Decoding the Eurocodes

Turkey joins CEN from 1st January 2012

The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) have granted full membership to the Turkish Standards Institution (TSE), as from 1st January 2012. TSE has been an affiliate of CEN and CENELEC since January 2008.

CEN and CENELEC now has national members in 32 European countries, covering more than 590 million consumers in total. These include all 27 countries of the European Union and three countries of the European Free Trade Association (Iceland, Norway and Switzerland) plus two EU candidate countries (Croatia and Turkey).

This is an important step towards the full participation of Turkey in the European Single Market.

Where in the world are ... the investigation and testing standards? (2011 update)

CEN TC 341 is producing a raft of International/European Standards that are heavily referenced by Eurocode 7. The information below summarizes where these documents have got to in their development process (based on the latest TC 341 progress report dated October 2011).

These are the 52 standards covered by TC 341. Published documents are shown in bold, with their dates of publication in (brackets); documents still under development are shown in italics.

EN 14688 Identification and classification of soil

• -1 Identification of soil (Aug 2008, confirmed until Oct 2013)
• -2 Classification principles of soil (Jul 2004, confirmed until Oct 2013)
• -3 Electronic data exchange (deleted)

EN 14689 Identification and classification of rock

• -1 Identification of rock (Dec 2003, confirmed until Oct 2013)
• -2 Electronic data exchange (deleted)

EN 17892 Laboratory testing (Technical Specifications)

• -1 Water content (Nov 2004, confirmed until Nov 2010)
  • working draft of prEN by end 2011
• -2 Density of fine grained soils (Nov 2004, confirmed until Nov 2010)
  • working draft of prEN by end 2011
• -3 Density of solid particles (Nov 2004, confirmed until Nov 2010)
  • working draft of prEN by end 2011
• -4 Particle size distribution (Nov 2004, confirmed until Nov 2010)
• -5 Oedmometer test (Nov 2004, confirmed until Nov 2010)
• -6 Fall cone test (Nov 2004, confirmed until Nov 2010)
  • working draft of prEN by end 2011
• -7 Compression test (Nov 2004, confirmed until Nov 2010)
• -8 Unconsolidated triaxial test (Nov 2004, confirmed until Nov 2010)
• -9 Consolidated triaxial test (Nov 2004, confirmed until Nov 2010)
• -10 Direct shear test (Nov 2004, confirmed until Nov 2010)
• -11 Permeability test (Nov 2004, confirmed until Nov 2010)
• -12 Atterberg limits (Nov 2004, confirmed until Nov 2010)

EN 22282 Geohydraulic testing

• -1 General rules (sent for UAP, May 2011)
• -2 Permeability tests using open systems (sent for UAP, May 2011)
• -3 Water pressure test (sent for UAP, May 2011)
• -4 Pumping tests (sent for UAP, May 2011)
• -5 Infiltrometer tests (sent for UAP, May 2011)
• -6 Permeability tests using closed systems (sent for UAP, May 2011)
• -X Geothermal testing methods for geothermal heat exchanger (to be sent for enquiry)
• -Y Installation of geotechnical monitoring measurements (working draft pending adoption)
• -Z Drilling parameters recording (working draft pending adoption)

EN 22475 Sampling and groundwater measurement

• -1 Sampling - principles (Sep 2006)
• -2 Sampling - qualification criteria (Sep 2006, confirmed until Oct 2012)
• -3 Sampling - conformity assessement (Dec 2007, confirmed until Oct 2013)

EN 22476 Field testing

• -1 Electrical cone penetration tests (sent for UAP, Oct 2011)
• -2 Dynamic probing (Jan 2005, confirmed until Oct 2015, amendment due 2012)
• -3 Standard penetration test (Jan 2005, confirmed until Oct 2015, amendment due 2012)
• -4 Menard pressuremeter test (sent for UAP, Oct 2011)
• -5 Flexible dilatometer test (sent for UAP, Oct 2011)
• -6 Self-boring pressurement test (activation pending)
• -7 Borehole jack test (sent for UAP, Oct 2011)
• -8 Full displacement pressurement test (activation pending)
• -9 Field vane test (enquiry Jul 2009, formal vote Jan 2012)
• -10 Weight sounding test (May 2005, confirmed until Oct 2011)
• -11 Flat dilatometer test (May 2005, confirmed until Oct 2011)
• -12 Mechanical cone penetration test (May 2009)
• -13 Plate loading test (no progress)
• -X Phicometer shearing test (Technical Specification, work item pending)
• -Y Menard pressuremeter test with an unload-reload loop (working draft pending adoption)

EN 22477 Testing of geotechnical structures

• -1 Pile load test - static axially loaded compression test (deleted - no progress)
• -2 Pile load test - static axially loaded tension test (no progress)
• -3 Pile load test - static transversally loaded test (no progress)
• -4 Pile load test - dynamically axially loaded compression test (no progress)
• -5 Testing of anchorages (enquiry Sep 2009, expected Oct 2012)
• -6 Testing of nailing (no progress)
• -7 Testing of reinforced fill (no progress)
• -X Pile load test - rapid axially loaded compression test (working draft pending adoption)

TC250 Coordination Group meeting in Paris - Day 1

I am currently in Paris, attending a meeting of the TC250 Co-ordination Group - an umbrella committee comprising the chairmen of all the Eurocode sub-committees, such as SC7 for Eurocode 7.

