European Convention for Constructional Steelwork
The European Convention for Constructional Steelwork (ECCS) is a European association for the promotion of steel construction, which was founded in Zurich in 1955, parallel to the establishment of the EU (then European Commission for Coal and Steel). 18 national organizations are full members, for Germany the Bauforum Stahl. It is a non-profit organization.
There is an Executive Board and Promotional and Technical Management Boards. The General Secretariat has been in Brussels since 1978.
They hold an annual congress, issue recommendations, collaborate on European standards and maintain several technical working groups. There is a bridge committee. The official organ for publications is Steel Construction (Ernst and Son). The ECCS publish Eurocode Design Manuals, among other things.
The working groups are currently (some are no longer active): TC 3 (fire safety), TC 6 (fatigue and fractures), TC 7 (cold-formed thin-walled steel in buildings), TC 8 (structural stability), TC 9 (production and construction ), TC 10 (structural connections), TC 11 (steel composite structures), TC 13 (earthquake), TC 14 (sustainability and ecological aspects), TC 16 (wind energy structures).
Older working groups that are not currently active but published reports: TC 1 (structural safety), TC 2 (aluminum alloy structures), TC 4 (surface protection), TC 5 (CAD / CAM), TC 12 (wind), TC 14 (construction), TC 15 (architectural and structural design, innovations, modern technologies)
The main aim is to promote steel as a building material, which was a limited resource in Europe immediately after the Second World War and was therefore strongly pushed back by reinforced concrete.
They award the Charles Massonnet Prize (to scientists, from 1998) and silver medals (their highest honor, for special service to society, awarded since 1964), a European bridge prize (from 2008) for steel bridges, design awards for structures ( European Steel Design Award, every two years since 1997).