FIEC Newsletter -18 Σεπτεμβρίου 2018

The Single Digital Gateway regulation was approved by the European Parliament at a plenary session last week. This legislation has been adopted and have to be formally approved by the Council of the EU.

As a reminder, this directive aims to improve access to quality information and administrative procedures for citizens and businesses, especially for those who want to go cross-border.

For this purpose, a single web portal will be created. This portal or “gateway” will consist of a common user interface integrated in a single portal managed by the European Commission and will link to relevant national and Union websites.

FIEC President Kjetil Tonning gave a keynote speech in Helsinki last week during the World Summit on Digital Built Environment.  Focusing on the benefits for citizens and workers, he said that we should make new technologies work for us. He also stressed the need for collaboration between industry and policy makers; existing players and new entrants; and young and experienced workers.

The number of accidents at work in the construction sector has decreased in recent years. In Belgium in 2016, 11% of work accidents occurred in construction. In total, 15.000 accidents at work were recorded in construction, 31% of which did not result in the person being unable to work.

Our Belgian member federation, Confédération Construction, has set a priority goal of reducing this figure by half by 2020 and is preparing to launch a large-scale awareness campaign in this regard, with roadshows and a charter that may be signed by construction companies.

BIM (Building Information Modelling) and other digital tools will play a key role in the achievement of this ambitious objective.