Archive for the ‘The construction materials’ Category

Technical standards for constructions, a significant step

Sunday, November 1st, 2009

But there’s been a earthquake, not political but real and with a number of deaths, that a evolved society should never allow, for that for once ended eternal game to delay tactics to bring into force laws and innovative improvements, deciding that the entry into force of the new standards, ready in 2008, was on 1 July 2009, instead of 2010.

Perhaps by 2010, some lobby would have been a degree of to move the deadline for the activation of this new set of rules, but this time nature has inspired us to progress, proving whether there was needed, that even in L’Aquila as in all other parts of Italy, have operated manufacturers without scruples which have compounded the effects of the earthquake with construction made absolutely outside of the rules.

What the press and television companies do not say, and the Associations of category do not talk about is that when a building collapses for any type of natural event, the responsibility is of who has designed and/or built the building.

Respecting the old technical standards and building according to the rules in force for decades and the common sense combined to operational criteria of good father, you can build buildings which are resistant to any type of natural event.

If you increase the water in concrete to make it more fluid, if you diminish the amount of iron to save money, if you use sea sand instead that of the river, if you reduce the resistant sections of the beams, if you halves the concrete in the mortar, then we cannot talk of unforeseeable tragedy, because you colud only speak of fraud.

Now the new technical standards define more precisely the characteristics of products and the operational methods. It is established that the iron for reinforced concrete is one only with a precise contents of resistance and not as before, in which two types nominal corresponded, better, correspond, at one type of iron product in ironworks at which were attacked various cards. It is decided that the test-pieces of concrete are carried out in the presence of the work’s Director and under his responsibility, and not provided by the business, after days from when it has been carried out the jet. They have decided the criteria for defining more clearly the supply of materials.

The new technical standards have established especially that the materials that arrive in the yard shall be provided with CE marking and unless some deferred (beams in wood) this marking has to be already on the product since by law it is compulsory from 1993.

The new standards have unfortunately a defect because, as they must speak of everything that concerns buildings and yards, they consists of several hundred pages, which must be designed and well understood by professionals.

We know it is a big effort, but we also believe that all those who have management responsibilities in the construction sector are adequately paid and should be aware that from them depends the future security of users of their works. Their commitment not lasts only for the 10 years after the construction, but for all the work’s life and if they watch at their works with this perspective, they will understand that it is much better to study and apply the technical standards today rather than doing so after receiving a guarantee notice.

Of course even the end user must activate attempting to know, before purchasing a construction, if there were used CE marked products. Since it is possible to do it also after some time, you can ask for the documentations, and only this way those who perhaps today are a little lazy, will be stimulated to do well on their duty.

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The CE marking of building materials

Tuesday, October 20th, 2009

Construction materials have been the subject of interest tfor the European institutions that deal with the criteria of respect (directives) since 1988 and the vastness and the importance of this Directive, has perhaps been the cause for which it has generally been ignored.

The directive defines “Material for construction” any product which is included in a stable way in industrial, coomercial or civil buildings, and this gives an idea of how many these products are.

During the years the increase in sensitivity in respect to the security, there were published specific rules on specific categories of products, as gates and doors, wooden beams, concrete panels, rods for reinforced concrete, etc.

There is a list of all the families of materials which are subjected to specific rules and which must bear the EC mark and the list becomes much longer everyday, since they are enacted always new regulations, and for the products not yet subjected to specific rules, the manufacturers must refer to the general directive.

The principles that must be respected are those of security at the time of use, of construction in respect of the rules, of guarantee that the systems of production maintain in the time the defaults characteristics for the products.

The quantity of products and the number of standards makes mandatory that the first step for the CE marking is the verification of the present state of legislation in the field and specifically in relation the product we are interested in, then passing to the practice, which begins in the design and arrives in the testing and marking.

The marking is the application of the EC mark and is the formalization of a precise and controlled path of production and the evidence that the company is applying a method of production that is always under control.

