Lee Brankley, Chief Executive Officer, CARES will deliver a presentation in Melbourne, Australia on ‘The CARES Sustainable Constructional Steel certification scheme for steel reinforcement in concrete’ at the 5^th International fib (Fédération internationale du béton / International Federation for Structural Concrete) Congress on 8^th October 2018.

Update on ISO 45001 from UKAS

10 July 2018

CARES has become one of the first Certification Bodies in the country to successfully achieve accreditation from UKAS to the new ISO 45001:2018 management system.

The United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) recently invited Certification Bodies to submit to assessments for the new ISO and International Accreditation Forum’s (IAF) drive to promote early implementation of accredited certification under ISO 45001: 2018, regarded as one of the most rigorous frameworks in the field of workplace health & safety assessment. CARES has just been named as one of the first to achieve accreditation to this new management system. Read the full article for further information.

An important new vote of confidence in CARES as one of the leading players in steel product certification worldwide has just been confirmed in Singapore.

The Singapore Accreditation Council (SAC) has announced that CARES is now accredited to provide product certification to the Singapore reinforcing steel standard, SS 560. Read the full article for further information.

A Tribute to the Life of Ben Bowsher

The life of Ben Bowsher, CARES’ former Chief Executive Officer, will be celebrated at a ceremony taking place on Tuesday 5 June.

CARES delivered a presentation at the first joint event of the CIHT Qatar Group and ICE Qatar

Ben Bowsher, the former CEO of CARES, the UK Certification Authority for Reinforcing Steels, has died following a long illness.

CARES has released a new quality and operations assessment schedule for hot rolled flat steel products for the steel construction and industrial applications under Construction Products and Associated Services (CPAS) Scheme. As with all CARES certification services this new schedule is UKAS accredited and the latest CARES schedule of accreditation can be assessed from the UKAS website.

CARES has released its Sustainable Constructional Steel Scheme Sector Report 2016/17. It demonstrates how a CARES-approved supply chain for constructional steel can help reduce business risk and provide top-line benefits.

The CARES Steel for the reinforcement of concrete (SRC) scheme covers all stages in the production, distribution, processing and delivery to site of steel reinforcement. It requires a robust and effective system of product traceability from the steel producer to the construction site.

CE marking of steel reinforcement - no requirement for CE marking of steel reinforcement.

Read CARES article for an update on CE marking of steel reinforcement – 14 November 2017

CARES is sponsoring the fibUK Development in Concrete Structures - DISC 2017 Conference 

The construction industry is a major consumer of resources and has impacts on the project sustainability. The responsible sourcing management system and certification scheme helps organisations to manage and reduce these impacts throughout the constructional material supply chain.

CARES article published in Concrete – March 2017.  Lee Brankley of CARES finds optimism for the steel sector in the publication of Government procurement advice and its new Industrial Strategy.

The British Standards Institute (BSI) published this new standard in January 2017. Over recent years therehasbeenasignificantgrowthinthespecification of pre-assembled welded fabrications. This standard aims to clarify the requirements of BS EN ISO 17660-1 and BS EN ISO 17660-2 and provide suitable guidance for the arc welding of carbon steel reinforcing bars produced in accordance with BS 4449 and BS 4482.

New government guidelines designed to help create a “level playing field” for UK steel producers are expected to start to have a significant impact on steel product procurement during 2017.

CARES issues electronic certificates of approval

CARES Planned Transition workshops early in 2017

CARES has released its Sustainable Constructional Steel Scheme Sector Report 2015/16.  It demonstrates how a CARES-approved supply chain for constructional steel can help reduce business risk and provide top-line benefits.

The role of CARES in providing certification to companies working towards improved construction standards in the Middle East is extending fast in 2016.

CARES became a BES 6001 Licensee earlier this year (March) and immediately applied for UKAS accreditation.

The US Green Building Council (USGBC) have confirmed that BRE-verified EPDs (Environmental Product Declaration) to EN 15804 are acceptable in LEED assessments.

The British Standards Institute (BSI) released a revision to BS 4449 on 31 March. The changes to the standard have been made in response to concerns about the addition of alloying elements to rebar and the amount of these elements added that may not have been previously reported.

BRE operates a licensing scheme for its BES 6001 Responsible Sourcing Framework Standard for Construction Products. Last week BRE welcomed CARES as the most recent licensee for BES 6001.

CARES has released its Sustainable Constructional Steel Scheme Sector Report 2014/15. It demonstrates how a CARES-approved supply chain for constructional steel can help reduce business risk and provide top-line benefits.

CARES supports the initiative of the UK government to give preference to procuring products which are able to demonstrate compliance with a recognised responsible sourcing scheme, certified by a third party.

Continuity strips are one of the many reinforced concrete products and systems in the market that are not covered by national or international product standards. However, users of these bespoke products and systems need to have the same level of product quality assurance that they would expect for rebar, a safety critical structural material.

CARES is pleased to announce that the International Steel Trade Association (ISTA) has joined its Policy Advisory Committee (PAC) as a Chairman’s nominee to the committee.

ISO 9001 2015 has recently been published to replace the 2008 version. This standard acts as the basis for all steelmill and fabricator approvals, as well as CARES technical approvals and post-tensioning activities.

CARES is sad to report the death of its former Chairman of the Board, Dr George Somerville OBE, on 4 September 2015.

CARES has produced a statement to help designers and consultants understand the relevance of CE marking for steel reinforcement.

Lee Brankley has been appointed CEO of CARES by the Board of CARES. He has been Acting Chief Executive Officer of CARES since January 2015. He takes up the permanent role with immediate effect following the recent resignation of Ben Bowsher due to ill health.

Ben Bowsher has informed the Board of CARES that, due to ill health, he is to stand down from his position of CEO with immediate effect. With great regret the Board has agreed to this.

CARES has developed an optional addition to the Sustainable Constructional Steel (SCS) Scheme that specifically addresses sustainability issues for the production of hot rolled flat steel products.

UK Contractors Group (UKCG) have produced a new guide on Procuring responsibly sourced steel reinforcement for their members. The CARES Sustainable Constructional Steel (SCS) scheme and Steel for the Reinforcement of Concrete (SRC) scheme both feature prominently in the guide.

CARES is one of the sponsors of the NCE UK Rail conference that takes place on 23-24 June in London. From drawing out lessons learned from Crossrail to exploring the recent developments on HS2, this event will provide insight from those delivering, designing and procuring these £multi-billion projects.

CARES has developed an optional addition to the Steel for the Reinforcement of Concrete (SRC) Scheme that specifically addresses the technical and operational requirements for the manufacture of carbon steel bars for the reinforcement of concrete for use in the nuclear power sector and other mega projects.

CARES has recently received correspondence from the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills confirming that CARES acted in an appropriate way in responding to the complaints CARES has received over the last 18 months.

There has been considerable concern spread about the compliance of reinforcing steel to BS 4449, manufactured in China, and imported into the UK.

There has been panic spread about the compliance of reinforcing steel to BS 4449, manufactured in China, and imported into the UK. To date, despite much investigation by CARES, no evidence has been found to indicate that the physical product placed on the market did not comply with the product standard, BS 4449 2005.