Safety Assessment Program (SAP) Evaluator Training 2026 | March 25-26
AIAU26-SAP01
6.5
LU|HSW
Live course date: 03/25/2026 | 12:00 PM
Description
March 25-26, 2026 | 12 - 4pm ET / 9am-1pm PT
Intended for licensed architects, engineers, or certified building inspectors, this training certifies attendees as Building Evaluators in the nationally recognized Safety Assessment Program (SAP).
- To register | Click Add to cart and complete the checkout process.
- Evaluator Field Manuals | ATC 45 | ATC 20 | Participants are responsible for purchasing these texts from ATC. They are not included in the course cost.
The program is managed by Cal OES with cooperation from professional organizations, including AIA. It utilizes volunteers and mutual aid resources to provide professional engineers, architects and certified building inspectors to assist local governments in safety evaluation of their built environment in an aftermath of a disaster. SAP is the training standard of the AIA Disaster Assistance Program, which provides leadership, advocacy, and training to architects who are interested in volunteering their professional skills in times of crisis. This workshop will teach participants to conduct rapid damage assessments of structures affected by earthquakes, wind, and water. Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to consistently and safely assess structures for habitability and will receive a nationally recognized Cal OES registration ID card from the state of California.
Learning Objectives
Recognize the important role architects and associated building professionals play in disaster preparedness, response, and recovery.
Accurately conduct a post-disaster rapid building assessment and complete appropriate damage assessment forms.
Demonstrate understanding of the Applied Technology Council’s ATC 20 Post-earthquake Safety Evaluation of Buildings and ATC 45 Safety Evaluation of Buildings after Windstorms and Floods damage assessment procedures.
Explain the features of the Incident Command System (ICS) and National Incident Management System (NIMS), including how SAP and other requirements fit within those systems to support disaster response.
Certification process
After successfully completing both days of the AIA’s SAP training, eligible individuals will need to fill out the Cal OES registration form in order to receive their California-issued registration ID card.
To earn AIA CE LUs for this course, participants must attend both live sessions and complete the 36-question quiz. Purchase of this course is non-refundable.
Not yet licensed? While this training is intended for licensed architects, engineers, or certified building inspectors, we encourage students and emerging professionals to take the training. Completing the training provides early exposure to the importance of disaster assistance and helps build a sustainable pipeline of future and certified professionals that can serve as Building Evaluators. If you become licensed within 5 years of successfully completing the training, you are eligible to be certified and receive a Cal-OES registration ID Card. In the meantime, you will be able to participate in deployments under the supervision of a licensed and certified architect.
Course registrations are non-refundable. No transfers to future SAP training sessions will be permitted less than a week before the scheduled session.
Tim is President/CEO of Aho Architects, LLC, a 10-person firm located in Hoover, Alabama. Since 2007, the relationship-oriented firm has served clients in 19 states and designed places for education, worship, public service, affordable housing, and commerce throughout the Southeast.
Tim earned Bachelor of Environmental Design and Master of Architecture degrees from Miami University (Ohio) where he later served as an Adjunct Associate Professor while in fulltime practice. In addition to serving on various community and civic Boards, Tim is the President-Elect of AIA Birmingham and is the State Disaster Coordinator for the Alabama Council of the AIA. He also served two years as Co-Chair of AIA’s National Disaster Assistance Committee (DAC).
Having deployed-in or led AIA Alabama’s disaster response efforts since the devastating Tuscaloosa tornado of 2011, Tim has a passion for disaster assistance. He believes disasters have a way of bringing out the best of people as they rally to help one another and demonstrate the ideals of service, sacrifice, and support. Serving alongside like-minded volunteers and survivors is incredibly energizing for Tim as we use our gifts and talents as architects to help recovery and resiliency.
Tim has presented on the topics of disaster response, resilience, lessons-learned, and public policy at public administration conferences and holds various disaster response credentials from FEMA, CalOES, ATC, etc. and is an EMC for the Infrastructure Branch of the Alabama Emergency Management Agency. He is an instructor in both the Cal OES and AIA’s Safety Assessment Program (SAP) as well as an SAP Coordinator and Evaluator. Tim also has FEMA NIMS Resource Type qualifications as a Post-Disaster Building Safety Evaluation Strike Team Leader (10-509-1447), Technical Supervisor (10-509-1445), Complex Architectural Systems Evaluator (10-509-1448), and Building Safety Evaluator (10-509-1446).
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