Eurobitume Technical Committee: supporting our members
From developing and communicating industry positions on technical matters through to producing technical guidance and providing expert input into the creation and revision of bitumen and bituminous binder standards, Eurobitume’s Technical Committee undertakes a wide variety of activities on behalf of members to help promote the safe and efficient use of bitumen in road, industrial and building projects in Europe.
Comprising technical experts from member companies and Eurobitume, all with a wealth of valuable local and European experience, the Technical Committee also liaises with key national and international regulatory bodies and is a vital forum where input about specific technical challenges is shared and discussed.
Providing expert input into the CEN standardisation process
To ensure appropriate product performance and testing standards are in place that benefit manufacturers, specifiers and end-users, the Technical Committee actively represents Eurobitume members’ interests at CEN and National Standardisation Body (NSB) mirror committee levels throughout the CEN (European Committee for Standardisation) standardisation process:
- Identifying the need for a new standard or for an update to an existing standard.
- Supporting the undertaking of accurate, reliable and consistent testing against product standards– by developing additional Eurobitume Technical Information Sheets which make individual test methods easier to understand and contain practical advice.
- Developing informed Eurobitume positions on the revision of European bituminous binder standards – by running a Data Collection project that collated and analysed multiple organisations’ experiences with specific test methods.
- Standards implementation – providing input through NSB mirror committees.
Posters at the E&E Congress
Interesting examples of the Technical Committee’s work are the three posters created by Technical Committee Task Forces:
I. TF Specifications
The Technical Committee created Task Force (TF) Specifications to manage Eurobitume’s contribution to the development of specifications and the use of test methods for bitumen and bituminous binders. TF Specifications’ current focus is the revision of EN 14023 (polymer modified bitumen standard), regarding the introduction of rheology testing to assess product performance and potential further updates. TF Specifications is also developing and discussing a long-term vision on product specifications.
To explain its work and interim outcome, TF Specifications has created an interesting technical poster which can be viewed by E&E Congress participants.
II. TF Test Methods
The second poster the Technical Committee has developed for the E&E Congress, this time through TF Test Methods, sets out the work Eurobitume is undertaking with regard to test methods. This addresses conventional as well as rheological assessment methods and conditioning procedures, the Technical Information Sheets available, and the input into the revision of test methods.
III. TF Data Collection
TF Data Collection produced the Technical Committee’s third poster for the E&E Congress. This clearly explains the extensive second Data Collection Project, which draws upon 172 data sets provided by Eurobitume members (99 for paving grade bitumen, 13 for hard paving grade bitumen and 60 for polymer modified bitumen) and address test methods and results based upon the latest proposals for future European specifications, including different ageing stages of samples after standard laboratory procedures.
To view these posters and find out what is happening within the bitumen and asphalt industries, attend the 7th E&E Congress, which is a virtual event that takes place on 15-17 June, 2021. For participants, the posters will be available for three months after the Congress.
Communication to politicians and policy makers
Another interesting example which demonstrates the variety of work the Technical Committee undertakes on behalf of members was the development of Eurobitume’s input to the European Commission – delivered by our President and Director General - regarding the delay in citing revised European product standards within the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU).
Similarly, we also input Eurobitume’s technical vision for the European Union’s Construction Product Regulation during the review process, which is currently (at the time of writing) underway.
To see and hear a summary of the work conducted by Eurobitume’s Technical Committee in 2020, please visit the Annual Reviews page on the Eurobitume website, click on Eurobitume Annual Review 2020 and open the ‘Technical’ chapter from the ‘Chapters’ drop-down at the top of the page.