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    Infrastructure planning emergency levels of service for the Wellington region, Aotearoa New Zealand : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (Emergency Management) at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2024-06-07) Mowll, Richard
    Past work has demonstrated that the infrastructure in the Wellington region, Aotearoa New Zealand, is vulnerable to natural hazard events such as earthquake and tsunami. To enable common understandings of the levels of service (or targets) that critical infrastructure entities are planning on delivering in an emergency event, the concept of ‘planning emergency levels of service’ (PELOS) is developed and presented in this thesis. Such a concept is readily relatable to the water sector where, for example, the World Health Organisation’s ‘basic access’ to water standard is for ’20 litres of water, per person, per day, within 1km of the dwelling’. Despite such standards for water, there are few other examples in the sectors of energy, telecommunications and transport. A literature review investigated relevant sources of information on the concept from both academic and from infrastructure sector-specific texts and was used in developing a preliminary framework of PELOS, alongside discussions with emergency management experts in the Wellington region. The overall PELOS concept and preliminary framework was then presented in interviews and workshops with key stakeholders, and qualitative data collected from these interactions was used to create an ‘operationalised’ PELOS framework. This framework was adopted by the Wellington Lifelines Group, a grouping of the critical infrastructure entities in the region. Key themes of the PELOS concept are explored, namely: interdependencies, the need to consider the vulnerabilities of some community members, emergency planning considerations, stakeholders’ willingness to collaborate and the flexibility/adaptability of the delivery of infrastructure services following a major event. Further, a description of the process taken to develop the framework is provided to enable other regions to create their own frameworks. A mapping tool, visualising where PELOS can, and cannot, be achieved based on hazard impact modelling is presented. This allows the infrastructure entities, the impacted communities and the emergency management sector to have a common understanding of the targets of response following a major hazard event, and plan for them in future.
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    Cost estimation model for earthquake damage repair in New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Construction at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2021) Kahandawa Appuhamillage, Ravindu Visal Dharmasena Kahandawa
    Earthquakes are natural hazards that can devastate nations, their people and the surrounding built environments. Designing a suitable strategy for rapid recovery requires an accurate damage assessment process for the built environment. Loss estimation models were developed to predict the cost of repair, but these models were not used to estimate the costs of post-earthquake repair. This could be due to the fact that these probability-based models tend to provide less accurate outputs. In fact, there is no existing literature on post-earthquake repair cost estimation models that can rapidly produce repair cost estimates. This research developed a post-earthquake cost estimation model for earthquake damage repair work (referred to as a cost of damage repair, earthquake estimation model or C-DREEM). The research used an exploratory sequential research design that used semi-structured interviews (N=19) with engineers, quantity surveyors and builders with experience in earthquake damage repair work as the primary data collection. Then a web-based survey questionnaire (N=310 distributed, N=92 received) of professionals with experience in cost estimation for earthquake damage repair work was the second data collection. The collected data was analysed using thematic analysis, descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests. Based on the findings in the literature, document review and research data analysis, a cost of damage repair earthquake estimation model (C-DREEM) was developed. The C-DREEM model was then validated through a focus group interview session with participants who had experience in the cost estimation for earthquake damage repair work in New Zealand (N=9). Key findings identified from the research were: (i) 11 factors have a critical impact on the accuracy of cost estimation of earthquake damage repair work (CEEDRW) which includes consequential damage, initially unforeseen damage, and changes to the final repair state; (ii) Use of a unit rate and lump sum amount methods were some of the most suitable ways incorporate these factors to CEEDRW; (iii) detailed damage evaluation reports are the most likely information sources post-earthquake for CEEDRW; and (iv) the standardised and automated cost estimation model, C-DREEM, developed by this research can improve both pre and post-earthquake CEEDRW process with include the benefits of sharing consequence functions and probable damage information with probability-based methods. The key contribution to knowledge from this research is identifying the factors affecting CEEDRW, evaluating the significance, selecting methods to incorporate the factors into the costing process, and creating the C-DREEM costing process that combines the pre-and post-earthquake loss estimation processes. The research also supports the professional practice by providing: a standardised and automated cost estimation process; specifying the areas that should be improved, such as the damage reporting process; and a better cost control and monitoring process through standardised rates. Through the findings of the research, government and insurance companies: can standardise and improve the accuracy and speed CEEDRW process, and makes informed decisions to manage the impact of the eleven factors affecting CEEDRW identified by this research.