There has been discussion of the future evolution of the Eurocodes and the desperate need for countries to share their National Annexes with each other. Amazingly, this still hasn't happened and it will be a significant barrier to the work of all those volunteers who have agreed to contribute to this evolution.

We are now listening to a presentation from BSI's publication manager about 'Eurocodes Plus' - BSI's new online product that is aimed to simplify access to the Eurocodes and their National Annexes.

[15.30] Discussion has now moved onto TC250's response to the Programming Mandate - i.e. the evolution of the existing Eurocodes and the development of new Eurocodes.

 

39th meeting of CEN TC250 at end of May 2011

The 39th meeting of CEN TC250, the technical commitee that is responsible for the devlopment and maintenance of the Structural Eurocodes as a whole, will take place in Ispra, Italy, on 26-27th May 2011. The key topic for discussion at that meeting will be CEN's response to the Programming Mandate from the European Commission, regarding evolution of the Eurocodes.

I will be attending as Chairman of SC7 (sub-committee for Eurocode 7) and will provide a live blog from the meeting. Stay tuned!

Catching up...

It has been a while since I blogged about the Eurocodes, but that is not to say that things have gone quiet. Here is a quick summary of activity over the past few weeks or so:

• The BGA Symposium on 'Eurocode 7 - Today and Tomorrow' was held in Cambridge on 23rd March and was a great success. Over 135 delegates attended, more than expected, and discussion was both lively and informative. Proceedings of the Symposium have been posted on the Symposium webpage and an article has appeared in the May 2011 issue of Ground Engineering entitled 'Eurocode Decoded'
• The 26th meeting of TC250/SC7 (the Eurocode 7 committee) was also held in Cambridge, on 24th-25th March. The key outcome from this meeting was the establishment of various 'Evolution Groups' charged with preparing the way for the next edition of Eurocode 7, which possibly could be due in 2017
• I delivered a one-day training course on behalf of IStructE, northern Irelend, on 29th March in Belfast. The course was well attended, but it is clear that many structural engineers are blissfully unaware of the changes that Eurocode 7 has brought to foundation design
• A meeting of BSI committee B/526 was held in Chiswick on 8th April, at which discussion focussed on updating the UK National Annex to Eurocode 7 and future development of BS5930
• Interest in the Eurocodes has arisen from China, where BSI is bidding to provide consulting and training across the full range of standards (loads, concrete, steel, geotechnics, and seismic). More information will follow as this develops
• A 2-day JRC/SPRA Workshop is being planned for October with lectures on basis of design/materials/durability; conceptual design; structural analysis; limit state design; detailing of reinforcement and members; and foundation design. More information will follow as I get it
• The second online training course in the Decoding Eurocode 7 series, 'Ground investigation and testing' starts next week. Details are available from the Geocentrix website

TC250 Coordination Group meeting in Dresden - Day 2

I will modify this post throughout the day, based on the proceedings of the meeting.

[09.30] Meeting re-opened. Discussion has centred on the best way to respond to the European Commission's Mandate regarding future development of the Eurocodes. We are attempting to agree what information should be included in the core response to the Commission, and what should be left in the individual project proposals.

[11.00] We now have a plan - a small team will prepare the core response to the Mandate and individual sub-committees will then update their proposals to align with the core response. This work needs to be completed before the next TC 250 meeting.

 [11.45] We have now moved on to reports from Sub-Committee Chairmen. First up, Eurocode 7, detailing the forthcoming SC7 meeting in Cambridge, the BGA Symposium also in Cambridge, and the ISGSR Symposium in Munich. Also mentioned were the planned formation of Task Groups to take the work of SC7 forward.

[12.30] The was a workshop on seiemic design of buildings held in Lisbon in February. The proceedings include papers relevant to geotechnical engineering.

That's all folks! I have a plane to catch and so have to leave the meeting before its close.

TC250 Coordination Group meeting in Dresden - Day 1

I will modify this post throughout the day, based on the proceedings of the meeting.

[Thursday 10th March, 2011, 08.50]  I am sitting in a room at the Technical University of Dresden, waiting for the Coordination Group meeting to start. I spent a very pleasant afternoon yesterday looking around Dresden, which is a wonderful place to visit - so many beautiful buildings (many re-constructed after the Second World War, alas).

[09.50] Jean-Armand Calgaro (Chairman of TC250) has just reported significant interest from Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus in adopting the Eurocodes! These countries have translated the codes into Russian for use in their countries, alongside their national standards.

