The impact of European standards and CE marking on asphalts

Over the last few years significant changes have taken place in the way that asphalt and other surfacing materials are specified and their manufacture and installation are quality controlled. European standards and the accompanying legally enforceable CE marks listing test results are now ubiquitous. Although previous UK quality assurance initiatives on products existed, CE marking introduces new rigorousness. CE marking does not apply to installation and the UK has a comprehensive series of national highway schemes to monitor and improve quality, not least by the requirement for demonstrably competent staff and operatives. As a result of these initiatives site supervision and testing by clients has reduced, and some bemoan and fear the effect of the loss of client expertise. The paper makes some suggestions.