Standards to ensure the safety, quality and durability of public infrastructure

As head of the Concrete and Steel Expertise Section (EBS) of the Flemish government's Department of Mobility and Public Works, engineer Paul Meekels uses standards on a daily basis. "We once listed how many different standards we use within our standard specifications: it turned out there were many hundreds of them."

Safety, quality and durability

EBS is an internal study and control office for civil engineering works. Within that domain, three standard specifications are used: SB250, SB260 and SB270. "These standard specifications describe the requirements we set for how our infrastructure is designed and constructed," Paul says. "Standards are vitally important to ensure the safety, quality and durability of this infrastructure. They're essentially the rules of good workmanship and good engineering practices."

From Eurocodes to electrical engineering standards

EBS is responsible for the requirements for the Flemish Government's civil engineering works, and therefore often uses Eurocodes. "These are imposed as design standards," Paul explains. However, they use many more standards: "All the material standards for the various building materials are also covered. During inspections, we use standards that describe test procedures. We also design and build various electromechanical installations, such as movable bridges or locks. For these, we use a whole range of electrotechnical and mechanical standards."

The same language and way of working

Thanks to standards, EBS draws up regulations in a simple and standardised way to be able to ensure safe and reliable infrastructure. Standards therefore offer Paul and his team many benefits. "Standards are rules of good practice that are used nationally and usually even internationally. As a result, all the partners involved in the various projects use the same language and work in a uniform and familiar way. Moreover, by prescribing standards, you can easily refer to a much more comprehensive set of regulations and requirements. When we inspect materials, we use standards and additional requirements to check the conformity and quality of the delivered products."

‍How to use standards in the public sector: 3 golden tips from our expert

• Simplify your own regulations by referring to standards for a uniform way of working and communicating.  

• Use the NBN platform. This way, you'll always stay up to date with the latest standards and can easily make them available to your employees.

• As a client, use certified materials for guaranteed conformity and quality of the products. This means work can be done faster and more efficiently, with fewer costs related to downtime.