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Membership of RIDBA has grown 40%.
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One trade association in the agricultural and industrial construction industry is bucking the trend in not one but two respects.
The Rural and Industrial Design and Building Association (RIDBA) lobbies on behalf of 280 members who specialise in fabricating and erecting agricultural and industrial steel- and timber-framed buildings.
Its latest campaign, probably RIDBA's biggest-ever in its 55-year history, concerns the CE Marking of steel-framed buildings which is not currently compulsory in the UK but after July 2013 it will become a criminal offence to supply a frame without a CE mark.
This will demonstrate both compliance with the Construction Products Regulation - which is mandatory - and that the buildings are fit for purpose under BS EN 1090 Part 2 'Execution of Steel Structures and Aluminium Structures'. There are timber-based standards in the pipeline as well.
Advice on how steel-framed building manufacturers and fabricators can minimise the cost of complying with compulsory CE Marking was offered in two RIDBA seminars this winter.
This leg-up on the legislative ladder was created by RIDBA in a link-up with TRADA Technology, the leading independent timber research, consultancy, testing and information provider for the UK construction industry, and the Steel Construction Institute (SCI).
The link-up gives RIDBA members preferential access to the factory production control manual and the design protocol required by fabricators for the CE Marking of steel framed buildings. This will markedly reduce their costs in meeting the requirements to CE Mark their frames, and so help to reduce any possible price increase for their clients.
RIDBA has worked closely with BM TRADA, TRADA Technology and SCI since 2009 to ensure its members are fully prepared when CE marking becomes mandatory and so seriously does it take this issue that it is now gambling on making CE Marking a condition of membership from July 2013.
Secretary Tony Hutchinson said: "I am not aware of any other trade association in our industry taking such a hard stance."
However, it seems the gamble might just pay off - the association has seen a 40% rise in corporate membership since September 2010 when its CE Marking campaign really started to be felt.
"In these hard times, most trade associations in the construction industry are leeching members so this is a very good result and shows what can be done if one supplies the correct support to help members at a reasonable price," said Tony.
RIDBA members supply over 50% of the UK agricultural market and over 12% of the total single-storey steel-framed market. They erect more than 5,500 agricultural and industrial buildings a year and supply and clad an area of almost 2million²m of steel-framed buildings.
ENDS
Editor's note: Buying a farm building is a major investment for a farm and so it is important that it is designed to not only withstand the loads that its use will require it to carry but also environmental loads such as wind and snow which will vary dependant on the position of the building. Because of this it is critical that it is designed, fabricated and erected by competent contractors. An easy way to ensure that the contractor used is competent is to use a RIDBA corporate member who will have signed the RIDBA Code of Practice and who will be CE Marking their frames by July 2013.
Contact Information
Tracy Twitchin
TLC pr
Winslow House
16 Rumford Court
Rumford Place
Liverpool
L3 9DG
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