MCBAINS COOPER
PROPERTY & CONSTRUCTION CONSULTANCY
PRESS RELEASE
November 1, 2010.
EUROCODES: PROFESSIONALISM IS “FALLING SHORT” IN UK
Professionalism is “falling short” in the UK
The pan-European model building codes developed by the European Committee for Standardisation should have been fully adopted in the UK
“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of civil engineers feel uncomfortable with Eurocodes - and that they have been designing and specifying buildings to outdated British Standards since updates stopped,” said Paul Cowton of property and construction consultancy McBains Cooper.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“British Standards for building will be withdrawn completely in 2013, and simply aren’t being updated.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
"The EU directive states that national codes were to be withdrawn on 31st March 2010, and the BSI has confirmed they are complying with that directive and will not be supporting changes to British Standards beyond March. The 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.”
Ends
Further information:
Iain Macauley
07788 978800
Notes.
McBains Cooper.
McBains Cooper is an international inter-disciplinary property and construction consultancy, one of the most successful in its sector.
Driving and supporting projects ranging from minor works to major contracts worth more than £100 million, McBains Cooper operates across a variety of sectors throughout the UK , Europe and Latin America .
McBains Cooper is committed to environmental, social and economic sustainable development, and its integrated approach means it can deliver effective, award-winning solutions to its clients.
The business is involved in professional consultancy in property, infrastructure and construction, offering a wide range of consulting and design services including architectural, aesthetic or technical design, problem solving, budget management, facilities management, health and safety, sustainability consultancy and on-the-ground civil engineering.
The group employs 150 people. McBains Cooper has regional headquarters in London (head office), Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester, Oxford, Windsor, Athens (Greece,) Lima (Peru), and Monterrey (Mexico), Mexico City and Miami, with associate offices in Belfast and Dublin. www.mcbainscooper.com
2 comments:
The government must intervene into this issue before it's become full-blown and by then, the problem would become harder to solve.part L building regulations
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