Approximately only one-third of all construction products have a designated standard and are covered by construction product regulation. The rest do not. This coupled with the fact that the new regulatory landscape in the UK has shifted the burden of proof to the positive has a direct impact on how all structural engineers must act.
New responsibilities for structural engineers have introduced the need to demonstrate that the products they are using are compliant. It is no longer enough to take what your contractors says at face value. Engineers must now understand the process of using materials with no declarations of performance in construction projects and those outside of standardised testing.
Professor, University of Warwick
Prof. Stephen Hicks is Head of Civil Engineering at the University of Warwick and possesses over 25-years of international research and development experience in steel construction. He has previously held senior management positions at HERA in New Zealand (2008 to 2019) and SCI in the UK (1997 to 2008).He is currently serving as Chair of the Eurocode 4 committee (CEN/TC 250/SC 4), and is a member of several European, UK, Australian and New Zealand design and product standard committees. He was formerly a Director of a third-party steel certification body in Australasia (ACRS), as well as an EPD programme operator (EPD Australasia).
Technical Director, Buro Happold
Jonathan is a technical director at Buro Happold with over 25years of experience in designing in a wide range of materials and systems from the conventional (Steel, Concrete) to the more unusual (cast aluminium, locally sourced green timber, bronze etc). His work with the more unusual, reclaimed and/or client supplied materials has required him to investigate and specify various types of material and product testing to verify structural behaviour and obtain design parameters. This has required working closely with material suppliers, specialist fabricators, testing houses and universities to define requirements, source samples, carry out testing, interpret the results and integrate into the design and procurement process.