UK keeps chair of ISO earth-moving test methods subcommittee as Hodgson succeeds Ong

The UK will keep the chair of the ISO subcommittee that sets test methods for earth-moving machinery safety and performance, the Construction Equipment Association (CEA) said after a meeting in Shanghai attended by 11 national standards bodies.

Jason Ong of Komatsu, who chairs the CEA's General Technical Committee, used the Shanghai meeting to close nine years as chair of the subcommittee, the CEA said. Jane Hodgson, also of Komatsu, has been confirmed as his successor and will take up the role in 2027.

The CEA was represented at the meeting by Ong and Dale Camsell, the association's senior technical consultant. Both attended on behalf of the British Standards Institution (BSI), the UK's national standards body, according to the CEA.

Camsell, CEA senior technical consultant, said: "Jason has done an excellent job over the past nine years." The CEA said Hodgson would be supported by Camsell when she takes up the role.

The committee

The meeting brought together ISO/TC 127, the international committee responsible for earth-moving machinery standards, and its four subcommittees, the CEA said. It is held every 18 months so that national standards bodies can review existing standards, agree priorities for new projects and deal with technical issues arising during development.

This year's meeting was hosted by the Standardization Administration of China (SAC).

The CEA announcement does not name the subcommittee that Ong chaired. ISO's own committee page lists Ong as chairperson of ISO/TC 127/SC 1, the subcommittee for test methods relating to safety and machine performance, with a term running until the end of 2026. The same page gives the secretariat address as the Construction Equipment Association at Airport House, Purley Way, Croydon, and lists the Committee for European Construction Equipment (CECE) as a Category A liaison organisation.

ISO describes the scope of the parent committee, ISO/TC 127, as standardisation of nomenclature, use classification, ratings, technical requirements and test methods, safety requirements, and operation and maintenance manual format for earth-moving and related machinery. Its other subcommittees cover safety, ergonomics and general requirements; machine characteristics, electrical and electronic systems, operation and maintenance; and terminology, commercial nomenclature, classification and ratings.

The subcommittee previously met on 17 March in Hamburg, Germany, in a session led by Camsell and Ong, according to the CEA's Get Involved page, which does not give the year.

The new chair

Hodgson already holds a leadership position within the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN), the CEA said. The association said it had welcomed her appointment and thanked Komatsu for its continued commitment to the international standardisation process.

Camsell said: "Having experienced industry people involved in this work means the UK can make a valuable contribution to the standards that will shape machinery safety and performance in the future."

Komatsu UK builds the PC220 excavator at Birtley, with more than 200 employees involved in production, according to a CEA member news item. The company has invested in precision scanning equipment in fabrication and laser-based systems in assembly at the plant.

What happens next

The CEA said it would share the key outcomes from Shanghai with members at the next meeting of its General Technical Committee, in Daventry on 16 and 17 December 2026.

The General Technical Committee meets four times a year and is open to all CEA members at no additional cost, the association said. The CEA, which describes itself as the voice of the UK construction equipment market since 1942, offers members representation on UK and EU technical committees.