A rational approach to the conversion of FEMA P-58 seismic repair costs to Europe

Abstract

State-of-the-art seismic performance assessment of buildings requires a realistic estimation of the repair cost of structural and non-structural components. In this context, the US-based FEMA P-58 guidelines feature a procedure and repair cost database that have become a reference to many recent studies in the field. The number of cases in which it has been applied to Europe is however limited, and repair cost conversion factors have been generally adopted. Moreover, a rational methodology that covers multiple countries in a consistent manner is absent in the literature. This study attempts to address this gap, proposing an economy analysis–based repair cost conversion approach that will be useful for practical implementations of FEMA-P58 in Europe. The proposed conversion approach is validated with actual replacement costs monitored in the L’Aquila reconstruction process. While observing a good agreement between the real and estimated US-to-local repair cost ratios, limitations of the proposed methodology are also outlined and discussed, with a view to guide possible future research efforts to improve and consolidate the proposed conversion method.