UCD Commences the Development of Two National Standards

On September 5th, the national standard “General Technical Requirements for the Configuration of Elderly-oriented Basic Equipment and Facilities for the Urban Rail Transit” developed by UCD, officially commenced its preparation (in both Chinese and English versions). This standard aims to address the gap in elderly-oriented standards within the field of urban rail transit construction. It will provide guidance for the development of elderly-oriented equipment and facility systems for urban rail transit in China and offer top-level design requirements for the formulation of elderly-oriented product standards across various categories and professions.

During the kickoff meeting, more than 40 participants attended, including Wang Wei, the First-level Counsel of the Standards and Norms Department of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development; Yao Tao, the Director of the Product Standards Department of the Research Institute of Standards and Norms; Li Qing, the Secretary General of the Standardization Technical Committee of China Association Metros; and experts from 23 drafting units.
The meeting was convened by a panel of experts in the field of urban and rural construction, comprising seven experts, including Huang Xiaojia, a renowned national engineering survey and design master. After reviewing the preliminary work on standard preparation, the expert panel unanimously agreed that the development of this standard aligns with the national strategy to actively address population aging. It also aligns with the requirements outlined in the Barrier-free Environment Creation Law of the People’s Republic of China. Consequently, they approved the outline of the standard preparation.
The recommended national standard for elderly-oriented transformation is part of a special standard plan initiated by the Standardization Administration of the PRC to implement the national strategy for addressing population aging. This plan is in line with the democratic supervision mandate of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, which focuses on accelerating the promotion of social elderly-oriented transformation. A total of 39 standards were approved for project initiation in March 2023, with the “General Technical Requirements for the Configuration of Elderly-oriented Basic Equipment and Facilities for the Urban Rail Transit” being the sole standard formulated by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development as the supervisory authority. This standard is being developed simultaneously in both Chinese and English versions.