Research project NO/A/003 (Research action NO)
Context
The « construction » sector (incl. « environment related to construction ») has been particularly affected by the recent evolution of standardisation, quality assurance, accreditation and certification.
Most Belgian producers in these sectors, in particular the S.M.E.s - which represent an increasingly significant share of employment and the G.N.P. - are insufficiently aware of and thus ill-prepared to deal with the new European context that is being prepared, which represents a threat to their competitiveness within the framework of the unified market. Moreover, from the certification perspective, due to a lack of selection criteria, producers risk being poorly oriented by service providers taking advantage of the market's lack of transparency. Indirectly, this has a negative impact on the user-consumer.
The provision of integrated information and easily consultable and understandable data should make it possible to better orient and more effectively develop the standardisation and certification activities in Belgium. This should also permit the producers as well as the public or private services to foresee and implement the necessary adaptations to anticipate the construction-related requirements of the public authorities and markets.
The project
The purpose of the study was thus to explore the possibilities for creating, ultimately, an interactive information system including a database on the regulations applicable or soon to be applicable in Belgium in the construction sector : Belgian standards, European standards, European, federal and regional regulations. This information system and this database were intended to furnish regularly-updated information to the producers and users, as well as the normative, scientific and academic worlds.
The contract which was entrusted to us should lead to establishing a global inventory of the areas which can be covered by an information system in relation to the needs of the above-mentioned potential users within the standardisation and certification framework.
The approach of these areas was envisaged from the perspectives of quality assurance, standardisation, accreditation, certification (products, persons, systems) for the fields of construction and the environment related to construction.
The study was to make it possible :
- to verify that the fields envisaged for the Programme of scientific support to standardisation do indeed offer a promising future with regard to R & D and standardisation and to identify, as applicable, future fields where there had been no initial signs of interest;
- to identify the partners to call upon in a later phase in order to create a multidisciplinary unit which will master and manage the various sources of information necessary for finalising the project.
It was also supposed to define the principles of organisation, operation, access and maintenance of the database.
The following work scheme was adopted :
- A functional analysis allowing one to define the needs of the actors, the list of the information available and the list of the information necessary for the users.
- An analysis of the technical choices making it possible to define the major functioning options of the system as well as its implementation plan.
To satisfy the demands revealed during the functional analysis, ideally one must have :
- an open database which receives the texts and the summaries/comments introduced by the suppliers of information;
- a help system allowing one to respond to personalised questions;
- regular information on the new texts which appear or are due to appear, in the form of a « letter » (fax, e-mail, paper);
- two-way communication between the sources and the users.
With regard to establishing a system :
- ideally, information on new developments will be provided via the « letter » (fax, e-mail, paper);
- questions can be answered very simply by creating an on-line info desk;
- the function of providing information will ideally be filled by a BBS site or an Internet site (or a combination of the two). The mixed solution would most likely offer a better level of user satisfaction, while remaining technically realistic.
The Internet site would notably make it possible to provide information both free of charge and on a permanent basis, while the BBS site could be reserved for paid-access information.
The partners
Walloon Ministry of Equipment and Transportation.
Directorate of Technical Specifications and Standardisation - D.425.
Mr M. FLAHAUX, Eng.
Scientific Institute for Public Service - ISSEP.
Mr M. VESCHKENS, Eng.
University of Liège - « Conformity and Quality » Unit.
Pr. R. DEGEIMBRE.
Expected products and results
The next stage of the project could only be implemented with a very broad partnership, organised by a unanimously accepted central authority. Collaboration of the organisations which issue documents is obviously an essential condition. The modes of remuneration of these organisations must be clearly defined and form the object of agreements. These organisations will also be asked to establish the summaries of the documents and any comments. On this last subject, the aid of professional federations will also be envisaged.
A second partner will have to be found among the companies specialised in document processing. This second partner will have to ensure :
- the acquisition of the data and their processing;
- the supply (or even the creation) of database management softwares;
- the inputting of the information.
Information distribution companies constitute the third category of partners. They handle the daily management of the database, its updating in coordination with all the upstream partners, its security, and finally its provision for the users.
Volet 1: Création d’un système interactif d’information et d’aide à l’application de la réglementation, normalisation et des dispositions en matière de reconnaissance de la conformité et de la qualité dans le secteur de la construction : rapport final
Bruxelles : Politique scientifique fédérale, 2007 (SP1816)
[Exhausted]
Volet 2 (Annexes) : création d’un système interactif d’information et d’aide à l’application de la réglementation, normalisation et des dispositions en matière de reconnaissance de la conformité et de la qualité dans le secteur de la construction
Bruxelles : Politique scientifique fédérale, 2007 (SP1817)
[Exhausted]
