JSCE Standard Specification for Concrete Structures
Revision history of Standard Spesifications for Concrete Structures

The Standard Specifications for Concrete Structures has been accepted with a great acclaim from users in various fields of design, construction, and maintenance of concrete structures since the very first publication in 1931. As codes that define the way the planning, design, construction and maintenance of concrete structure should be, it has contributing remarkably to the development of concrete technology in Japan.
Taking into account recent developments in concrete technology not only in Japan but also in the world, by the year 2002, the JSCE Concrete Committee had modified all of the following parts from specification-based to performance-based standards.

  • Structural Performance Verification
  • Seismic Performance Verification
  • Materials and Construction
  • Maintenance
  • Dam Concrete
  • Pavement

The process of drafting and revising different versions of the Standard Specification for Concrete Structures in recent 10 years is summarized in the Figure shown below.


Fig. Revisions of Standard Specifications for Concrete Structure over the past decade
This time, the revision was carried out after a thorough consideration of the above continuous processes, keeping in mind the minimum requirements for:
  • Upgrading the developments in concrete technology since the year 2002, and
  • Optimizing the current performance-based specifications

The main tasks of this revision are:

  • Making the specifications convenient to practicing engineers
  • Synchronizing all constituent parts so as to create a perfect connection between different parts
  • Clarifying the responsibilities and roles of engineers, and
  • Creating a basement for the engineer certification system of JSCE

The tasks listed above for this revision are based on the recognition that: Standard Specifications for Concrete Structures is expected to have and was created to provide detailed specifications on design and construction of general concrete structures. This approach somehow satisfied the need of practical users, but it also made the Specifications more difficult to use. In addition, the requirements on the role the engineers play in creating highly reliable concrete structures are gradually increasing.

Specifically, in gDesignh,h Materials and Constructionh, and gDam Concreteh parts, while the General part stipulates the required performances, Manual part introduces simple methods to achieve that required performances in different given conditionsc In addition, in all parts including the Maintenance part, the usage of each part (General and Manual ) and the mutual relation among different parts are clarified at all stages of planning, design, construction and maintenance.

It is believed that this revision is a fine integration between the rationality based on performance verification concept and the practical applicability.
In this revision, the new set of the standard specifications consists of five parts, gDesignh, gMaterials and Constructionh, gMaintenanceh, gDam Concreteh, and, gStandards for Test Methods and Material Qualityh. The previous Seismic Performance Verification and Structural Performance Verification parts are integrated into a new Design part.

The 2007 version of gStandards for Test Methods and Material Qualityh edition was published in May, 2007. The revision of the Pavement part was completed and published in 2007 under the title: The Standard Specification for Pavements by the JSCE Committee on Pavement Engineering. The English version of consists of 4 parts, "Design", "Materials and Construction", "Maintenance", and, "Dam Concrete".