Indeed, World Plumbing Day (WPD) is upon us on the 11th of this month and our thanks to all those plumbers who go out to do good work for the less fortunate. Accepting that many do this type of work throughout the year, WPD is the one day when we recognise PLUMBING and the PLUMBER worldwide.
We welcome Sello Mokawane, vice president of IOPSA who provides the monthly IOPSA column this issue which makes fifteen valid pointers for our industry going forward. We need to be acutely aware of the challenges facing our industry, failing which we will all be without work!
We start off with the JASWIC monthly listings (two this month due to a gremlin last month!), the idea being that readers are aware of the manufacturers that are listing and hold SANS accreditation. While a test report is not ideal, JASWIC does encourage going all the way to obtain SANS accreditation.
This issue presents the POLOKWANE Plumbing Travelling Exhibition catalogue. The reception from potential visitors and merchants has been amazing so we look forward to a great expo, the first of 2023.
Our local manufacturer, Solar Heat Exchangers, is no newcomer to our industry and has now entered local manufacture as one will read.
Our feature is on non-water borne sanitary disposal, an issue that perhaps does not receive the attention it should. This needs to change as urban areas are growing and rural areas must adopt a more sensible approach to disposal of this wastewater. Certainly most of the manufacturers we approached did not seem to share this view, which is surprising as they brag greatly about their septic tanks with no thought for the standards that apply and have a rather contorted view of the plumber’s role in this critical sector. Nonetheless, we share the views of those who are serious about this and the interest from the USA in this technology.
IAPMO’s contribution raises an issue which is acknowledged in South Africa but little is done about it and that is the unintended consequences of water conservation. Of course we must conserve water but as the article so clearly emphasizes there are other parts of conservation that make up the whole.
Vollie Brink talks about New building sanitation drainage systems – which is more than just connecting a few pipes and running them into the municipal system.
Our ‘Tell me why you became a plumbing contractor’ series continues and garners good interest. We will be expanding this to other regions now that we have established a successful series.
Our Women in Plumbing continues this issue and will be joined, courtesy of BluLever Education, by a new series titled “Women on Tools.” These are the success stories we need to hear about, showing not only the role women are playing in plumbing but the success they enjoy under the guidance, training and on-the-job training they receive through this unique structure that BluLever offers.
We look at Product certification, which reinforces the need for manufacturers/suppliers to obtain the SANS accreditation. With four certification bodies in the market one thinks we can get over blaming just one which held the market for decades.
Finally, Patrick Gordon takes us through the ERV and its function.
So, we are nearly through the first quarter of 2023 and what a quarter it has been. If you have not experienced the rush, cannot imagine where you have been but do catch up from the second quarter onwards.
Rory Macnamara, Editor | rory@interactmedia.co.za
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