< PreviousFEATURE 10 BMTA UK officially signs biggest trade deal since Brexit Samantha Izod explains what the CPTPP agreement means for UK manufacturers On Sunday 16 July, the UK officially signed its accession to the CPTPP agreement in Auckland, New Zealand. CPTPP stands for the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a vast free-trade area of 12 countries spanning the Indo-Pacific: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam, and now, the UK. After 21 months of negotiations, this is the UK’s biggest trade deal, in terms of number of countries, since Brexit, with the UK becoming the first European country to join the deal. Joining CPTPP will boost growth and strengthen our ties with some of the world’s most dynamic economies, with a combined GDP of £12 trillion once the UK joins, and will bring many benefits to UK businesses. Over 99% of current UK goods exports to CPTPP members will be eligible for tariff-free trade. Joining means we will also have a free-trade agreement with Malaysia for the first time, giving businesses far more access to an economy worth £330 billion in GDP in 2022. Modern ‘rules of origin’ could make British businesses more competitive by allowing them to trade more freely across the bloc and take advantage of new export opportunities. For example, UK automotive manufacturers could sell car engines tariff-free to a car maker in the bloc, who could then sell their cars tariff-free to any member country. This will also help exporters diversify their supply chains, making it easier for companies to buy and use raw materials from across the bloc. The CPTPP agreement has a dedicated Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) chapter which facilitates trade by addressing non- tariff measures including technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures. The chapter facilitates greater transparency and information-sharing among CPTPP members by helping ensure that members are better informed about the development of each other’s product regulations and conformity assessment requirements. It also encourages communication between member countries once these measures are in place. Approximately £10 billion in UK exports to CPTPP members were affected by conformity assessment procedures in 2021. The TBT chapter in CPTPP requires CPTPP members to treat conformity assessment bodies (CABs) located in other member countries no less favourably than their own domestic CABs. This allows CABs to apply for approval and accreditation across CPTPP member countries, potentially saving both time and money for UK manufacturers, who can get their products conformity assessed in the UK prior to export to a CPTPP country, rather than doing so overseas. Our leading services industries will also benefit from reduced red tape and greater access to growing Pacific markets with an appetite for high-quality UK products and services. CPTPP sets modern rules governing digital, financial and professional and business services trade, tackling barriers facing UK firms that can stop or hinder them from selling their services into CPTPP markets, and makes it easier for highly skilled business people to travel to supply services or establish investments in CPTPP markets. In addition to the immediate benefits of the deal, membership of the CPTPP also gives the UK a gateway into the wider Indo- Pacific region, which has 60% of the world’s population and is set to account for the majority (54%) of global economic growth and around half of the world’s billion middle-class consumers in the decades ahead. CPTPP was also created to grow and, as a member, the UK will help shape its development and rules governing modern trading practices. While the UK was the first country to submit an application to join, there are many economies that have expressed interest in joining, such as Ecuador, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Thailand and South Korea. As more economies join the bloc, UK businesses will benefit from greater access to new markets on preferential trading terms. Following this official signing moment, the CPTPP agreement will still need to enter into force for the UK, which will happen once both the UK and CPTPP Parties have finished their legislative processes. We expect this to happen in the second half of 2024. Once it enters into force, UK businesses will be able to trade with CPTPP members on preferential terms, using either CPTPP or any bilateral agreement, and the Government will support British businesses in seizing the opportunities created by our membership of the agreement. If you’d like to find out more information about CPTPP, please visit the official document on GOV UK or contact: Samantha. Izod@trade.gov.ukFEATURE BMTA 11 BSI TPR1 committee update Sarah Kelly, BSI lead standards development manager on the BSI’s TPR1 committee BSI’s TPR/1, technical product realisation, committee area produces standards for use across engineering design, specification and verification and all manufacturing sectors. The committee grew out of the original technical drawings area based around the former – and much-loved – British standard for engineering drawing, BS 308. First published in 1927, BS 308 was the world’s first standard for technical diagrams, testament to the UK’s strengths and tradition in engineering and specifically engineering design. Over the course of its long life, BS 308 developed into a substantial technical document used by designers and engineers across the world until its withdrawal in 2000 (to be replaced by the current national standard BS 8888). BS 308 paved the way for what is now a huge area of international standardisation work. Since the arrival