Standards – in the construction industry

Standards – in the construction industry
Efforts are being made to harmonize standards throughout
Europe so as to open up the single market for construction
products. It is still something of a minefield, as harmonization
at the beginning of the twenty-first century is not complete.
Listed alphabetically below are the organizations and standards
involved, which may help to clarify the current situation.
BBA – British Board of
Agrément. This organization
assesses and tests new construction
products and systems
which have not yet received a
relevant BS or EN. It issues
Agrément Certificates to those
that meet their standards. The Certificate gives an independent
opinion of fitness for purpose. Holders are subject to
3-yearly reviews to ensure standards are maintained. The BBA
represents the UK in the UEAtc and is designated by the government
to lead the issuing of ETAs.
BSI – British Standards Institution. This was the
first national standards body in the world. It publishes
British Standards (BS) which give recommended
minimum standards for materials, products and
processes. These are not mandatory, but some are
quoted directly in the Building Regulations (see also EN
below). All materials and components complying with a particular
BS are marked with the BS kitemark together with the
relevant BS number. BSI also publishes codes of practice (CP)
which give recommendations for good practice in relation to
design, manufacture, construction, installation and maintenance,
with the main objectives being safety, quality, economy
and fitness for purpose. Drafts for Development (DD) are
issued when there is insufficient information for a BS or a CP.
These are similar to ENVs.
CE mark – Communauté Européenne
mark. This mark was introduced by the
CPD, and is a symbol applied to products
by their manufacturers to indicate their
compliance with European member state
regulations. It has nothing to do with
quality or safety (unlike the BS kitemark). If the CE mark has a
number attached, this signifies that the product has been
independently tested.
CEN – Comité Européen de Nationalisation (also known
as the European Committee for Standardisation). Its main
aims are to harmonize national standards; promote implementation
of the ISO; prepare ENs; co-operate with EFTA and
other international governmental organizations and CENELEC
(the electrotechnical counterpart of CEN). The BSI is a member
of CEN.
CPD – Construction Products Directive. This is a directive
produced by the European Commission introducing the CE
mark.
EN – Euronorm (also known as European Standard).
European Standards are published by the CEN for a wide
range of materials. A full EN, known in the UK as a BS EN, is
mandatory and overrules any conflicting previous BS, which
must be withdrawn. Prospective standards where documentation
is still in preparation are published as European prestandards
(ENV). These are normally converted to full ENs
after a 3-year experimental period.
EOTA – European Organization for Technical Approvals.
Members of this organization issue ETAs. The UK is represented
in EOTA by the BBA. EOTA polices organizations nominated
by member states to make sure they all apply the same
tests and level of expertise when preparing ETAs.
ETA – European Technical Approval. ETAs are issued by
members of EOTA. They are available for products whose performance
or characteristics fall outside the scope of a
European Standard (EN) mandated by the EC, and are based
upon assessment methods known a ETAGs (European
Technical Approval Guidelines). Both ETAs and ENs enable
products to which they refer to be placed in the single
European market.
ISO – International Organization for Standardization.
This organization prepares International Standards for the
whole world. They are prefixed ISO and many are compatible
and complement British Standards. In the UK, BSs and ENs
that are approved by the ISO are prefixed BS ISO or BS EN ISO.
MOAT – Method of Assessment and Testing. These are
the criteria and methods used by the BBA when testing products.
Many MOATs have been developed in consultation with
the European Agrément organizations under the aegis of the
UEAtc.
QA – Quality Assurance. BS EN 9001 lays down procedures
for various organizations to conform to a specification and
thus acquire QA for a production or a service.
UEAtc – European Union of Agrément technical committee.
A technical committee to which all European Agrément
institutes belong, including the BBA for the UK. Its principal
function is to facilitate trade in construction products
between member states, primarily through its Confirmation
process, whereby an Agrément Certificate issued by a UEAtc
member in one country can be used to obtain a Certificate in
another.

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