FITTING THOUGHT
1
Has the recipe for business
changed under our noses?
I have increasingly been pondering this exact subject over recent
months, because as you may have experienced yourself, it seems
like things just don’t work the way they used to anymore.
With the flood of technology talk, the internet
of things, the Fourth Industrial Revolution and
the challenges of the abstract way the younger
generation operates, a change in our own mindset is
perhaps due.
Someone recently asked me what happened to the Third
Industrial Revolution, and when taking some time to think
about it, I realised that some people haven’t even come
to terms with that yet, never mind what our future looks
like with mechanisation and the capabilities of artificial
intelligence, which already exists in multiple forms. It is
definitely time to re-look strategies to keep up with the
times and this includes trades like plumbing, because the
way clients use services today, no one can be excluded
from the “new norm”.
I was forced to take a deeper look during a recent
discussion with a consultant who specialises in
digitisation. Many business owners are not even familiar
with what digitisation is, or what it can do. Most people
are also afraid of what technology means in the everyday
working world, because it means change which,
generally, human beings don’t like. However, taking a
different approach, could some of our challenges not
be resolved much faster by implementing things like
mechanisation in our local manufacturing or processes
that typically take long and are frustrating?
It could mean more streamlined processes to produce
more units of a particular product at a cheaper rate,
which in turn is able to satisfy the needs of a community
with greater affordability, such as catering to the housing
market, or allowing us [as South Africa Incorporated] a
better competitive advantage in the international arena.
On the one hand we probably still have a way to go to
get there when you consider the industry challenges like
compliance or training, but on the other we should spend
more time understanding and planning for a business of
the future, starting with understanding where we are at
the moment in the world of tech.
www.plumbingafrica.co.za
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce Eamonn
Ryan, the newest member to the Plumbing Africa team.
Eamonn will be taking over as editor as of the August
issue and I trust that you will engage with him. Eamonn
has great writing experience in a variety of industries
including building retail, finance, civil engineering,
construction contracting and quarrying, all of which he
has conquered with flying colours. The plumbing sector is
yet another he can add to his list of experiences.
In this issue we take a look at pumps and valves on
page 51. Our project is Katherine Towers – the newest
addition to the Sandton precinct that has been designed
according to Green Star ratings. We near the end of our
rainwater harvesting series on page 23. Our profile for
the month is Barry Chapman of Plumbing KZN on page 56.
As always, your input is valuable to us whether positive
or negative – we want to know! So please get in touch
with us.
If you have any news, events, products or projects to
share with us, now is the time – contact us:
[email protected],
[email protected], or call us
+27 (0) 11 579 4940. You can also conveniently send us
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I trust you enjoy this issue, and as always, happy plumbing!
Ben
July 2019 Volume 25 I Number 5