EOTA'S PRINCIPLES OF INDUSTRIAL CO-OPERATION
All too often EOTA is wrongly accused of being a closed club where manufacturers, specifiers and contractors have no possibility of participation. Such sentiments, born in ignorance of the real EOTA policy for industrial co-operation, demand clear clarification on how these various players in the construction industry can participate in EOTA's activities:
First of all, it should be recalled that presently six European organisations, representing key areas of the European Construction Sector already participate at EOTA Technical Board level: CEPMC (Council of European Producers of Materials for Construction), FIEC (European Construction Industry Federation), AEEBC (Association of European Building Surveyors), EBC (European Builders Confederation), UEPC (European Union of Developers and House Builders) and EFBWW (European Federation of Building and Wood Workers). And of course this list is never closed.
When it comes to the core of EOTA's work, drafting ETA Guidelines under EC/EFTA mandate, a number of co-operation possibilities exist at present:
-
if there is, for the relevant product area, a representative European organisation of manufacturers, this organisation can, if it so wishes, be invited to the EOTA Working Group drafting the ETAG. Presently, about 20 organisations have used this opportunity, participating actively in 15 WGs.
-
if there is no relevant European organisation, most members of EOTA have set up, at national level, so-called mirror groups which are consulted regularly on the progress achieved on the ETAG.
-
in the same situation (no European organisation exists) some Approval Bodies include in their delegation to the WG a representative expert from industry in order to benefit from the expertise of their national industry in the area concerned.
-
and finally, some WGs organise meetings at regular intervals during the ETAG drafting stage, where they inform industry on ETAG developments and ask for creative technical response on their drafting exercise.
If these offers interest you, make contact with your national Approval Body for further information on how you can participate in EOTA's challenging task.