A Technical Appraisal (ATec) is an assessment formed by a group of experts representative of the construction industry, referred to as a Specialized Group (GS in French), on the fitness for use of innovative systems used in building. Technical Appraisals are issued by the Commission Responsible for Issuing Technical Appraisals (CCFAT) attached to the ministry in charge of construction and housing.
Find out more: The CCFAT website
Role of the CSTB
The CSTB is a member of the CCFAT; it is involved in the Technical Appraisal procedure at several levels:
- it examines Technical Appraisal applications and reports them to the Specialized Groups;
- it manages the Secretariat of the CCFAT, records the Technical Appraisals issued and publishes them on its website evaluation.cstb.fr.
Applicants are entirely responsible for the evidence they provide, such as tests, in support of their request. They may produce the evidence themselves or have any French or foreign laboratory do so. The CSTB examines the applications, checking in particular the validity of the evidence provided; the only criterion is their scientific and technical validity, regardless of which organizations produced them.