of the new international (ISO GPS) specification and verification standards, TPR/1 has embraced manufacturing and metrology and verification techniques – alongside its original engineering design roots – in order that a common set of definitions can be understood by all three disciplines. Verification is a growing part of the committee and one for which new UK technical experts are needed. The verification side of the work programme is mainly focussed at the international standards level, within ISO – the International Organization for Standardization. The UK runs the secretariat of the main international committee, ISO/TC 213, having taken over from Denmark in 2017: ISO/TC 213, Dimensional and geometrical product specifications and verification. A number of ISO/TC 213 working groups are developing new standards that are of interest to measurement and testing communities and metrologists in all parts of UK industry: →Working Group 4, ISO/TC 213 WG4, Uncertainty of measurement and decision rules – responsible for the ISO 14253 series →Working Group 6, ISO/TC 213 WG6, General requirements for geometrical product specification (GPS) measuring equipment – responsible for generic measuring instruments standards such as ISO 3611 (micrometers), ISO 463 (dial gauges), ISO 5463 (form measuring equipment), etc, →Working Group 10, ISO/TC 213 WG10, Coordinate measuring machines – responsible for the ISO 10360 series (Coordinate measuring systems) →With all of this ongoing work and activity, the TPR/1 area committees are always looking for new committee members and UK technical experts to join its standards drafting groups, national committees, and international working groups. Further general information on taking part in BSI’s standards work can be found at: www. bsigroup.com/en-GB/about-bsi/uk-national-standards- body/how-to-get-involved-with-standards/ If you would like more information on any of TPR/1’s projects or work programme – or if you would like to get involved in any way in the committee’s activities – please contact Sarah Kelly, lead standards development manager, committee manager for TPR/1, at BSI on sarah.kelly@bsigroup.com. FEATURE 12 BMTA Importance of inspection and testing in the glassfibre reinforced concrete (GRC) industry Bob Faulding, founder and managing director, PBS Synergies Group The importance of testing to validate finished product quality is an essential part of any manufacturing process. One industry where testing is particularly essential is the manufacture of glassfibre reinforced concrete (GRC) cladding panels. GRC is largely manufactured on a bespoke, handmade and labour-intensive basis. Despite being developed over 50 years, it is only within the last decade the market has grown and is now estimated to be approaching £100 million per annum in the UK alone. With this growth and the increased use of GRC products on high-rise and other major construction projects, testing may need to evolve in the sector. GRC was developed by Pilkington Glass in the 1960s before being brought to market in the following decade. The need for extensive testing was recognised from the start and methods were developed at the company’s laboratories in Lancashire. Unfortunately, a lack of quality and testing expertise by licensed producers restricted the potential use of the composite due to several in-service failures in the 1970s and 80s. As a result of these failures, testing standards were developed not only by the industry trade bodies but by British, European and American standards agencies. The need for inspections and testing Nearly half a century on from the initial problems with GRC, the industry seemingly hasn’t learned from the mistakes of the past. There are still manufacturers who either regard testing as a box-ticking exercise or simply do not understand testing methodologies. This results in specifier and users again coming across failings in manufactured GRC which could have easily been avoided. The basic inspection/testing requirements any manufacturer should undertake is to determine the thickness of the spray application at point of manufacture when the composite is still in the plastic state. As such, it must be carried out by the producer in the production environment. The test ensures that both the non-reinforced, facing coat and the actual ‘structural’ GRC are of the required thickness. Unfortunately, FEATURE BMTA 13 there is currently no published test standard, although this is a relatively easy test with simple measuring devices. Once the product has attained its initial strength (approximately 7 days) the density test is carried out to either BS EN 1170-6¹ or GRCA MOT-2². Many manufacturers do not realise that the significance of density testing goes beyond the simple determination of weight. Density is a good indicator of material quality and consistency, good spraying techniques and importantly, good compaction. Consistency in density will generally lead to an equal consistency in flexural strength. The final and the most important test is the flexural bending test which is carried out at 28 days. This determines the capacity of the material to withstand imposed wind loads when used as an architectural cladding material. The above are the basic testing requirements for any manufacturer but there is enormous potential for GRC manufacturers to increase testing capabilities and provide more confidence in the material to specifiers and purchasers. At a strategic level, a consistent approach to inspections and testing also allows producers to refine mix designs thus reducing material costs whilst reliable test data assists engineers in reducing safety factors which again assist in cost-effective