Project Introduction

Welcome to our blog. We are a team of second year Civil Engineering students currently completing our CIVL 202 course, and we will be assisting the North Shore Emergency Management Office (NSEMO) with Project Windshield.

As a result of the significant scope of Operation Windshield, our team will be partnering with another team of our classmates to complete the project. Coordinating the schedules of such a large group has been challenging, and our next major step will be to meet with NSEMO to establish expectations and deliverables for the project.

This first blog provides an overview of the project and some information about our team. We will include further details in the next post, once we have met with NSEMO.

Background: The North Shore Emergency Management Office

Planning for emergencies and disasters is a crucial function that cities must undertake. A shared resource for the City of North Vancouver, District of North Vancouver and District of West Vancouver, the North Shore Emergency Management Office (NSEMO) handles emergency planning and preparedness on the North Shore. Its activities are diverse, with the following core areas:

• Emergency Management – mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery
• Plans and Bylaws
• Training and Exercises

The organization comprehensively ensures that provisions for disasters are undertaken, from mitigating damage and impact of disasters to establishing and training emergency resources to working with municipalities to provide necessary legislative framework surrounding emergency plans.

Operation Windshield

A windshield assessment is the first step in surveying and evaluating damage following a disaster, involving a drive-by observation of the situation. Crews in the field are able to provide decision makers in the Emergency Operation Centre with a critical initial picture to help with determining further actions.

We will be assisting NSEMO to plan a training exercise to take place in June 2014. Crews will be deployed on a 1.5 hour windshield survey for a simulated disaster. We will mainly gather information and media required to stage the simulation such as photographing and developing a list of sites that will have simulated damage and composing a narrative for what is observed. We have been invited to modify images to depict the simulated damage, which will provide a learning opportunity for photo editing. NSEMO has also asked that we compile a report upon project completion, which summarizes our activities and provides recommendations.

Operation Windshield will allow NSEMO better serve the community on the North Shore. By undergoing this effective training operation, the organization will be better able to protect citizens in emergency situations. We hope our efforts will help.

Our Team

We are very excited to work with NSEMO to help them complete Operation Windshield. As second year Civil Engineering students, we welcome the opportunity to think critically to assist in establishing functional infrastructure. Our team consists of individuals with a wide range of strengths. Here is a little bit about us.

Nishchhal Gautam is a second year Civil Engineering student at the University of British Columbia looking to complete his bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering in 2017. After finishing his studies and gaining some experience in the field, he hopes to specialize in Structural Engineering. When free from school Nishchhal has gained experience in world of construction. He has worked at a construction company for the last three summers working as a surveyor. Working at this company has taught him much about the world of construction and is what initially sparked the interest in Civil Engineering. His other interests include watching in playing various sports. More specifically he enjoys soccer and ultimate Frisbee.

Nishchhal Gautam

Daniel Maldoff is a second year civil engineering student at UBC. He has returned to studies following four years’ full-time work experience in human resources and program coordination. Born and raised in Montreal, Daniel completed a Bachelor’s of Arts in Psychology at McGill University prior to moving to Vancouver to work with the 2010 Olympics. He is a fanatical skier, mountain biker and general lover of the outdoors.

Daniel Maldoff

Ying Niu, originally from China, went to high school in Winnipeg and is now studying second year Civil Engineering at UBC. Ying loves to draw and read.

Veronica Velayo has lived in Manila, Philippines all her life until recently. Growing up in a tropical country, she likes spending time at the beach and playing outdoor sports. When not studying or volunteering for student clubs, she enjoys watching movies and trying out different cuisines.  She is a big hip-hop fan and thinks that Drake is the greatest artist ever.

Veronica Velayo

Yushen Yuan is a second year civil engineering student at UBC. He was born and raised in Beijing.  During his childhood, he became interested in science and engineering, although he also developed interests in other subjects, such as history and politics.  At the end of high school, he decided that engineering would be his first step into the professional world, although he is thinking of getting an MBA or a law degree further down the road. To him, life is about making contributions to friends, families and societies, while enjoying what they offer in return. As a result, he enjoys spending free time with friends. He is an open-minded person, who likes to adopt the perspectives of others.

Zehua (Jack) Zhang comes to UBC from China. He has previous experience working for a construction company, which has provided him with an understanding of plans and blueprints. He is excited by the opportunity to apply theory in a practical setting and is eager to learn by doing. In his spare time, he enjoys soccer and bodybuilding.

Jack Zhang

That’s all for now. We will provide further updates as our project progresses.