| One
trade association in the agricultural and industrial
construction industry is bucking the trend in not one but
two respects. |
| The
Rural and Industrial Design and Building Association (RIDBA)
lobbies on behalf of 280 members who specialise in
fabricating and erecting agricultural and industrial steel-
and timber-framed buildings. |
| Its
latest campaign, probably RIDBA’s biggest-ever in its
55-year history, concerns the CE Marking of steel-framed
buildings which is not currently compulsory in the UK but
after July 2013 it will become a criminal offence to supply
a frame without a CE mark. |
| This
will demonstrate both compliance with the Construction
Products Regulation - which is mandatory - and that the
buildings are fit for purpose under BS EN 1090 Part 2
‘Execution of Steel Structures and Aluminium Structures’.
There are timber-based standards in the pipeline as well. |
|
Advice on how steel-framed building manufacturers and
fabricators can minimise the cost of complying with
compulsory CE Marking was offered in two RIDBA seminars this
winter. |
| This
leg-up on the legislative ladder was created by RIDBA in a
link-up with TRADA Technology, the leading independent
timber research, consultancy, testing and information
provider for the UK construction industry, and the Steel
Construction Institute (SCI). |
| The
link-up gives RIDBA members preferential access to the
factory production control manual and the design protocol
required by fabricators for the CE Marking of steel framed
buildings. This will markedly reduce their costs in meeting
the requirements to CE Mark their frames, and so help to
reduce any possible price increase for their clients. |
|
RIDBA has worked closely with BM TRADA, TRADA Technology and
SCI since 2009 to ensure its members are fully prepared when
CE marking becomes mandatory and so seriously does it take
this issue that it is now gambling on making CE Marking a
condition of membership from July 2013. |
|
Secretary Tony Hutchinson said: “I am not aware of any other
trade association in our industry taking such a hard
stance.” |
|
However, it seems the gamble might just pay off – the
association has seen a 40% rise in corporate membership
since September 2010 when its CE Marking campaign really
started to be felt. |
| “In
these hard times, most trade associations in the
construction industry are leeching members so this is a very
good result and shows what can be done if one supplies the
correct support to help members at a reasonable price,” said
Tony. |
|
RIDBA members supply over 50% of the UK agricultural market
and over 12% of the total single-storey steel-framed market.
They erect more than 5,500 agricultural and industrial
buildings a year and supply and clad an area of almost
2million²m of steel-framed buildings. |
| |
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