DESIGN: DEAR MR PLUMBER
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The sad situation is that to date, we still don’t have a part for water
in the NBR and some entities have sidestepped the engineers who
are the professionals and who are supposed to play an important
role in the hierarchy of design competence and who have also
brought the engineering technology to the documentation, such as
SANS 102542-1 and SANS 10252-2.
In other parts of the world, the engineers are revered and play an
important part in the development of design and new technology to
advance water engineering, but in South Africa, they are sidelined.
I have always propagated that we work as a team and that we
all have a role to play to render the best in terms of design and
construction for the benefit of all the people of South Africa. The
review board is an essential body that must be reinstated as soon
as possible. This body is necessary to address issues when there
are disputes, which usually stem from different interpretations of
the regulations or rules.
My view is that there must be another body of specialists who can be
consulted and give the correct interpretation of a regulation or rule
without delay so that the construction is not interrupted or stopped.
Our economy cannot accommodate extended periods of waiting for
answers and it is just not affordable.
www.plumbingafrica.co.za
I recently discovered that some officials don’t understand that the
NBR is applicable only on the building and related services that
happen within the boundaries of the property, and that you cannot
apply standards for municipal services inside the property unless it
is perhaps used as part of a rational design by the design engineer.
Water has become a serious problem in terms of supply for fire
protection in rural areas and small towns, and then a demand
exists for huge water storage and pumping facilities on the
private properties of shops and other buildings such as office
complexes. This is very expensive and stifles development and
the creation of work.
In these cases, some local authorities demand that the
developer provides services on their properties at the cost of
the developer while there is no such requirement in the NBR.
It also happens when an existing building is upgraded that it
must comply to all the latest regulations plus these additional
requirements that are the responsibility of the municipality, but
then the property across the street doesn’t have such facilities,
which seems very unfair.
Read SANS 10400-A carefully, as it contains vital information
— one sentence clearly states that the NBR is not intended to
be a design handbook. PA
March 2019 Volume 25 I Number 1