Andriy Ozeychuk, the former head and now chairman of the Board of Directors of the Ukrainian Steel Construction Center (USCC) tells about the achievements and importance of the work of the Committee – one of the four committees of the Ukrainian Steel Construction Center.
Andriy Ozeychuk, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the USCC, Director of Rauta
The strategic objective of the Steel Roofs, Facades and Light Gauge Steel Framing (LGSF) Committee is to increase the share of metal roofing and facade structures in the erection of buildings and structures. However, no less important aspect of the Committee’s activities is the formation of European principles of work of market participants and the introduction of world best practices in the standardization, testing and quality control of products.
For 9 years of work of the USCC, the Committee has been one of the most active in terms of the number of discussions and implementations of crucial projects for the industry.
To position the metal roof as a priority material for construction and reconstruction, the advantages and disadvantages of the main roofing materials offered in the Ukrainian market were determined, as well as recommendations were developed for end users regarding the selection and installation of roofing materials.
The Committee members studied the best European practices in using facade solutions to increase the architectural attractiveness of buildings and presented the results of the study during the National Conference of steel construction market participants.
A thorough analysis of steel with galvanized and polymer coating, which is the raw material for the manufacture of metal facades and roofs, is regularly presented at the annual conferences of metal construction producers and at open committees, as well as urgent problems and prospects for the development of the industry are discussed.
National Conference of Steel Construction Market Participants
With the support of the USCC, market participants conduct training workshops for students and teachers of Ukrainian specialized universities about the architectural and energy-saving advantages of using steel facade and roofing materials, as well as the use of LGSF in construction.
Lectures by Rauta specialists for students and teachers of the Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture
An important issue of the wider use of LGSF in commercial construction is the fire safety of structures, therefore, standard solutions were developed together with the Fire Protection Committee to increase the fire resistance of LGSF using plate materials. The manual “Fire-Proof Design of Light Gauge Steel Framing” was also published, which describes ways to increase the fire resistance of building structure elements and contains diagrams of standard Fire Protection Solutions.
In 2015, under the auspices of the Committee, a training course was developed and a workshop was held on the LGSF design in accordance with Eurocode 3, which was attended by more than 40 design engineers for Light Gauge Steel Framing. Now the material is available as a video course on the YouTube channel of the USCC.
A workshop on LGSF design in accordance with Eurocode 3
Much attention is paid to informing designers and consumers of products about the range, characteristics and possible technical solutions of materials offered in the market. For this purpose a series of technical publications was issued as a result of the work of the USCC:
Example of publications issued as a result of the Committee’s work
An important project to find promising areas for expanding the LGSF market was the development of a technology for using light frame wall panels in the construction of multi-apartment residential buildings. Calculations have shown that a developer can use LGSF wall panels to get additional space for sale and thus increase profits. The next step in the development of the project was the harmonization of the industry standard DSTU 9194:2022, which will allow for wider implementation of this technology.
In 2020, with the support of the USCC, Ukraine introduced Regulation (EU) No. 305 as the adopted law “On the Provision of Construction Products on the Market”, which provides for the declaration of indicators of construction products, which will contribute to the liberalization of quality conformity assessment procedures for products with and improving the quality of building materials.
During the period of the Committee’s work, a number of important European industry standards have been implemented in Ukraine, including:
It is worth noting that leading companies operating in the Ukrainian market of metal facades and roofs have become pioneers on the way to implementing the best European practices in Ukraine. For example, the engineering and construction company Rauta, which is one of the active participants of the USCC, was the first to certify sandwich panels according to the DSTU EN 14509 Standard and ventilated facade cladding according to the DSTU B EN 14782 Standard, and also introduced the declaration of product characteristics based on European principles back in 2017. Thus, the company not only confirmed the high quality of its products, but also set an example to others on how to implement declarating.
Manufacture of Ruukki sandwich panels certified according to DSTU EN 14509
In 2016-2017, a communication project was implemented on the dangers of using asbestos-containing roofing materials, which contributed to the ban on the use of such materials in Ukraine.
In 2019, as part of the Committee’s work, an anti-dumping investigation was initiated regarding the import of Chinese coated rolled products to Ukraine, which resulted in introducing an anti-dumping duty on thin-sheet rolled products of the Chinese origin, which helps protect Ukrainian producers and improve the quality of steel facades and roofs.
