New instrument indicates hidden quake damage.

VENTURA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 22, 1995--An earthquake ``damage estimator'' that instantly advises businesses of potential structural and equipment damage levels has been developed by Earthquake Safety Systems Inc. (ESS) of Ventura.

For the first time, facility managers will know whether or not a quake's impact is severe enough to require evacuation.

The company is a leader in the field of earthquake alarms and seismic-damage control. Its products are used in the United States and overseas in schools and buildings to signal ``duck and cover'' for life-safety drills, by water districts to shut off key valves and by industry to close down hazardous distribution lines and other key elements.

The new digital instrument, the Seismic Intensity Recorder Controller (SIRC), for which a patent is pending, is an industrial adaptation of devices used by the nuclear industry to prevent costly and unwarranted shutdowns caused by nonthreatening earthquakes.

According to Owen Widdicombe, president of ESS: ``The SIRC displays a damage scale that can be read as easily as temperature or pressure, which clearly indicates when safety thresholds are exceeded or if evacuation is required. Measurements include a factor called `CAV' which computes total seismic energy absorbed for the earthquake's duration.

``The results automatically provide a situation report and designate the appropriate response in real time.

``The equipment not only saves lives but will save industry millions of dollars by preventing unnecessary shutdowns that require costly restarts or, at the very least, production slowdowns while equipment is being checked.''

The SIRC was designed with assistance from the State of California Earthquake Technology Program. It incorporates technology developed by the electric-power industry under a licensing agreement with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) of Palo Alto, Calif.

Professor Robert L. Nigbor, Ph.D., P.E., of USC's Civil Engineering Department, assisted in converting the complex seismic measurements to general industrial usage.

As an example, one of the first users to benefit from the system is the Northrop-Grumman Corp., which utilizes hundreds of highly accurate machine tools in its manufacture of military and commercial aircraft and aircraft components at facilities in Hawthorne and El Segundo, Calif. Great care is required in the calibration of these sensitive tools, a time-consuming and costly activity.

It was determined that only an earthquake with a magnitude above 4.0 on the Richter scale would require readjustments to the calibration, so the SIRC is programmed to indicate accordingly, preventing unnecessary downtime.

Data is recorded on up to 100 earthquakes and can be transmitted to multiple screens and printers or to remote locations to empower key personnel.

CONTACT: Earthquake Safety Systems Inc., Ventura

Owen Widdicombe, 805/650-5952

805/650-6520 (fax)