa Rica, Central America. The facility was damaged during the 1991 Costa Rica Earthquake. Project included several site visits to determine adequacy of upgrades proposed for a 1940s-vintage, non-ductile concrete frame building.
Portfolio Risk Assessment Diocese of Orange. Project Manager for structural/seismic investigations and portfolio risk assessments of 72 parishes encompassing approximately 450 buildings of various vintages and types of construction throughout Orange County. Facilities include churches, community centers, schools, missions, convents, rectories, and food distribution centers. Also managed the seismic upgrade final designs, and construction management activities for several of the parishes.
Universal Studios, Universal City, California and Orlando, Florida. Responsible for a natural hazards risk assessment of representative structures located in Universal City, California and Orlando, Florida. Individual seismic and wind risk assessments for buildings, contents, and business interruption were developed, and an opinion of potential loss due to either a major earthquake or an extreme windstorm were provided for the California and Florida sites.
Hazards Mitigation Program for a Major Defense Contractor. The work scope entailed a comprehensive evaluation of all natural hazards (including wind and earthquake) affecting facilities nationwide. The risks were evaluated as they relate to buildings, building support equipment, and production and process equipment. Detailed investigations and analyses were also performed to seismically upgrade three different types of buildings. Conceptual retrofit measures and associated costs were developed for these buildings.