This is JASWIC -40 years on .
ASSOCIATIONS 11
By
JASWIC
Before JASWIC was formed in the early 1980s , most of the various town and city by-laws required approval , normally from the Town Engineer , before certain plumbing components could be installed .
PREAMBLE This meant that suppliers had to take the whole stock of the applicable fittings to the Waterworks / Wastewater Depots where they would be put through a rudimentary test before such products were accepted for use by the local municipality . This caused considerable supply delays . In addition , the requirements often differed from one municipal area to the next , making it very difficult for the suppliers and the installers to get it right and still carry-on sustainable businesses . The JASWIC arrangement did away with that problematic process .
Today most water by-laws still require that the plumbing materials used in their area of jurisdiction be listed on their schedule of approved products . Very few , if any , Local Authorities maintain their own schedules and they rather subscribe to the JASWIC Acceptance Schedule to fulfil that function of their own by-laws . Some refer to it directly in the wording of the by-laws , others by means of council resolutions , etc .
PURPOSE The committee was formed at its inception by the Water Engineers of the major municipalities , based on product compliance to the relevant South African Bureau of Standard specification ( now referred to as the South African National Standards , SANS ), and where there were no current SABS / SANS standards , compliance would be to an interim JASWIC “ requirement ” specification . Secondly , the JASWIC committee had to create and maintain these JASWIC “ R ” requirement specifications from drafts submitted by applicants along with other supporting and similar national or international standards as reference guides to the committee .
Thirdly , the committee would advise the SABS technical and sub committees where there were shortcomings in current standards , and on the development of the interim JASWIC “ R ” standards into full SABS / SANS standards in terms of the Standards Act ( Act 8 of 2008 ). Lastly , it would serve as a forum to discuss other matters that impact upon product and installation standards . Previously the acceptance process of new and renewal applications was dealt with primarily by the JASWIC Secretary . These applications are now being processed by an acceptance committee that meets regularly , consisting in the main of Gauteng committee members , i . e ., Tshwane , Ekurhuleni , Joburg Water and IOPSA , with other co-opted technical specialists if required .
Plumbing Africa Rory Macnamara
A good installation .
February 2023 Volume 28 I Number 12 www . plumbingafrica . co . za