Project Title: A telematics service providing technical information about materials and works in the building sector

Project Acronym: BISNET

Project Duration (months): 24

Summary Description of Overall Project:

The BISNET project aims to offer on-line technical information in the field of construction, maintenance, renovation and restoration of buildings.

Its main objective is to overcome all technical language barriers by means of classification plans and identification codes which thoroughly define standard characteristics and performance of materials, components and measured works throughout the E.U.

In particular, BISNET is to be developed according to a logical classification system which, through the classification of products, components and works of the building and renovation industry, will provide access to a series of national databases (initially located in Italy and Germany) connected with one another to form a network. The network will be structured according to different groups of data typology as listed below:

- selected list of construction products as defined by the Community Directive 86/106/EC and subsequent interpretational circulars;

- technical standards;

- items of standard specifications;

- archives of commodities;

- prices.

There are no translation problems because indeed, one of the aims of the project is to produce a classification system based on codes and hence navigation through the data is independent of the language. Glossaries will however be prepared to translate the description of the codes, and in addition transcoding tables for the various measurement systems of the works will be produced.

For this reason the available data will include national regulation, cross-references for terminology and product performance, prices.

BISNET is mainly addressed to the building sector in its entirety: public administrations, building companies, especially SME, professionals and material suppliers.

The definition of reference standards (characteristics and quality) for materials, components and works will improve the mechanisms of communication, cooperation among operators, public market transparency and participation of contractors in tenders all over the E.U. countries; it will also facilitate the activities of consulting companies throughout the Community.

In order to set-up the service a network of specialised databases will be created in the participating countries: Italy , Germany and Austria will be the first three nodes, followed by France.

The BISNET telematic service will allow remote and interactive access to these databases from any European country by means of a personal computer connected to public and private networks (Telephone, PSDN, Internet, ISDN,..).

In summary, while it is true that the main objective of the project is to overcome language barriers, it is also just as true that the industries, companies and professional firms which would be involved, would all be interested because their subscription to the network would instantly put them in a wider scenario where they would be competing at a world-wide level.

The soundeness and clarity of the information, its high quality and exhaustiveness are a critical contribution to setting the European market in motion.

And in any case, the Community regulations on building contracts provide clear evidence through all the various directives that have been issued (93/37 on public works contracts, 93/34 on public procurement contracts, 92/50 on public services contracts, 93/38 on public utilities contracts, namely suppliers of water, energy, transportation and telecommunications, 89/655 and 92/13 on procedures of appeal in the area of public contracts) that it is pure illusion that all of the Community directives be embodied into the national legislations of the Member Countries without an appropriate tool capable of containing all of the material and of establishing the possibility for the 4 main actors on the scene (professional firms, companies, manufacturers, public and private customers) to communicate with one another.

Hence a fundamental objective is to have a true European Contracts Market in place and in operation especially for the small and medium-sized enterprises, and for the smaller professional firms, because these businesses will be able to take part in supranational tenders only if a means like BISNET is available.

Moreover there are no doubts that a communications service like BISNET, with its special features providing control over the design, process and maintenance of items and products for the building market, would upgrade the quality of the sector as a whole.

Finally in this way it will be possible to provide all European operators with an easy and low-cost telematic access to the up-dated information they need to be able to act across the E.U.