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for hot and cold-water piping. Indeed, AENOR has issued its first local product certification permit( Figure 1). There will be many more, as local manufacturers and distributors are forced to find an alternative to the traditional SABS Certification Permit.
The market should be under no confusion, however. Certification from SATAS, AENOR and the SABS are all equally valid. All three bodies are accredited by SANAS( South African National Accreditation System) to offer such certification and must be able to show that certified products meet the test and performance requirements of the relevant SANS. in relation to products was deemed to be sufficient, and claims of a product being SABS tested inferred conformity. I could have my socks tested against a pipe standard and correctly declare that my product had been SABS tested! The market just wasn’ t being given the correct information, and wasn’ t sufficiently aware of what defined valid certification and what was, in fact, plain trickery. Our national building codes mention that products have to be approved to South African national standards. These national standards( SANS) are not the property of the SABS, and as long as an organisation has been accredited by SANAS to certify products against such standards, their certificates are legally valid.”
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JASWIC also understands the difficulties that local manufacturers / distributors face with the SABS. At their executive meeting in June 2016, JASWIC confirmed that certification from bodies other than the SABS could be used towards JASWIC acceptance.
Ken Patrick, chair of PHACT, comments as follows:“ The South African market has been lazy. We have always simply looked for‘ SABS approved’ on product literature, or the so-called SABS‘ hamburger’ logo. It reached the point where a simple mention of the SABS
If you are unsure of whether the hot water polymer piping system you would like to use is correctly certified, please feel free to contact PHACT at chairman @ phact. co. za and we will be able to provide you with the relevant information. PA
“… was not sufficiently aware of what defined a valid certification.” www. plumbingafrica. co. za February 2017 Volume 22 I Number 12