Reinforcing steels (SR 054)
Focus areas of standardization work:
- SFS 1300 minimum requirements for weldable reinforcing bars and reinforcing steel meshes, which serves as the basis for national product approval
- national SFS 1200 series product and testing standards
- European concrete and prestressing steel product standards (e.g. EN 10080 and EN 10138)
- international ISO testing standards (e.g. EN ISO 15360).
Standardization issues related to the welding of reinforcing bars are also discussed in this standardization group.
The standardization group’s products fall within the scope of the Construction Products Regulation (305/2011/EU).
Design of steel and aluminum structures (SR 103)
The standardization group is responsible for the standardization of structural Eurocodes used in the design of steel (SFS-EN 1993 series) and aluminum structures (SFS-EN 1999 series) of buildings and civil engineering works.
To apply the Eurocodes, you need:
The Eurocode standard and its national annex (NA= National Annex) e.g. ”SFS-EN 1993-1-1 + NA SFS-EN 1993-1-1”
The Ministry of the Environment has published the national annexes as part of the Finnish Building Regulations.
Participation in the standardization group SR 103 is free of charge based on the decision of the METSTA board, see the Participate page.
Execution of steel and aluminum structures (SR 135)
The standardization group is responsible for the standardization of execution standards for steel and aluminum structures (SFS-EN 1090 series) and metallic tanks for the storage of liquids. The standardization group also follows the standardization of the international committee ISO/TC 167 (the counterpart committee to CEN/TC 135).
Load-bearing steel and aluminum structures:
CEN/TC 135: Standard SFS-EN 1090-1 is a harmonized standard (hEN) in accordance with the Construction Products Directive (Construction Products Regulation 305/2011/EU) that deals with provisions for conformity assessment of components which imply conformity to performance characteristics declared by the manufacturer of the components (CE-marking).
- The standard series SFS-EN 1090 consists of five standards SFS-EN 1090-1 … 1090-5.
Metal tanks for the storage of liquids:
CEN/TC 265: The committee’s standards include; SFS-EN 12285 series, SFS-EN 14620 series and SFS-EN 14015 standard.
- Products in the SFS-EN 12285 standard series are factory-made and are subject to the Construction Products Regulation (305/2011/EU).
- Products in the SFS-EN 14620 series and SFS-EN 14015 standard are tanks to be built on site.
Ventilation technology for buildings (SR 156)
The scope of the national standardization group is to participate in standardization concerning building ventilation and air conditioning systems and their certain components, and HVAC automation. The standards cover the terminology, dimensioning, testing and evaluation methods, and product standards for gravitational and mechanical ventilation systems and components in buildings.
The EU legislation that most affects air technology in buildings is the Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Regulation and the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. There are a few standards under the Construction Products Regulation.
Water supply systems (SR 164)
The scope of the national standardization group is to participate in European standardization of water supply systems and sanitary appliances. Standardization of water supply systems covers installation and performance requirements as well as structural requirements for system components, including materials and water chemicals. Standardization of sanitary appliances covers the development of performance requirements and test methods, connection dimensions and product standards.
Standards support the design, calculation, implementation, commissioning and maintenance of water supply systems from the waterworks to the tap. The standardisation of water supply systems is influenced by the EU legislation on drinking water, which sets requirements for, among other things, water quality and materials used in water systems. The directive provides for a procedure for setting common health-based minimum requirements for construction materials in contact with water in the EU. The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has been tasked with compiling and regularly evaluating a health-based list of substances and materials permitted in the manufacture of construction products.
Wastewater technology (SR 165)
The scope of the national standardization group is the development of functional, performance and installation-related standards for wastewater drainage systems and their components. Product standards for technical areas that do not have their own technical committee (such as discharge pipes, stormwater and wastewater sewers, piping systems, separators) also fall within the scope of the group.
The standards support design, calculation, implementation, commissioning and maintenance from the point of origin of wastewater to wastewater treatment, also covering wastewater treatment plants.
About a quarter of the product standards in the scope of the national standardization group are subject to the Construction Products Regulation 305/2011 or the previous Construction Products Directive 89/106/EEC, i.e. harmonised product standards leading to CE marking.
Fasteners, tools and ladders (SR 185)
The standardization group is responsible for standards related to threads and fasteners, tools and ladders.
Facility Management and Consulting Services (SR 203)
Facility Management standardization covers the following areas:
- terms and definitions
- contracts
- quality
- classifications and structures
- processes
- area and volume measurements
- benchmarking.
Acoustics and Vibration (SR 211)
The scope of the standardization group covers acoustics, noise and vibration:
- basic standards of acoustics
- basic standards of noise measurement methods for machines, vehicles and the environment
- building acoustics
- basic mechanical vibration standards
- basic standards of vibration measurement methods such as vibration caused by machines, equipment and structures
- vibration exposure measurement.
Heating systems in buildings (SR 228)
The scope of the national standardization group is to participate in the standardization of building heating systems and certain components thereof, as well as HVAC automation. The standards cover functional requirements, terminology, testing and evaluation methods, and product standards for heat generators and heating systems, including the production of domestic hot water.
The EU legislation that most affects heating systems in buildings is the Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Regulation and the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. There are a few standards under the Construction Products Regulation.
Building automation (SR 247)
The scope of the national standardization group is to participate in the standardization of building automation, control technology and control systems, as well as communication systems and remote reading of meters. The standards include definitions and requirements for building automation systems, functional descriptions and testing methods for automatic control systems for building services, and requirements for accuracy, construction and testing of meters. The primary targets are application interfaces, systems and devices in an effort to ensure an efficient technical building management system together with infrastructure and commercial property management.
The aim of the requirements set for building automation in the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive is to adjust technical systems to better meet the needs of users and to avoid unnecessary use of equipment in situations where the premises are not in use. The international committee ISO/TC 205 has a working group WG 3, whose scope of application in this regard is the standardization of the design of building control systems.
Greenhouses (SR 284)
The standardization group participates in the activities of the European standardization committee CEN/TC 284, which has published one standard:
- SFS-EN 13031-1:2001 Greenhouses. Design and construction. Part 1: Commercial production greenhouses
For now, the group is in standby mode and will be activated when Finnish participants register.
Energy efficiency of buildings (SR 371)
The national standardization group coordinates horizontal standardization related to the energy efficiency of buildings on a project-by-project basis and brings together experts and authorities from different sectors when necessary. The basis for standardization is the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD).
The construction sector is crucial for achieving the EU’s energy and environmental goals, and the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive implements the construction and renovation targets set in the European Commission’s Green Deal. The standards provide calculation models, tools, requirements and guidelines to support the assessment of the energy efficiency of buildings.
European standards aim to harmonise the calculation of energy use in the Member States, and the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive takes the standards into account in terms of reporting: the national energy efficiency calculation method must be described in accordance with the standards. This is the first step towards a common European calculation of energy use. The next step is to get the standards into a machine-readable format.