Building Materials
In Japan, building materials used for principal building
parts, etc. must either conform to the standards specified in the Building
Standard Law (BSL), or must have ministerial approval.
The Building Center of Japan (BCJ) conducts Performance Evaluation of Building Materials.
The outline of evaluation procedures performed at BCJ is as follows;
The Building Center of Japan (BCJ) conducts Performance Evaluation of Building Materials.
The outline of evaluation procedures performed at BCJ is as follows;
Scope of Performance Evaluations
BCJ carries out performance evaluation of 19 different building materials.
- Structural steel and steel castings
- High strength bolts and bolts
- Structural cables
- Steel bars
- Welding materials (welding of carbon steel, stainless steel, and aluminum alloy)
- Turnbuckles
- Concrete
- Concrete blocks
- Seismic isolation devices (referring to seismic isolation devices stipulated in I item (1) of Ministry of Construction Notification No. 2009 of 2000 and others similar thereto; same shall apply below)
- Wood-based glued axial material (referring to axial materials manufactured by laminating veneers or bonding forming strands with adhesive; same shall apply below)
- Wood-based composite axial material (referring to axial materials manufactured by composing sawn lumber, glued laminated timber, wood-based glued axial material or other wood material with adhesives to cross-sectional shape such as I-shape, squares, etc.; same shall apply below.)
- Wood-based composite insulated panel (referring to panel products manufactured by sandwiching organic foamed material by structural plywood, etc. with adhesives, no framing inside; same shall apply below.)
- Wood-based glued composite panel (referring to panel products manufactured by composing sawn lumber, glulams, etc. with structural plywood using adhesives; same shall apply below)
- Tapping screws and others similar thereto (limited to those with an internal thread formed on structural steel or those that cut and pass through structural steel.)
- Fire bolt (referring to those driven into structural steel; same shall apply below)
- Aluminum alloy
- Mechanical joints for space frame structure
- Membrane materials and membrane materials for tent warehouses
- Ceramic masonry unit
BCJ Flowchart of Performance Evaluation Procedure for Building Materials
- Pre-evaluation meeting
- A meeting is held between the client and BCJ prior to application for performance evaluation. Please consult us regarding the information required on the application and the submission of the required documents.
- Preparation of application documents
- Documents necessary for the application, which must be prepared by the client.
- Application
- The documents mentioned above must be mailed to, or submitted in person to the Structural Safety Section of the Technical Appraisal Department, where they will be checked. All of the documents must be included in order for the application to be accepted.
- Commitee meeting
- The committee decides whether or not to accept the application and the schedule for subcommittee meetings.
- Subcommittee meeting
- The client attends the subcommittee meeting to explain the documents and to answer questions from the evaluator, as part of a detailed examination process.
- Commitee meeting
- A committee meeting is held in order to review and evaluate the material. The committee considers the application on the basis of the evaluator’s report.
- Submission of the completed documents
and performance evaluation cartificate - 1) Submission of the completed documents; The completed documents which
include all corrections and additions based on the results of the
Committee Meeting must be submitted to us.
2) Evaluation certificate issuance; A performance evaluation certificate will be issued if the material is deemed to ensure the specified performance based on the results of the Committee Meeting.
This flowchart shows the basic procedure for application for Performance Evaluation Procedure for Building Materials.
For detailed information on the procedure and evaluation method, please refer to:
If you wish to apply for performance evaluation concerning Wood-based Materials from item (10) to item (13), please see the following manual: