Here Barbara Sorgato, secretary general at the European Consortium of Anchor Producers (ECAP), discusses the ‘Smart CE Marking’ initiative – started by the association CPE (Construction Products Europe) in 2015 – and how its goal is the digitalisation of Declaration of Performances in the Construction Products Regulation.
Every market and sector in recent years has experienced a transformation triggered by the increasing access to data and software applications, with the construction sector also experiencing this process. A key part of this digital environment development is the Building Information Model (BIM), which led to a complex structure of interrelated European and ISO standards.
Whilst data templates for some products covered by harmonised standards have already been produced, through sectoral associations or European projects, the work on the EADs was only started in 2019, when ECAP experts volunteered in delivering the first three drafts of data templates, in the framework of a CPE pilot project on anchors.
What is a data template?
A data template is a common data structure describing the characteristics and properties of an object (usually a product), according to a source of information. When a data template is completed with information, the output is called a data sheet. In practice, a data sheet includes the performance and the technical characteristics of the object. With an information exchange format, data sheets can be shared and used by different IT tools or digital environments.
On the 13th December, during a meeting of the EOTA-CPE project: ‘Smart CE Marking on products covered by EADs’, manufacturers of three different associations and TABs (Technical Assessment Bodies)
involved in the issuing of EADs on post-installed fasteners, started a common work to finalise the three
data templates.
These data templates are created for main EADs on anchors, which were derived from ETAGs, and for which several ETAs have been issued:
The goal of the pilot project is to deliver, within 2023, the three data templates, tested on ETAs issued for the three EADs. The very next goal is to implement the pilot project on ‘Smart CE Marking’ for other EAD products and sectors.
Which format is used for the data templates?
The main challenge of digitalisation in construction is interoperability. Software applications must be able to exchange information, but it is not possible unless standardised data structures and exchange formats for digital information are provided.
That’s why the data templates follow a machine readable format given in a CEN document: CWA (CEN Workshop Agreement) 17316:2018. This document is based on two ISO standards, EN ISO 23386 and EN ISO 23387. Together they provide the framework for data templates, enable interoperability and maximising compatibility in the BIM environment.
What is the content of the data templates?
The data templates should contain all mandatory characteristics in the EADs and further information that needs to be in the DoP (and in the future DoC – Declaration of Conformity) because both are related to the performance of the product.
This is a challenge as EADs contain several mixed, interrelated bits of information. EADs were originally not conceived for DoPs and nor is data given in the ETAs. This has created a lot of troubles for the manufacturers since the CPR has been published. Manufacturers are requested to fulfil the CPR legal requirements, amongst which is the correct formulation of the DoP according to Annex III of the CPR, which until now was not always properly done. Digitalisation forces us to harmonise data, so, whilst it forces manufacturers to face and solve the correct formulation of DoPs (and, hopefully, it suggests TABs to draft EADs in a more DoP friendly way), it can be seen as a chance to finally solve this point.
Not only DoPs
EPDs – Environmental Product Declaration – can also be delivered as product data sheets. The rules to digitise them are available in ISO 22057, which contains the necessary guidance. The benefit of this initiative is the interoperability, so if in future EPDs information is integrated in the CPR, product data templates will also be integrated.
The potential benefits of product data templates need to also be unleashed in relation to other policies and initiatives, such as Building Logbooks, Level(s), substance declaration, etc, which will facilitate their market implementation if harmonised European data templates are developed.
Will digitalisation of DoPs work in practice for SMEs?
Digitalisation will only work in practice if it can be easily implemented by companies of any size without a deep IT knowledge and while the manufacturer keeps the ownership of the information. Approaches, such as databases for which an entry fee is requested, failed to be relevant in the market and probably will not have the implementation of standardised, open approaches. This is one of the reasons why ECAP is engaged in the project. Digitalisation in construction cannot be allowed to become a paradise for big software houses at the expenses of SMEs.
It is worth noting that when it comes to the information giving in data templates, it is the manufacturers who own the information and are liable for it, as is the case for the DoPs. That is why all data should be considered as an asset with real value and the only way for SMEs to get the benefits from the delivery of information is by controlling the digitalisation of product information in interoperable formats within product data sheets.
www.ecap-sme.org
Will joined Fastener + Fixing Magazine in 2007 and over the last 15 years has experienced every facet of the fastener sector - interviewing key figures within the industry and visiting leading companies and exhibitions around the globe.
Will manages the content strategy across all platforms and is the guardian for the high editorial standards that the Magazine is renowned.
Don't have an account? Sign Up
Signing up to Fastener + Fixing Magazine enables you to manage your account details.
