Published Standards are developed by national and international standardisation bodies.
In Britain this is through the British Standards Institution (BSI); other countries have corresponding organisations.
At a European level, standards are developed through the European Committee for Standardization (Comité Europeèn de Normalisation – CEN).
International standards, intended for use worldwide, are developed through the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
In some cases, standards are agreed for adoption at all three levels. Standards cover various subjects, including product specifications, methods of design, codes of practice and methods for quality control of products.
To assist in breaking down barriers to trade across the European market, CEN is producing a series of European Standards (ENs). All CEN member countries have agreed to adopt the ENs and to withdraw any conflicting national standards within a short period of an EN being ratified and subsequently published. In each member country, an EN will be given a national prefix, for example in the UK they are published by BSI as a BS EN, in Germany they are DIN EN. The content of these different versions of the EN standards is the same, although the language differs from country to country. In some cases an EN may additionally include an ‘informative’ National Annex giving information specific to one country.
The European ‘Construction Products Directive (CPD)’ is incorporated into UK law. Under this, CEN is preparing, so called ‘Harmonised Standards’, for construction products. These define the requirements for their suitability for sale and use within the EU. Once a ‘Harmonised Standard’ is published all products covered by that Standard sold for permanent use in construction works must comply with the CPD. Although not mandatory in the UK, the easist way for a manufacturer to demonstrate compliance with the CPD is to apply the CE mark .
BS standards are developed solely for use in this country, where standards are required in the UK but have not been developed elsewhere.
Standards updates for TRADA members
A monthly update on new, revised, amended or withdrawn Standards which relate to timber is posted on askTRADA for TRADA members only.
A list of current published standards relating to timber is also updated monthly for TRADA members, This can be downloaded as a PDF file from the Technical Info Library section of askTRADA.
Check on the News section of the website for the latest updates.
TRADA Technology also provides a bespoke monthly checking and updating service to monitor the currency of British, European and International Standards held by companies. Contact the TRADA Information Centre for details and prices. Telephone: 01494 569602 or email <>.