[11.00] The Construction Products Regulation (CPR) passed its second reading in the European Parliament on 18th January 2011. Article 3 covers basis requirements for constructions works and essential characteristics of construction products. See also Annex 1 – construction works ‘as a whole and in their separate parts must be fit for their intended use…’ The text of the CPR may be downloaded from the Commission’s website.

[12.00] We are discussing the procedure or dealing with engineers' and clients' questions regarding the interpretation of the Eurocodes. The currently published procedure envisages comments being submitted to National Standards Bodies (NSBs) in the first instance; and filtered comments are then passed to the relevant Sub-Committee (SC) of TC 250 for answering.

[13.45] Back from lunch. I have just outlined SC7's plans for an amendment to Section 8 of Eurocode 7 (on anchors), which is in preparation. This depends on liaisons with the committees responsible for the execution and testing standards. SC7 aims to get this Amendment out for formal vote by middle of 2011, with a view to publication by end of 2011.

[14.30] Presentation of German proposal to simplify the Eurocodes. ENVs have been used in Germany for the past 15 years for steel, composite, timber, and - partially for - concrete construction, alongside national standards. The German Laender committees decide which DIN and CEN standards (with or without annexes) will be in the ‘Model List of Technical Construction Regulations’. Based on this Model List and subsequent public consultation, they prepare ‘Lists of Technical Building Regulations’. Most Eurocodes may be use d in Germany from January 2011 (includes Eurocode 7 Part 1 but not Part 2).

[15.00] Further discussion, with many people asking what is meant by'simplification'. Concerns have been raised about the complexity and volume of the Eurocodes. Denmark has taken some of the Eurocodes and re-printed selected clauses in a single document. BSI has done something similar with PP 1990. Research with users of Eurocode 7 has shown that more guidance is wanted, not less (but may be a special case, since it currently lacks detailed rules). Has anyone else actually surveyed end-users? There are a range of codes, running from ‘Principles-focussed standards’ to ‘Simple rule-book standards’. Initially, users prefer rule-book to principle-based standards, because they are easy to use. However, on further use they become frustrated with the limited scope of the rule-based standards.

[16.30] Meeting closed for the day.

Under development:standards for geotechnical measurements

CEN/TC 341, Geotechnical investigation and testing, has setup a working group to develop new European Standards for geotechnical measurements. Here are the titles of the individual parts that are planned:

1. General rules
2. Extensometers and convergence tape measurements
3. Inclinometers and deflectometers measurements
4. Total pressure cells measurements
5. Piezometers
6. Hydraulic settlement gauges
7. Strain gauges
8. Load cells
9. Geodetic monitoring instruments
10. Vibration monitoring instruments

Under development: new laboratory test standards

From the October 2010 report of CEN/TC341/WG6, the working group responsible for converting the European technical specifications for laboratory testing (EN ISO TS 17892 series) into full blow European Standards:

• Parts 1, 2, 3, 6, and 9: review almost complete; expect to issue Working Drafts by Jan 2011
• Parts 4, 5, and 12: plan to complete review during the first half of 2011
• Parts 7, 8, 11 and 12: plan to complete review during the second half of 2011

You can find out what each part covers by reading Section 4.8 of Decoding Eurocode 7.

Professionalism is falling short in the UK

Property and construction consultancy McBains Cooper has said that professionalism is "falling short" in the UK construction industry with a poor understanding of Eurocodes amongst British construction companies. [These codes] should have been fully adopted in the UK from April 2, 2010, when British Standard codes for construction stopped being updated. "This is a potentially massive issue: our research indicates that the vast majority of construction industry professionals are blissfully unaware that Eurocodes are here - and that two-thirds of civil engineers feel uncomfortable with Eurocodes - and that they have been designing and specifying buildings to outdated British Standards since updates stopped," said Paul Cowton, a Director of McBains Cooper.

"Only around a third of civil engineers said they've received any Eurocodes training. It's a ticking time bomb, and sooner or later there's going to be a slip up resulting in litigation at the very least. British Standards for building will be withdrawn completely in 2013, and simply aren't being updated. But so far as we can see, the vast majority of professionals in building design simply don't know about Eurocodes, but the front-line engineers do. We attended a seminar recently, and, anecdotally, literally 90% of the construction professionals in the room had not even heard of Eurocodes.

"So confusion reigns. If something goes wrong, there is huge potential for litigation, because they're not designing to current best standards or using current best practice. There is a strong potential for legal action under Duty of Care. This is about professionalism in the construction sector, and, frankly, it is falling apart when it comes to Eurocodes. But it is a tediously important piece of legislation. Back in April we warned that Eurocodes will sneak up and bite any UK construction company or professional services business that does not recognise their importance.

"The EU directive states that national codes were to be withdrawn on 31st March 2010 ... [but] updating of Building Regulations to reflect this directive will not take place until 2013. Many Engineers see this as the point of no return when they must use the Eurocodes. The fact is that it is the contracts that will decide when we must change, particularly public contracts which will undoubtedly require the change to take place immediately."

Click here to read the full press release.

Click here to find training courses for Eurocode 7.