Contributed by Brendan Reynolds
Get back to basics this year, and build a solid foundation for the plumbing industry.
Brendan Reynolds. Image supplied by Plumbing Africa
Foundations are important. You can’t build a stable structure without it. Just imagine building a house on beach sand. It would take one wave to smash the building to pieces. Foundations are the most important part of anything one wants to build – and that includes a successful plumbing industry.
Plumbers are touted as the first line of defence when it comes to the health of a society. We are at the very foundation of health. It’s a powerful realisation. When we consider how much communities rely on us to bring them safe water and waste removal, along with all of the other services we provide, we can see how important it is for us as plumbers to focus on the basics of our own vocation.
What are those basics? Simply put, our personal foundation in the plumbing industry is our qualifications and the use of compliant products. As 2024 got under way, we became aware of how much more carefully these two important things (qualifications and compliant products) are being monitored.
We know that we are working with the most valuable commodity in the world: water. We also know that we are facing considerable challenges when it comes to reconditioned geysers, non-compliant copper tube, and fly-by-night people doing plumbing work who are unqualified and who bring down the reputation of those who put in the work and the studying to become respected in the business.
This then, is where we begin – where we build the foundation. It’s time to get back to the basics of being a plumber. The foundation. Not only do we make sure that water flows to communities, but we also help to protect those communities and the environment around them. And to be able to do this to the best of our ability, we need the proper qualifications and to work with compliant products and systems.
This doesn’t just ensure that we know what we’re doing. It also instils confidence in the client making use of our services. When we can show we have studied, that we are qualified, we are showing our clients that their health and a safe environment as far as water is concerned, is our highest priority.
By the same token, if we are showing our clients that we are using quality, compliant products, we are giving them a sense of security. This doesn’t just go a long way for repeat business – it touches all aspects of the industry and those involved in it, raising us above the role of worker and handyman to artisan.
