Chinese steel building experts have been conferring with UK counterparts during a fact-finding mission to understand more about British building standards, regulations and EN1090.

The Chinese Construction Metal Structure Association (CCMSA) which represents product suppliers, contractors, consulting engineers etc, was hosted by the British Constructional Steel Association (BCSA) during the visit, which included meetings with the British Board of Agrément and Imperial College London

The CCMSA, which has recently published its first bi-lingual standard, discussed industry standards, product certification and EN 1090 with UK industry leaders, as well as meeting with BCSA steel contracting and fabricating members in order to better understand the UK market and identify best practice suitable for its home market.

Wendy Ajuwon, Head of Marketing at the BBA, said: “We discussed the possibility of further exchange and co-operation on steel standards and building product certification with our Chinese colleagues, who were particularly interested in how the BBA certificates building products and CE Marks against EN 1090; Imperial College London hosted a workshop to explore this Eurocode, which was well-received.

CCMSA Delegation
“CCMSA members have expressed their wish to establish a professional relationship with the BBA and we value the opportunity to work with them to better understand how China certificates products, which will become increasingly important as the UK moves through Brexit,” added Wendy.

The CCMSA was equally satisfied with the visit. Association spokesman Shi Yongjiu said: “We had an extremely successful technical visit to the UK. Every group member now has a much better understanding of the building product certificates in the UK and learned a lot from BBA practices. I sincerely wish that the exchange between the BBA and CCMSA will be further expanded and look forward to collaborating on products certifications.”