Construction Industry and Material Producers join forces for better standardisation
16/06/2016
European construction sector representatives join Commission and Member States to co-sign the Joint Initiative on Standardisation.
“We offer the expert contribution of our members for the benefit of European standardisation to better respond to both the practical needs of the businesses in our sector and the legal certainty that is required for the use of standards” agree the CEOs of the European federations of construction material producers and construction enterprises.
On June 13th, the representatives of three European construction sector associations joined Commissioner Ms. Elżbieta Bieńkowska in Amsterdam, to co-sign the Joint Initiative on Standardisation.
This initiative sets out actions to modernise, prioritise and speed up the delivery of standards by the end of 2019, respecting the needs of their users.
It kicks off a dialogue between all the stakeholders involved in standardisation: European and national standardisation organisations, industry, civil society, Member States and the Commission who gathered at the Europe Building to celebrate the agreement, in a ceremony organised by the Dutch Presidency.
Standardisation has a significant impact on the construction sector and the development of the Joint Initiative on Standardisation has been supported by three sectoral federations, namely Construction Products Europe, representing the manufacturers of construction products, as well as EBC and FIEC, together representing construction enterprises of all sizes – from one person micro firms and SMEs to large globally active contractors – across Europe.
Mr. Christophe Sykes, Director General of Construction Products Europe says that “Standardisation helps increase the efficiency of our industry and for construction products it also has a regulatory purpose. Finding the right balance between these two elements is key for a healthy European construction products market.”
Mr. Riccardo Viaggi, Secretary General of EBC points out that “SMEs are profoundly impacted by standardisation. We welcome the fact that the Joint Initiative encompasses such a large representation of stakeholders – including the least represented – and gives new momentum to standardisation. It is important to ensure that the actions suggested in the initiative are implemented, respecting the specific needs of the construction sector.”
Mr. Ulrich Paetzold, Director General of FIEC stresses that “in addition, it is important to ensure that European standards are not designed only to comply with the mandatory requirements of the Construction Products Regulation but also to ensure that all other information necessary for construction enterprises to select the right products is available, so that they can be sure to respect their statutory, technical and contractual obligations”
As part of the Joint Initiative, the three construction sector associations intend to develop a specific action later in the year, to improve the quality of standardisation in construction.
This action will complement the Joint Initiative and will deliver specific improvements, amongst other things by aiming to reduce overlapping measures and fill existing gaps.
The collaboration within the Joint Initiative, between these three sector associations will provide a good basis for mutually beneficial solutions benefitting both the sector and its public or private clients.
Links