production methodologies. Additional testing Although the above represents the basic testing required, different applications may warrant a more through inspection and testing plan. Additional measures may include: - Ageing testing which can be used to reduce the safety factors required in the engineering analysis. -Facing coat/GRC compatibility testing to reduce potential for in-service crazing, cracking, bow inducement or delamination. -Facing coat durability testing - impact strength, freeze-thaw cyclic weathering. -Embedded anchors pull-out and shear capacity testing. Increased testing frequencies Current standards only require minimal test frequencies to determine the major compliance characteristic which is the material flexural strength at both elastic and ultimate limit state. BS EN 1169³ which is the manufacturing standard for all GRC products only requires the testing of the service limit once per annum. This is quite extraordinary given good GRC design is based on this primary material property. The GRCA Specification 2 increases this frequency to twice per week. At The GRC Centre we recommend that, on large projects, full bending testing should be undertaken every day by the manufacturers using their own in-house laboratory. Methods should be either BS EN 1170-5 5 or GRCA MOT-3 6 . Interlaboratory testing procedures should be used to validate the primary test data. Equally important is the density test. Many manufacturers question the validity of the test, however, it is essential to monitor product quality. Far more than just providing a basis for weight calculation, the test also serves as a tool to verify material consistency. Regular sampling of products for density testing can quickly identify issues with raw materials and workmanship in relation to the critical spraying and compacting processes used in most GRC factories. Testing finished products There are no requirements in any standard to test finished products. Surprisingly for such a complex and hand-made material, final product testing is not a requirement of any current published standards. All testing is conducted on test boards produced purely for the purpose. From these, test specimens are sampled in accordance with the applicable test standards. As such, there is no guarantee that what is dispatched to site is representative of test results. Test boards are, like the products, handmade. However, unlike the manufactured product, they are simple, flat sheets not reflective of the complex three-dimensional shapes found on most current GRC projects. They are also typically 10% of the size of the actual finished product. By assessing a random population of finished products, manufacturers and purchasers can be confident that design input values have been achieved.FEATURE 14 BMTA There are also substantial financial benefits to be derived from sampling and testing from manufactured products. Many of the engineering safety factors which have to be included with the engineering design without such evaluations can be reduced. This results in products requiring less material and, valuable labour savings. The resultant lower weight goods can be transported and installed more easily offering not only commercial cost saving but also reducing the environmental impact. Summary Inspection and testing is an inherent part of the manufacturing process. For the industry to continue to thrive, everyone involved in the supply chain must understand the importance of regular, comprehensive and impartial validation in ensuring that products are fit for purpose, and function in the way they are intended. This is true of any manufacturing system, however, when product realisation is dependent on high manual inputs, the potential for error is likely to increase directly in parallel with reductions in quality systems. BMTA member testing laboratories should be able to be able to assist manufacturers in providing interlaboratory test evaluations as well as the more specialist and less frequent material proof testing. FEATURE BMTA 15 Why we need an industrial strategy Celia Charlwood, Make UK Successive British Governments seem unable to stick to a long-term plan for economic growth. Instead, businesses see a never-ending cycle of new initiatives and short-term fixes that fail to deliver sustained results. This endless chopping and changing masks a myriad of other remit reforms, the most prominent examples being the bouncing back-and-forth of higher education and skills policy (including apprenticeships) between the education and business departments. The same can be said for energy policy. While trade has sometimes been the responsibility of the business ministry and at other times of its own bespoke trade department. As a new report launched in May from Make UK shows, many businesses are warning that a habitual short-term focus on quick fixes and political publicity stunts from successive governments is impeding economic development. Inconsistency in public policy Inconsistency in public policy breeds uncertainty in private industry. That prevents businesses from planning effectively, so instead of incentivising investment, it incentivises intransigence. Of course, a long-term industrial strategy is not without its challenges. It means making difficult decisions about where to allocate resources, what to prioritise and what to sacrifice. It requires the political will to take risks. Yet the alternative, as we are now seeing, is stagnant productivity, increasing inequality, and low or zero economic growth. A modern industrial strategy will require a significant, game- changing shift in the way policymakers approach business and economic policy. Defining our