Construction, EU – Baltic States, Good for Business, Legislation, Real Estate

Eurocodes in construction industry are important for business. They can help to harmonize the services market in the construction sector; they will encourage and facilitate the marketing and use of materials, structural components and kits, to name a few. 

The approach of structural reliability is based on the semi-probabilistic method (limit-state performance design and partial factors method). The major concepts developed in the Eurocodes are: - fundamental requirements (safety, serviceability, fire and robustness); - reliability differentiation; - design working life; - durability, and - quality assurance.

http://eurocodes.jrc.ec.europa.eu/showpage.php?id=11

*) Regulation (EU) no 305/2011, the European Parliament & the Council of 9 March 2011

laying down harmonised conditions for the marketing of construction products and repealing

Council Directive 89/106/EEC. In: Official Journal of the European Union, 4.4.2011, L 88/5-43.

Major concepts

= Fundamental requirements (safety, serviceability, fire and robustness).

The structure and structural members should be designed, executed and maintained in such a way that they meet the following:

- Serviceability requirement – the structure during its intended life, with appropriate degrees of reliability and in an economic way, will remain fit for the use for which it is required.

Safety requirement – the structure will sustain all actions and influences likely to occur during execution and use.

- Fire requirement – the structural resistance shall be adequate for the required period of time.

- Robustness requirement – the structure will not be damaged by events such as explosion, impact or consequences of human errors, to an extent disproportionate to the original cause.

= Reliability differentiation. Different levels of reliability may be adopted for both, structural resistance and serviceability. The choice of the levels of reliability for a particular structure should take account of the relevant factors, including:

- the possible cause and/or mode of attaining a limit state;

- the possible consequences of failure in terms of risk to life, injury and potential economical losses;

- public aversion to failure, and social and environmental conditions in a particular location;

the expense and procedures necessary to reduce the risk of failure.

The levels of reliability that apply to a particular structure may be specified in one or both of the following ways:

- by classifying the structure as a whole;

- by classifying its components.

= Design working life. The design working life is the assumed period for which a structure is to be used for its intended purpose with anticipated maintenance but without major repair being necessary. The notion of design working life is useful for:

- the selection of design actions (e.g. wind, earthquake);

- the consideration of material property deterioration (e.g. fatigue, creep);

- evaluation of the life cycle cost;

- developing maintenance strategies.

= Durability. The structure should be designed in such a way that deterioration should not impair the durability and performance of the structure having due regard to the anticipated level of maintenance.

= Quality assurance. The EN Eurocodes assume that appropriate measures are taken in order to provide a structure, which corresponds to the requirements and to the assumptions made in the design. These measures comprise definition of the reliability requirements, organisational measures and controls at the stages of design, execution, use and maintenance.

More about the EN Eurocodes

The EN Eurocodes are expected to contribute to the establishment and functioning of the internal market for construction products and engineering services by eliminating the disparities that hinder their free circulation within the Community. Further, they are meant to lead to more uniform levels of safety in construction in Europe.

The EN Eurocodes are the reference design codes. After publication of the National Standard transposing the Eurocodes and the National Annexes, all conflicting standards shall be withdrawn. It is mandatory that the EU member states accept national designs to the EN Eurocodes.

The"codes" are currently at the stage of maintenance and evolution in order to address the variety of new methods, new materials, new regulatory requirements and new societal needs developing and to extend harmonisation.

The EN Eurocodes apply to structural design of buildings and other civil engineering works including: - geotechnical aspects; - structural fire design; - situations including earthquakes, execution and temporary structures.

For the design of special construction works (e.g. nuclear installations, dams, etc) other provisions than those in the EN Eurocodes might be necessary.

The EN Eurocodes cover:- basis of structural design (EN 1990);- actions on structures (EN 1991); - the design of concrete (EN 1992), steel (EN 1993), composite steel and concrete (EN1994), timber (EN 1995), masonry (EN 1996) and aluminium (EN 1999) structures; - together with geotechnical design (EN 1997); and the design, assessment and retrofitting of structures for earthquake resistance (EN 1998).

http://eurocodes.jrc.ec.europa.eu/showpage.php?id=1

Benefits of use

There are numerous benefits using EN Eurocodes: - they will help to harmonize the services market in the construction sector; - they will encourage and facilitate the marketing and use of materials, structural components and kits; - greater transparency in design methods will ease communication between designers, authorities and clients; - common design aids (manuals, handbooks, etc.) and software will be prepared and used; - the competitiveness of the European civil engineering firms, contractors, designers and product manufacturers in their worldwide activities will be increased.

Besides, the EN Eurocodes will lead to a more uniform level of constructions safety in the different European regions.

By instituting a common design framework, EN Eurocodes will enhance and be a common basis for research and development in civil engineering