CROSS Safety Report
Policing of CE marking on steelwork
This report is over 2 years old
Overview
A reporter has a question regarding structural steel safety, particularly on steel gantry systems supporting lifting equipment.
They know from EN1090-1 and 2, that structural steel work should be CE marked and wants to know who polices these new regulations.
Key Learning Outcomes
For all built environment professionals:
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If you are aware of an urgent safety issue or that inadequate steelwork has been used in construction:
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Your first step should be to raise this with the organisations concerned if possible
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If applicable, you should speak to your line manager
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If this does not resolve the issue, or if the response you receive is inadequate, then you should inform the appropriate regulator
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Full Report
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A reporter has a question regarding structural steel safety, particularly on steel gantry systems supporting lifting equipment. They have seen some recently erected gantries that use steel I beams connected together using (in their view) untested, cheaply made plate style clamps. They know from EN1090-1 and EN1090-2, that structural steel work should be CE marked, and from July 1 2014 these new regulations were enforceable under criminal law.
They want to know who polices these new regulations, and are they really enforceable if the inspectors are unaware of new regulations and legitimate fasteners? Because as it currently stands these gantries are held together with, in the opinion of the reporter, an unsatisfactory system.
The wider issue is: who should be advised if it is suspected that material or components are being used which do not comply with the CE marking regulations?
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Feedback
We were interested to see your comment about the lack of enforcement of CE Marking of structural steel. We have over 100 frame manufacturers as members who have all been accredited to CE Mark to BS 1090.1. They report that they are competing against other frame manufacturers who are undercutting them on price because they are not accredited to CE Mark their structural steel. Trading standards when told are taking very little action and DCLG are not being helpful. In the agricultural market this is a serious safety concern, because there is no Building Control and no third party check of the frame manufacturer's design. We also believe that many non-accredited frame manufacturers are designing to 35 year old load tables. The different design methods allowed causes confusion in the agricultural market as there is often no professional to check that the correct standards are being used. We are concerned that if we have heavy snows again or very strong winds, more agricultural buildings will collapse as they did a few years ago, (See CROSS reports on snow load collapses) when we were very lucky that no one was hurt. Any pressure you can bring to ensure there is more enforcement of CE Marking will be welcomed. Tony Hutchinson FIoR National Secretary Rural & Industrial Design & Building Association www.ridba.org.uk
Expert Panel Comments
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There is wider concern about the lack of enforcement of CE marking by the authorities in general, and also by the seeming lack of understanding of both the law (i.e. the Construction Product Regulations) and the requirements needed for a certified Factory Production Control system.
Not all steel contractors are thought to be CE marking compliant which creates conflict when those that have taken the trouble to do so as they are in competition with those who have not. The government approach is risk based and said to be focused on the need to help businesses comply with such regulations rather than immediately pursuing enforcement action. The understanding of CE marking is poor with a lot of misunderstanding and this is unsatisfactory.