ambitions The first step must be to agree on our industrial and economic ambitions. Over the last few years government’s approach to international trade has been to prioritise the quantity of our new partners rather than the quality of those relationships. Attachment theory is instructive about how to form more productive partnerships. It is imperative we set clear expectations from the start about what we wish to gain in future trade deals, as well as what we’re willing to give in return. Make UK has proposed establishing a Royal Commission on Industrial Strategy to help determine a cross- party consensus on these issues. That knowledge should then inform and underpin all economic policymaking. Sticking to the plan A strategic approach also means sticking to the plan. One option might be to re-establish the independent Industrial Strategy Council to oversee and guide industrial strategy. The Cabinet Office could then be given responsibility for working across government, business, trade unions and other stakeholders to agree firm goals and targets, and put in place policies and practices to monitor progress and ensure accountability across all levels of government and industry. The lessons of attachment theory are clear. Consistency and clarity are as essential for nurturing personal development as they are for economic growth. The UK needs a stable policy environment to support businesses and workers and create the conditions for sustained growth. Through a long-term industrial strategy, we can build an economy that works for everyone, now and into the future.FEATURE 16 BMTA Ensuring robust timing for the future NPL We are awoken in the morning by the alarms on our smartphones, synchronised to our wake-up times by a network of satellites overhead. This same technology tracks our location on our morning runs and commutes. We boil the kettle to make a cup of tea with electricity from the grid - which is itself synchronised by satellite-based timing. On the platform at the train station, we see on the overhead signs that the train is delayed by one minute, which we know, thanks to coordination of its GPS location with the local station. Unknowingly, we reap the benefits of technologies that can precisely detect time and location every single day. Even just on our smartphones, we have a direct line to this invisible yet integral utility that underpins much of the infrastructure and systems that keep the world turning. It has been estimated that satellite-based positioning, navigation and timing services – the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), such as GPS – directly support over £250 billion (13.4%) of the UK economy. As a result, a breach or failure in GNSS can cause a large range of problems with services we rely on, not to mention potentially costing the UK economy over £1 billion a day1. NPL, through its National Timing Centre (NTC) programme, is developing an alternative, potentially primary solution for future timing, which will mitigate the vulnerabilities of GNSS. Many aspects of UK industry and society require increasingly precise time, whether it’s at home on our devices, the telecoms networks, energy, broadcast or in the finance industry where the time margins used are unfeasibly fine: one second for voice trading, one millisecond for electronic trading, and just 100 microseconds for high-frequency trading - all coordinated to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). An alternative timekeeping source is crucial to help prevent any serious impact to all of the above if something were to occur to the signals received via GNSS. They will also future-proof society as we develop smart cities, autonomous vehicles and communications. The NTC programme will provide the resilience needed to protect critical national infrastructure, keeping essential services running and ensuring trust in new technologies. It will enable the UK to move away from reliance on GNSS, like GPS, and leverage a range of time and frequency distribution technologies including fibre, communication satellites, and terrestrial broadcasts, alongside GNSS.FEATURE BMTA 17 However, in order for the programme to achieve its aims of improving resilience to strengthen our society, we need to ensure we have the skills and workforce to implement such infrastructure. The programme is responding to the specialist skills shortage in time and synchronisation solutions through specialist, apprentice and post-graduate training opportunities. The most recent training offering is a series of course from NPL’s National Timing Centre (NTC) Programme, which includes an introduction to time and frequency measurement and an introduction to clock performance course. Both are one day, at no charge, courses which aim to equip the next generation of specialists. They are suitable for anyone interested in the subject, from students and entry-level scientists and engineers, to professions in many different industry sectors for which time and frequency plays a role. This NPL-certified course series is in partnership with the NPL Quantum Programme and will help people to build skills in time and frequency to support the maintenance and innovation required for many sectors of society to function properly. Ensuring we have large bank of specialists trained and qualified in this area will support the NTC programme in its ambitions to enable innovation and the acceleration of new technologies such as smart grids, 5G, factories of the future, smart cities and connected autonomous vehicles. Over the next two years the programme will be rolling out systems to ensure split-second timing is available wherever it’s needed, in sectors such as the energy, broadcast