The CE marking is therefore not a sporadic work that the manufacturer shall carry out to a third person. The CE marking is a proper activity of the manufacturer or importer that ensures the conformity of the product sold to the laws that rule the marketing within the European Community.

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The terms are longer for the EC mark on beams in wood

Wednesday, September 9th, 2009

The CE marking of beams in wood has been postponed for 2 years for laminated beams and for 3 years for those in solid wood, compared to 09-01-2009, the date on which it would be mandatory to mark the products.

This extension is certainly a good new for the producers, who on September 2009 would have to submit their products to the CE marking.

This further time should be used in a correct way, not to find themselves at the time of the deadline in the current situation, with inevitable difficulties and problems.

We remind you that the CE marking of construction products, already provided in 1988, is not a bureaucratic clause, but a good defence of safety and health of consumers in general.

It provides that the builders formally certify the design characteristics and the suitability of all the products which are used in construction. We need not to remind the recent events at L’Aquila to understand how important it is.

We believe that serious and honest producers have the interests to put on the market safe products and this is also the same interest of the users. Only this way we can improve the overall quality of construction, of products and of our security.

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EC mark FOR metallic GATES and sliding doors

Sunday, September 6th, 2009

All metal flying and sliding gates, excluding those of minimum size not carrabili and including all those track, must have the CE mark.

The obligation arises from two conditions: to be construction product permanently incorporated in buildings, and that to be the subject of a specific European directive.

What many, even among the directors, do not know is that the CE marking in the case of the gates is not a simple self-certification, because the manufacturers can not independently apply the EC mark on their products.

In this case, as for the machines in Annex IV or for boilers, it is always necessary that the manufacturer has a” type” certification that can be issued only by a notified body.

The type certification is formal attestation that an external body has taken vision of a “type” product. It has done the tests provided by European directive and in case of conformity it has issued a written statement, which is sent also to the relevant ministry.

The manufacturer may avail itself of such documentation in all its successive products, if he can prove that the various products fall for security within the limits defined by the products “type”, of which it owns the compliance document.

Certainly these obligations will create some difficulties to manufacturers which are obliged to introduce new procedures than the merely construction of the products. But remember that everything is done to promote the safety, so the customers and the professionals who are charged with the task of directions work must demand the EC mark.

We remember to the builders that adopting CE methods which respect only apparently the rule, but are in fact reduced to a series of modules compiled without any real respect for the legislation, is, in addition to a crime also a serious risk for users and for them.

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CE Mark for beams in solid wood and laminated beams from construction

Friday, September 4th, 2009

Note: This Article has been overtaken by the decision to delay the terms for the CE marking requirement (see Article), but this does not mean that the present information are no useful.

Perhaps employees to work or simple users do not know that the wooden beams for construction of roofs, porches or canopies, must have the EC mark individually.

Both the beams in solid wood and layered should be subjected to mechanical tests to ensure their compliance with the minimum requirements declared that the designer and the manufacturer expect from them.

Up until today the experience and the seriousness of the operators of the sector has guaranteed that these important structural elements were always efficient.

Now the regulations make mandatory that the requirements of security, which must ensure the soundness of buildings and their suitability for the requirements of the project, must be confirmed in a formal way by the manufacturer.

Since it is not possible to declare the certain compliance of characteristics without mechanical design calculations, knowledge of the particular characteristics of the material and evidence adequacy of the products, the rule requires the builders a series of controls and tests on 100% of the products.

To these procedures are unprepared many operators in the sector, that more for scepticism and difficulties of understanding that for real difficulties, consider hard to apply the provisions of the legislation.

We remind to the designers, to the directors of works and to the producers themselves, that building without the respect of the present regulations, in addition of creating situations of potential danger, is a civil and criminal crime with severe consequences for the people who commit.

We recall the customers who will use these buildings that they have the right to demand that all the materials used in construction comply with the present regulations, which have as objective the safety and health of the customers.

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