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[May 2002]
Construction Products for the 21st Century
The Construction Products Association (CPA) says that the tremendous advantages of E-tagging will soon be harnessed by this industry. Long used by the retailing and parcel distribution services, E-tagging represents a high-tech version of the barcode, whereby detailed information about the product can be stored in a tiny electronic tag attached to it. Where E-tagging beats the barcode, explains CPA, is where it allows the user to update the information on the tag so that valuable information about the movement of the product and its history can be accessed easily by the end user.John Tebbit, CPA's Industry Affairs Director, welcomed the move towards E-tagging as part of a more general shift: "Logistics and the tracking of goods and materials through the supply chain were identified as key areas in Accelerating Change to enable greater integrated working and eliminate waste.
"The Association has been heavily involved in a BRE research project which has been looking at the opportunities for transferring E-tagging technology into construction. A comprehensive Association Special Briefing has been published and is now available on the Association's website."
The CPA, as a member of the BRE (Building Research Establishment) is now in final negotiations with the UK Government's Department of Trade & Industry to follow up their research with a two-year project to pilot the use of E-tagging on construction products. They have started by identifying suitable product ranges and the project team is currently looking for further suggestions to ensure a representative range of products.
www.constprod.org.uk
ENDS