Welcome to the extranet of the Steel Cluster of PROCERTUS
The following products are covered within the Steel Cluster:
- reinforcing steel for concrete (manufacturers and service providers (distributors));
- prestressing steel (manufacturers);
- steel construction materials, building elements and bearings (manufacturers and service providers (distributors));}
- steel, aluminum and composite lighting columns and the vertical traffic signs (manufacturers and service providers (distributors)).
For these products, certification is organized on the basis of the BENOR system, the CE system or the PROCERTUS mark.
The certificate confirms that the company's operation complies with a set of rules laid down in the certification scheme.
In the case of the BENOR mark or the PROCERTUS mark, those rules focus on the suitability for use of a product or service. The certificate holder uses the mark on its delivery notes to confirm this to users.
CE certification, on the other hand, stems from the legal requirement for a manufacturer to have a certificate before marketing its product in the European Union.
HISTORY
Since the merger of BE-CERT, PROBETON and OCAB-OCBS on 1 April 2024, the services of OCAB-OCBS will continue to be provided from the Steel cluster of PROCERTUS.
The asbl OCBS (Organisme voor de Controle van gewapend BetonStaal) or OCAB (Organisation pour le Contrôle des aciers pour Béton Armé) was established in 1977 by its founding members consisting of government agencies, producers and representatives of expert groups. Throughout its history, OCAB-OCBS has maintained and built on this consensus model between all interest groups.
Initially, the activity concerned only BENOR certification but after the publication of the Construction Products Directive 89/106/EEC, OCAB-OCBS was also notified as a notified body for organising certification in this context.
ORGANISATION OF THE STEEL CLUSTER
The general operation of the cluster steel is laid down in the general rules ARG (Algemeen Reglement – Règlement Général).
The supervision of the application of the certification schemes and the drafting of the certification rules and associated technical specifications is entrusted to 2 sectoral committees (SC) that include representatives of the various interest groups:
- Sectoral Committee (SC1) 'reinforcing and prestressing steel'
- Sectoral Committee (SC2) "steel building materials, building elements and bearings, and lighting columns and vertical traffic signs"
The interest groups consist of public and private users of the products, the manufacturers and service providers (distributors of the products), and the experts in the field. A chairman is preferably chosen from the public users and a vice-chairman from the manufacturers.
Concrete decisions related to the certification of a specific file are taken by a Certification Committee consisting of a number of staff members of the certification body PROCERTUS.
The Certification Committee is responsible for:
- ongoing certification decisions (award, termination, suspension at the request of the certificate holder);
- the determination of sanctions against users;
To this end, this Committee is systematically assisted by a Technical Advice Committee comprising the users of the products, who can thereby formulate a binding opinion.
The actual supervision of certificate holders is carried out by the inspection bodies that have entered into an agreement with the certification body for this purpose. They are instructed to perform all tasks related to:
- the preliminary examination of the applicant
- regular checks at the certificate holder's premises.
The inspection bodies submit their file to the Certification Committee for decision.