Comparison of TUPÃ risk assessment software with SIRAC software applied to a heritage building in Argentina

This paper analyses virtues and limitations of a new risk assessment software tool called TUPÃ developed by the IEE-USP (Institute of Electrotechnics and Energy — University of São Paulo) in Brazil, compared to the widely distributed Software Risk Assessment Calculator (SIRAC), developed by IEC. Besides, it checks its accordance with the risk evaluation methodology proposed by the IEC 62305-2 ed1.0 standard, through manual calculations applied to the selected example. An analysis of the data entry interface of the TUPÃ software tool, including accessibility, limitations and different alternatives for the parameter values is developed in comparison with the SIRAC tool. Aiming to compare the performance of both software, the document includes a risk assessment calculation against lightning for a building belonging to our University in La Plata, Argentina. In order to limit the extension of the paper, just some of the risk components are considered. Final results are compared, as well as partial results, when available. As simplified tools, the overall advantages and limitations of both software were fairly balanced. For instance, the SIRAC software allows for more than one service, while TUPÃ only considers one at a time. On the other hand, TUPÃ allows for the influence of an adjacent structure, which SIRAC ignores. Meanwhile, an interesting contribution of the TUPÃ software includes the possibility to introduce a manual calculation of the collection area in the case of more complicated structures.