The Prestressing Sector Committee (CSP ) :
 
The domain covered by the CSP includes products, processes and services linked to prestressing by pre or post-tensioning, stay cables structures, or more generally, the intentional creation of stresses or distortions in any media with a view to improving its performance during its use for civil engineering purposes.
 
The following are notably concerned :
 
- prestressing tensile steels,

 

 

 

- cables, suspensions, stays and their constituent parts,

                   photo PlanèteTP                                                          photo PlanèteTP

- processes (particularly post-tensioning)            
 
   

                                            photos Benoît Gaillot - Nancy 

- protection products (coatings, grouts, waxes, greases, gels etc…)

 

 

 

 

 

 

- implementation.

 

 

 

 

 
In this context, CSP is responsible for :
 
- preparing certification and control regulations,
- making decisions on the assessment of initial and ongoing surveillance and issuing an opinion for the Board of Directors on the application, issuing and renewing certificates,
- making proposals to the Board of Directors on any issues of general interest,
- monitoring conditions for maintaining certificates and possibly, proposing sanctions.

 
It can generally, on request :
 
- prepare technical opinions on specific projects,
- process the technical aspects of approval application dossiers,
- prepare methodological documents,
- contribute to finalizing regulatory or standard texts.
 
It is constituted of :
 
- a bureau incorporating the President, the Co-ordinator and the Secretary,
- college A representing suppliers and service providers,
- college B representing intermediary users,
- college C representing owners and technical organisations,
- a college of experts.
 
Certification rules :

The need to draft certification rules is expressed by the CSP in a proposal to the Board of Directors, for the latter’s validation: if it considers the request pertinent, the Board of Directors requests the CSP to constitute a working group to prepare draft regulations. Once finalised, the draft is submitted to the CSP which must validate it for final approval by the Board of Directors which then sets the date of coming into effect.
 
Processing applications :
 
Applications for certification are sent to the CSP secretariat which verifies whether all the required documents have been submitted. Each application is then sent to the CSP bureau which appoints a reporter who investigates the dossier and verifies it complies with the certification rules. It is then sent to the CSP for a vote.
 
On completing the examination of a dossier during a meeting, the CSP may :
 
- issue a favourable opinion,
- request additional information or amendments to the dossier, possibly with a review during a subsequent meeting,
- issue an unfavourable opinion.
 
At the end of each meeting, the CSP secretary prepares a summary of the conclusions and a minute of the business conducted. The CSP submits these to the Board of Directors which decides on the follow-up for granting the right to use a mark.