On 11 June, the Spanish Association for Standardization hosted the UNE Conference: "Standards applied to digitalisation in construction. Information Management in BIM and the Digital Product Passport” at its headquarters in Madrid, with an online attendance option. The session highlighted the fundamental role of European standards on digitalisation in the construction industry in improving its efficiency and the competitiveness of organisations.
The session, sponsored by BuildingSMART Spanish Chapter and which was held in English, was inaugurated by Timoteo de la Fuente, technical advisor at the Ministry of Industry and Tourism. The Chairman of the European BIM Committee (CEN/TC 442), Øivind Rooth, presented recent activities and their relationship with international standardisation.
The first part dealt with information management in BIM through the series of international standards UNE-EN ISO 19650 with two presentations by David Churcher, coordinator of the review of parts 1 and 3 of the UN-EN ISO 19650 series of standards, who presented the current status of the drafts and the next steps; and Sergio Muñoz, chairman of CTN-UNE 332 and managing director of buildingSMART Spanish Chapter, who presented the importance of the series of standards for designers and construction companies. Following the presentations, a round table discussion took place which also involved Peter Kompolschek, convenor of CEN/TC 442/WG 3; Javier Lozano, Deputy Director of BIM and Digital Continuity at ADIF; José Carlos Rico BIM Management at FCC Construction and Eloi Coloma, Professor at UPC and technical director at C+A.
The second part dealt with the digitalisation of the declaration of performance and conformity, present in the new European Regulation 2024/3110, which establishes harmonised standards for the marketing of construction products (CPR). This Regulation will oblige manufacturers to provide a digital product passport based on European standards. Presentations were given by Oscar Nieto, policy officer at the European Commission, which introduced the digital passport in the new CPR; and Espen Schulze, convener of CEN/TC 442/WG 12, who presented the activities of this group, for which UNE is secretary. Following the presentations, there was a round table discussion moderated by Arturo Alarcón, secretary of CTN-UNE 332, in which, in addition to Óscar Nieto and Espen Schulze, the following participated: Martin Schreck, convenor of CEN/CLC/JTC 24/WG 1, and Aitor Aragón, secretary of CEN/TC 442/WG 12 and head of CTN-UNE 332 at UNE. Further information on this topic can be found in the following article published in UNE magazine: Boosting standards for digitalisation in the European Construction Products Regulation.
The UNE Conference brought together numerous digitalisation experts in the construction sector from the European Committee for Standardisation for BIM, CEN/TC 442, as well as public administrations and leading companies in the sector to delve deeper into the need to adopt international standards to ensure quality and sustainability in construction, facilitating the sector's digital transition and its integration into the European regulatory framework.
This event was held in Madrid to take advantage of the meetings of CEN/TC 442, which will hold its plenary session on 12 June at UNE headquarters.