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    Impacts of the Building (Earthquake-prone Buildings) Amendment Act 2016 on the retention of historical buildings in New Zealand's provincial city-centres : towards promoting seismic resilience through adaptive reuse : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2020) Aigwi, Itohan Esther
    The impacts of the increasing scale of earthquake disasters on New Zealand's historical buildings are becoming so prevalent to the extent of threatening the stability and existence of provincial urban areas, hence, resulting in local resilience emergencies. This thesis is designed to promote seismic resilience and city-centre regeneration through the retention of earthquake-prone historical buildings for New Zealand’s provincial regions that have an abundance of underutilised earthquake-prone commercial historical buildings in their city-centres. No prior research has explored the main factors that contribute to the loss of historical buildings in New Zealand’s provincial city centres as a result of the Building (Earthquake-prone Buildings) Amendment Act 2016, and how the retention of the buildings can be improved. This thesis aims to address such inadequacy by identifying representative New Zealand’s provincial cities and the contributing factors to their inner-city decline with links to the impact of the Building (Earthquake-prone Buildings) Amendment Act 2016. The applicability of the adaptive reuse approach (i.e., the change of use of an existing building) is also explored as a sustainable approach to retain underutilised commercial earthquake-prone historical buildings and promote seismic resilience and city-centre regeneration, by developing a performance-based framework to improve the adaptive reuse decision-making process. Using a sequence of qualitative and quantitative research enquiry modes, the research question was answered to justify the overall aim of the thesis. The findings revealed Whanganui and Invercargill as representative examples of New Zealand’s earliest cities currently experiencing a decline in their city centres, and also identified socio-economic and regulatory factors that may have contributed to their decline. Correspondingly, the impacts of the actions (or inactions) of local councils and building owners regarding compliance with the Building (Earthquake-prone Buildings) Amendment Act 2016 have also been addressed. Examining the importance of heritage buildings in New Zealand and the allocation of government funding in the form of grants for the retention of these buildings imply that though New Zealand’s government heritage grant systems are the most extensive non-regulatory incentives for the protection of built heritage, most of the grants are allocated to the bigger cities with the least per capita distribution of heritage buildings. The provincial regions with the most per capita ratio may continue to struggle to conserve their oversupply of heritage buildings if a disproportionately lower allocation of heritage protection grants to provincial regions continues to happen. Findings from this thesis also revealed the main parameters (economic sustainability, built-heritage conservation, socio-cultural aspects, building usability, and regulatory aspects) for a performance-based framework to prioritise optimal underutilised commercial earthquake-prone historical buildings for adaptive reuse. The findings established the practicality of the validated framework in balancing the diverse interests of all stakeholders in an adaptive reuse decision-making process. The consensus among the multidisciplinary stakeholder group was acknowledged to be consistent and insensitive to reasonable changes in weighting. An in-depth understanding of the characteristics of adaptive reuse stakeholders (i.e., identified as investors, producers, regulators and users) and the effectiveness of collaborative rationality among the diverse stakeholders was also found to improve: (i) active participation of stakeholders for future adaptive reuse prioritisation exercises; (ii) public consciousness and knowledge regarding adaptive reuse issues; (iii) transparency and accountability among the stakeholders; (iv) trust and organised networking among the stakeholders; and (v) legitimacy and quality of adaptive reuse decisions. Accordingly, the efficacy of adaptive reuse has been justified in this thesis as a sustainable approach to renegotiating seismic resilience and vitality in the city centres of Whanganui and Invercargill. This thesis significance updates both the practical and theoretical understanding of seismic resilience and city-centre regeneration through the adaptive reuse of underutilised historical buildings in New Zealand’s provincial areas to mitigate the impacts of the Building (Earthquake-prone Buildings) Amendment Act 2016, hitherto lacking. As a practical significance, the performance-based framework from this thesis guided Whanganui district council, as both a planning and measurement tool to prioritise and conserve underutilised earthquake-prone commercial historical buildings in their city-centre for adaptive reuse, while balancing the diverse interests of all relevant stakeholders. Also, findings from this thesis are of relevance to the theoretical body of knowledge as a guide for other researchers who are pursuing closely related research topics to that of this thesis.
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    The impact of contextual factors on the predicted bulk water pipe repair times in Wellington City : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Emergency Management at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2017) Sherson, Andrew Keith
    Lifelines, like the water supply, are essential for the survival of people, communities, and businesses. In the event of a significant natural disaster, like an earthquake, it can be expected that these regional lifelines will be severely damaged. Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, contains many lifelines that are highly vulnerable to failure. The water supply is especially susceptible, as it crosses the Wellington Fault multiple times and carries water through landslide prone corridors. Because of the risk, and potential impact on people, several predictive models have been created to calculate the likely downtimes so individuals and organisations can prepare for the loss. Many of these predictive models are comprehensive in what they calculate. However, they require improvement as they do not include local and contextual factors or the influence of other lifelines. For example, they do not include the impact of staff logistics, assume access to required equipment is a given, and ignore interdependencies between lifelines, such as the loss of access to repair sites because of damage to the transportation network. This research aims to improve these current models by investigating the magnitude of these site-specific and interdependency factors. Following a sequential mixed methods approach and using a pragmatic viewpoint, experts directly involved in the repair and maintenance of lifelines were selected for interviews. In total 20 professionals were contacted using a snowball and convenience sampling technique. Out of these 20, five were available for in-depth semi-structured phone interviews. From these interviews, anything stated to affect the repair times was highlighted, the most prominent of which were incorporated into current predictive models and their influence on repair times calculated. In total 12 different issues were discussed, 4 of which were examined further. These factors were: staff logistical problems; the slope of the land affecting damage inspection processes; the impact of uncommon pipe diameters on the repair process; and access problems. Once identified, these factors were incorporated into current predictive models, and the impact on repair times calculated. By including these contextual influences, it was found that they increased repair times by between 3 and 13 days depending on the water source and 31 and 111 days when incorporating the influence of landslides. Thus, proving contextual influences have a significant impact on repair times. Overall this study 1) revealed the importance of including contextual factors into predictive calculations and 2) created more accurate downtime predictions for the water supply in Wellington City, allowing for people, organisations, and planners to better prepare for the potential risk.