BSI asks SCI to consult industry on Eurocode transition

BSI British Standards has contracted SCI to find out what designers actually need in making the switch to Eurocodes. The project aims to create a new generation of standards-based products and information to ease transition to the new codes.

The initiative has been endorsed by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), which has been calling for efforts to reduce the burden on its members in what it describes as "undoubtedly the biggest change to our structural design standards for a generation".

According to SCI’s Senior Manager of Information Technology, John Moran: "We need to talk to practical designers about how they use standards documents, what issues are likely to arise during the transition to Eurocode design and, most importantly, what they expect BSI and others to do to help. If you’re engaged in practical design and you have an appreciation of electronic design tools, then we would like to hear from you".

SCI and BSI are planning a number of user workshops, one at BSI in Chiswick, west London, and others remotely using online collaboration tools. The sessions will look at how the Eurocodes ‘work’ and assess what designers think should be done to help. Prototype materials will then be produced and validated using electronic meetings.

Currently we have a working group of 20 designers contributing to the project. A successful workshop took place in early April 2008 and has reported back to BSI on:

These interim results will be validated with the designer group before becoming proposals to BSI.

Designers taking part in the workshops will be issued with free copies of the general parts of Eurocodes 2 and 3 for concrete and steel respectively, worth a total of £368. They will also be among the first to receive SCI’s new Blue Book, with Eurocode-compliant load-span tables for steel sections.

For further information, please contact:

John Moran
Senior Manager ICT, SCI
Email: j.moran@steel-sci.com
Tel: +44 (0) 1344 636515