Research project NO/C/022 (Research action NO)
Concrete is a product that is frequently used in the agricultural sector for clamp silos, farmyard hardening, liquid manure cellars, stable floors, grids, pen partitions, etc.
In practice, we regularly see that mistakes are made due to a lack of information and support in applying existing standards, the lack of certification and certified products, and the lack of government guidelines. An increasing number of concrete manufacturers and construction companies in the agricultural sector are coming to see the lack of Belgian standardisation and certification coupled with the lack of control as a problem that is weakening their competitive position on foreign markets. The farmer and market gardener would also clearly benefit from certification bringing the guarantee that the concrete products supplied meet specific specifications in regard to concrete quality, safe constructional design, the environment and animal welfare. Moreover, such certification and standardisation requires an interdisciplinary approach which is not yet very present in Belgium.
The two-year project will provide the basis for a new service attached to the "Rijksstation voor Landbouwtechniek" (Government Centre for Agricultural Practices) which must provide a platform permitting discussion of problems relating to standardisation and certification of concrete and concrete products in the agricultural sector between farmers and farming organisations, agricultural research bodies, agricultural advisory services, the concrete industry, the agricultural building sector and the BIN.
Standardisation and certification in the agricultural sector will be promoted by means of a number of concrete actions, including:
1. One objective of this project is to publish a newsletter on agricultural buildings with particular emphasis on the use of concrete. This will be published four times a year and contain technical articles on various subjects, such as low-emission accommodation for animals, concrete silo floors, concrete grids, stable floors, manure cellars, etc. These articles must clearly state the present standardisation and certification status of the concrete products described and practical and/or research experiences with these concrete products on farms, market gardens or on a laboratory scale. There will be reports on research projects on agricultural concrete products, carried out both at home and abroad. The articles will also present research results in a readily understandable manner.
This newsletter must help spread information to farm managers, advisory services, stable constructors, environment coordinators, government, architects, manufacturers of concrete elements for agriculture (concrete grids, silo-prefab elements, etc.), researchers and others.
2. The information contained in the newsletter will also be included in summary form in an electronic newspaper. For this the project will work together with Agris cv, set up by three publishers (Tijd Electronic Services, Belgische Boerenbond en Landelijke Uitgeverijen). The Flemish Administration for Agriculture and Marketing Gardening and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture also sit on the Agris cv board of directors. Agris cv is an electronic publisher in the agriculture, market gardening, agro- and food industry, and also in farming and market gardening related sectors, via two channels: the TV and the Internet on the computer with an open information system (freely available information for agriculture and market gardening).
An electronic information network will also be developed within this project with a databank on standards, specifications and technical and certification regulations relating to agricultural concrete elements and concrete. This will be called the “agricultural building net” or ABOnet (“agrarisch bouwnet) and will complement the Cobonet. The project manager will be responsible for compiling the computer files. Agris cv staff will then place these on the web site.
3. This project also aims to contribute to the creation of Belgian standardising documents and Belgian and European standards for agricultural concrete elements and concrete. Under this project, work will begin on preparing a Belgian standardising document for prefabricated grid floor elements in concrete, given the absence of a Belgian standard for these products, while awaiting the European standard, and with a view to introducing the BENOR mark. The "Rijksstation voor Landbouwtechniek" (Prof. Dr.ir. J. Daelemans) together with Mr ir F. Almey (Probeton) sat on the Technical Committee for the European draft standard prEN 12737 for prefabricated concrete grid floor elements. The aforementioned draft standard is at present the subject of a CEN inquiry.
Probeton has already set up a technical committee (TK 24) for grid floor elements with a view to drawing up a standardising document for these concrete elements. The project coordinator is also a member of this group. The project will work on the following points:
- Drafting of the standardising document
- Establishment of the BENOR mark for these grid floor elements
- Promotion of BENOR products in general
- Increasing awareness among all manufacturers of prefabricated grid floor elements of the need to comply with the provisions of the standardising document (and later possibly also with the BENOR mark)
- Providing these manufacturers with information on the need for the continuous self-monitoring imposed by the BENOR mark. Continuous self-monitoring relates to raw materials, manufacture and the end product and is increasingly coming to include elements of the quality assurance system according to the NBM-EN 29002 (ISO 9002) standard.
- A feasibility study on the centralisation of the continuous self-monitoring of manufacturers will be carried out during the first project year. Every manufacturer must carry out continuous self-monitoring for grid floor manufacturers to be able to use the BENOR mark. This means that every manufacturer must have a suitable laboratory and skilled staff (concrete technologist). By centralising the self-monitoring of several manufacturers within a single (mobile) lab it may be possible to save a great deal of costs. The feasibility of such a project will be studied.
- If the feasibility study proves positive, a start will then be made on encouraging manufacturers to use a common laboratory which will in turn be subject to a regular external inspection by PROBETON (which works with recognised laboratories). Financing to develop the laboratory and for personnel will be sought outside the project (grid floor manufacturers, agriculture minister, concrete industry). The income earned by this laboratory must in turn be used to provide further financial support for the continued existence of the new service after the two-year project.
4. An inventory will be drawn up, in cooperation with construction firms in the agricultural sector, of all concrete constructions and construction elements on farms. A check will be made on each component to see to what extent standards and/or certified products already exist. Constructions or products for which standards and/or certifications exist will be stored in a computer databank and made available to the sector via the Internet (ABOnet). The project will encourage these construction firms to pay more attention to existing standards, applying them in practice and striving to obtain certified products.
This activity must result in a process of progressively increasing awareness among these construction firms so that they pay more attention to certification and standardisation. The project will also seek to make a practical contribution to the process by drawing up a case study. The case study will deal with the use of concrete for constructing liquid manure cellars and silos.
Summary of the final report:
See Dutch version or French version
Promotie van normalisatie en certificatie van betonproducten in de agrarische sector : eindverslag
Brussel : Federaal Wetenschapsbeleid, 2003 (SP1185)
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