or finance industry. More resilient timing systems that are independent of GNSS will help society weather solar storms and resist jamming - keeping at bay disruption to the way we live our lives. Find out more here: National Timing Centre - NPL References 1 Blackett Review https://www.gov.uk/government/ publications/satellite-derived-time-and-position-blackett- reviewFEATURE 18 BMTA Flow test standard for light duty vehicle hydrogen refuelling stations to be the first of its kind in UK Dr. Carl Wordsworth One of the problems affecting wide deployment of hydrogen refuelling systems (HRS) arises from the specific measurement challenges at the dispenser. This includes the inability to validate the amount of hydrogen dispensed with respect to dispenser readout. Customers using a HRS will expect a similar measurement error to what they currently have when filling at a petrol or diesel refuelling station. TÜV SÜD National Engineering Laboratory recently participated in the EMPIR MetroHyVe project which looked at addressing some of the metrological challenges at HRS. The EMPIR MetroHyVe 2 project which is currently in progress, builds on the learnings from the previous project. One of the aims of the current project is to develop a metrological, traceable framework for testing dispensers at hydrogen refuelling stations. As part of this activity a number of measurement institutes, including TÜV SÜD, will be participating in an intercomparison test where field test standards from will be evaluated at a hydrogen refuelling station. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology provided the funding via the National Measurement System for the design and build of the TÜV SÜD light duty hydrogen field test standard that was used in this project. The light duty hydrogen field test standard was recently commissioned at TÜV SÜD, and this included verification of the uncertainty for the test standard’s gravimetric system. The test results proved the light duty hydrogen field test standard can achieve the target uncertainty of 0.3% (k=2). This test standard can therefore be used to validate light duty vehicle HRS dispensers against OIML R139 requirements. The verification test was undertaken using nitrogen gas, where the mass indicated by the test standard was compared against a calibrated Coriolis flow meter. An inter comparison was also carried against TÜV SÜD’s dry gas facility. The test results proved the light duty hydrogen field test standard can achieve the target uncertainty of 0.3% (k=2). This test standard can therefore be used to validate light duty vehicle HRS dispensers against OIML R139 requirements. Currently, the rig is going through ATEX certification before it can be used at HRS. It will also be taken to Germany as part of the project where its performance will be compared against other European partners at the same station to see how the uncertainty compares. We expect that the platform will be operational by the end of the year. Dr Revata Seneviratne, clean fuels consultant at TÜV SÜD said: “Once commissioned it will be the first of its kind in the UK, and we are looking forward to working closely with hydrogen refuelling stations to help them prove uncertainty levels against the OIML R139 requirements.” Learn more about our hydrogen services and hydrogen training: →Visit our hydrogen services web page for more info about how we can help you and see our hydrogen training courses which include an Introduction to Hydrogen Fundamentals and a five-part Hydrogen Application Training Course.BMTA 19 → We help your business keep ahead of the game. We represent our members’ views to Government, UKAS and other official bodies, providing you with an edge over your competitors. →We represent you in the UK and Europe. Interests of standards and policy makers are represented to governmental organisations and standards organsations such as BSI and ISO. →We provide networking opportunities. Access to high-quality networking and knowledge-transfer opportunities through our high-profile membership base. → We keep you up to date. We send you regular updates, reports and guidelines. →We provide you with expert tuition on UKAS accreditations. Industry leading conferences, seminars and workshops that are run by experts on achieving and maintaining laboratory accreditation. → We save you time and money on training. Our members receive discounts on training courses and BMTA workshops and seminars. The BMTA has the only consolidated training database in the industry. →We give you advance notice of standards developments. You can represent us on BSI technical committees, for insights into changes that may impact your business. Membership of BMTA can also offer you the opportunity to be put forward to the national and international standards making process. 2023 MEMBERSHIP FEES ARE: –Associate (individual) - £150 + VAT –Fewer than 7 employees or partners - £315 + VAT –Between 8 and 24 employees or partners - £575 + VAT –Between 25 and 250 employees or partners - £1000 + VAT –More than 250 employees or partners - £1,300 + VAT An admin fee of £55 + VAT for all new joiners If you are reading this newsletter and would like to become a member of the BMTA please send an email to enquiries@bmta. co.uk, requesting a membership application s pack. Enquiries about associate and individual membership should also be addressed to enquiries@bmta.co.uk . Membership of the Association is open to all organisations in the measurement, testing and calibration industry. We encourage senior people in organisations to become individual members, and organisations to become corporate members. 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