Keeping Performance in Perspective

When Don Hubbard woke up early on the morning of March 11 and clicked on the television at his home in Santa Clarita, he was stunned by breaking news of the earthquake disaster unfolding in Japan. As he watched the story unfold, it quickly became apparent the scope of death and destruction caused by the 9.0 magnitude quake followed by a killer tsunami would be immense. The gravity of the tragedy facing Japan was almost incomprehensible.
But as an expert in earthquake preparedness and seismic mitigation, Hubbard also had a job to do.  As founder and president of WorkSafe Technologies, Japan is his company’s number one customer nation with more than 1,700 installation sites of its ISO-Base™ Seismic Isolation Platform used to protect computer and networking equipment from seismic shock and vibration.  Over the last decade, ISO-Base™ had become the de facto standard in the data centers of businesses and government agencies throughout the country, including Sendai, the largest city near the epicenter of the 9.0 mega quake.
It was immediately evident to Hubbard that most of the company’s installations
in Japan had just been put to an unprecedented test by this monster quake. Although ISO-Base™ has been successfully protecting data centers around the world for over a dozen years, the 9.0 magnitude earthquake had suddenly taken things to a whole new level.
“In the days after the initial earthquake, it was difficult to communicate with our people in Japan – and we naturally had moments of concern,” Hubbard explained, “But it’s now a month later and according to every report we’ve received, despite intense and prolonged shaking, all equipment protected by ISO-Base™ Seismic Isolation Platforms is intact and there has been no lost operational activity as a result of the mega-quake or the powerful aftershocks, except what was caused by loss of power at these facilities.”
The harsh reality of Japan’s ongoing struggle to overcome one of the worst natural disasters in its history is of paramount importance to Hubbard and his WorkSafe Technologies team.  The 9.0 magnitude quake and the tsunami it generated have flattened communities along hundreds of miles of coastline and has been estimated to have killed more than 25,000 people as well as leaving thousands more homeless.  On top of that, radiation from an accident at a destroyed nuclear power plant continues to threaten the country and major aftershocks frequently rattle the quake-ravaged area.
“Let’s keep things in the proper perspective. We’re very gratified by the performance of ISO-Base™ during the Japan mega-quake, especially in view of the reported failures of competitive products and alternative fastening methods, but this is no time to celebrate.” said Hubbard, “The bottom line is our product simply did its job. Now we’re focused on making sure our customers throughout Japan continue to be well protected.  We are ready to provide any support needed to ensure every ISO-Base™ Seismic Isolation Platform will continue to successfully perform its design function during these very difficult times –and in the better days to come.  We know that thanks to the determined spirit of its resilient citizens, Japan will recover – and we are committed to aiding this recovery in the way we know best.”
The ISO-Base™ Seismic Isolation Platform is based on the same cutting-edge solution used by architects and engineers worldwide to protect buildings, bridges and other structures from the damaging effects of a seismic event. Headquartered in Valencia, California, WorkSafe Technologies was the first to apply these proven engineering principles to seismically protect non-structural components using its patented Ball-N-Cone™ Technology to provide the world’s most effective earthquake protection for valuable equipment and data.  ISO-Base™ now protects more than $40 billion in computing assets worldwide.
For more information about WorkSafe Technologies visit www.worksafetech.com.