The European Commission has recently organised a workshop ‘Eurocodes: Background and Application’, held in Brussels between 18 to 20 February 2008. The objective of the three day conference was to contribute towards the transfer of background knowledge and expertise of Eurocode authors to potential national trainers.

The Eurocodes will provide an opportunity for structural engineers to work to a uniform platform throughout the EU and thus open up potential international markets. These design standards involve a set of common technical rules for the design of construction works and consist of ten European Standards incorporating different types of structures, ranging from buildings to bridges, and various building materials such as concrete, steel and masonry.

The conference involved participants from all member states which gave the opportunity for representative from different EU states to exchange information about the Eurocodes. Malta was represented by delegates from the University of Malta, the Works Division and leading local structural engineering firms, including iAS who had a substantial presence with Peter Zammit, Stephen Grech, Adrian Mifsud and Frederick Grech all attending various seminar workshop topics.

The publications incorporate the latest developments in research work in each respective field and deal with factors which influence building design such as loadings resisted by structures and fire resistance of buildings. The Eurocodes shall come into force throughout the EU in 2010 and shall supersede the existing national codes which structural engineers currently use to design construction works.

Further information involving the programme of the conference and content of the Eurocodes can be found at www.eurocodes.jrc.ec.europa.eu