Are you ready for the second generation of Eurocodes?

In 1975, the first steps towards the Eurocodes were taken with the aim of eliminating technical barriers to trade and harmonizing specifications through technical rules. Initially, they were intended to serve as an alternative to the national rules in force in different countries and, eventually, the Eurocodes were intended to replace them.

To prove the conformity of construction and civil engineering works, the Eurocodes EN comprise 10 standards (EN 1990 - 1999), each of which is divided into a number of parts. In total, there are 58 parts of EN Eurocode distributed in the ten Eurocodes.

As one would expect for such a vast reference work, its creation does not happen overnight. The following chronology gives an idea of the mechanism behind the preparation of the Eurocodes:

A team works on a Eurocode and submits a final draft to the subcommittee.

During the review period, the subcommittee has the opportunity to review the content of the Eurocode part.

After receiving the final draft, the CEN (European Committee for Standardization) organizes the formal vote and ratification, leading to the date of availability of the approved European standard (CEN process period).

The national standardization body (NSB) begins the translation of an Eurocode part.

National calibration period: the Member State must correct the parameters determined at national level within a maximum of two years after the availability date. At the end of this period, the national version of an EN Eurocode part will be published by the NSB, with the national annex.

During the coexistence period, which begins at the end of the national calibration period, the Eurocode part may be used, just as the old national system may also be used. The coexistence period of a set of Eurocodes will last up to a maximum of three years after the national publication of the last part of a set.

The ambitious Eurocodes project has clearly borne fruit: it is estimated that over 500,000 professional engineers in Europe and even worldwide have used the design standards. However, the construction industry is evolving and so are the Eurocodes. In order to keep up with new methods, new materials, new regulatory requirements and new societal needs, sustained development of the Eurocodes is necessary. Hence, the decision of the European Commission in December 2012 to mandate the development of the 2nd generation of Eurocodes to the CEN.

The main objectives of the second generation of Eurocodes are as follows:

- Improve ease of use.

- Incorporate new requirements for design, performance and robustness.

- Reduce the number of parameters determined at national level (NDP)

- Develop a number of new Eurocode parts to provide guidance on:

- Assessment and upgrading of existing structures

- Structural glass

- Actions on structures due to atmospheric icing, waves and currents.

Where are we now? The project teams completed the drafting of the second generation of Eurocodes in 2021. By 2026, the final standards should be made available to the National Standards Bodies (NSBs), so that by 2028, the first generation can be fully and officially replaced by the second generation. prEN 1993-1-1:2020 Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures - Part 1-1: General rules and rules for buildings, for example, was made available in draft form in September 2020 as the first of Eurocode 3. Projects for an entirely new Eurocode, Eurocode 11 for structural glass, will be published in 2023. The goal is for the final standards to be made available to NSBs in 2023.

Just as the first generation of Eurocodes shaped the building industry as we knew it two decades ago, the second generation will certainly define our way of building for the next 20 years. As the number one structural analysis software in Europe, SCIA was one of the first to implement the first generation of Eurocodes (including many important national annexes) in SCIA Engineer and will also play this pioneering role for the second generation of Eurocodes.