INDUSTRY MATTERS
But if it doesn’t comply, the law is the law and they
need to adhere to it. Understandably, this may be very
frustrating and difficult to implement, but there also
wasn’t an auditing process so many years ago that
could have identified this. However, there is one now
and it will only be a matter of time before everyone
applies what is necessary in their work.
In the bigger picture, resistance is really a small portion
of the industry. Another challenge is that a lot of the
plumbers in the industry, are not PIRB registered. The
owner of the company or contractor may be registered
but the workforce is not.
People [consumers] are also hesitant to allow us access
to their property. Some are receptive but often it also
happens that you have to provide emails, letters to prove
who you are, who IOPSA is, send a copy of the COC and
so on, to prove your legitimacy. This of course I don’t mind,
and once the consumer feels comfortable, we proceed.
PROPERTY OWNERS SEE VALUE IN AUDITS
Generally, people are quite ignorant in the things that
should be happening as best practices (such as proper
plumbing and auditing) and this is also the reason you
still see so many ‘DIY’ers. We still have a long way to
go to educate the consumers on the benefits of using
registered, licensed plumbers. Many property owners
are actually happy about the audits and that the work is
being enforced at high standards.
Once we get past the idea that the auditor is part of the
insurance company, the next challenge is getting them
to understand what we are doing because the minute
we say we are doing an inspection on the geyser for
example, they firstly immediately assume an additional
cost, and then secondly if there is anything that does
not pass that they will have to pay again. Once they
understand that the auditor is there to ensure that
that plumbing has been carried out according to the
standards, things run a lot smoother.
HELPING BUSINESSES IS IMPORTANT
I enjoy the auditing process and connecting with other
plumbers, and especially those who are delivering
excellent quality workmanship in their projects and the
work that they put in.
Winning the award really makes me feel like I’m doing
my job properly. For me, auditing is not just about
going and inspecting a plumber’s work, it’s about the
opportunity of training and teaching the people who are
not that familiar with all of the laws, who are actually
good plumbers, but need guidance in the right direction
— which is most important for me.
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I get a lot of calls from plumbers and plumbing
companies, that ask me to come to their offices and
spend some time with their teams to help and guide
them, explain why things need to be a certain way
and so on. Especially for a company that has a lot of
teams out on the road, the feedback helps when you
address what is inspected, and why it’s inspected,
which is another way of helping out. Generally, the
auditor is seen as the bad guy, but this is really not
the case, and the more we help the industry the
quicker we can see progress.
ADVICE FOR THE PLUMBERS
The biggest thing for me is that plumbers need to
continue learning and being involved by attending the
webinars, Tech Talks and attend the IOPSA events,
because these are so valuable, and they give you
a lot of solutions to make your life easier. This is
also where one not only learns the benefits of being
associated with IOPSA and PIRB, but the massive
amount of work put in by both organisations to
improve our industry.
I would also urge all business owners to include and
educate their workforce with what is going on in the
industry. We will never see the progress we need with
the people doing the actual work if they are just sent
out to do the work day in and day out without any
involvement or further upskilling.
An auditor’s role is to ensure that
installations are performed according
to standards and not to engage in
any arguments around an opinion
about whether something is needed
or not. Here a geyser installation has
been completed 100% according to
SANS requirements.
All plumbers in the industry (no matter if they have
been in the industry for a couple of months or 30 years)
need to understand why the SANS requires them to
complete plumbing installations like they should, not
just to make sense of it all, but also to uplift everyone
on industry quality.
Another bit of advice I can offer is that a lot of plumbers
think its IOPSA's responsibility to educate and make
the consumers aware of who they are and the industry
changes. But I feel the auditors and plumbers have
a much more direct influence, because we are the
ones who are already getting to the consumers in our
everyday work. Take every opportunity you get to tell
the people you are in contact with about IOPSA, the
PIRB, the auditing process and so on — you already
have the perfect platform and it can only add to your
credibility as a quality tradesman.
CONCLUSION
Where I see the industry going with IOPSA and the PIRB,
yes, it is going to take a while to get where we ought to
be, but within the next five years there are going to be
significant changes for the industry that all stakeholders
can be both excited about and proud of. PA
June 2019 Volume 25 I Number 4