32 DESIGN : DEAR PLUMBERS
Civil , mechanical , and building water engineering and the plumber
By D . S ( Vollie ) Brink Pr . Eng . MSAICE , MPMISA
Vollie Brink is one of the industry ’ s longest-serving wet services engineers . He continues to serve on SABS committees and has been involved in the Green Building Council ’ s Green Star rating system . Brink continues to consult for various organisations while enjoying a wellearned retirement .
“ The profile of the civil and mechanical engineer and the plumber will change .”
There is a fine line between the civil and mechanical engineer when it comes to water in buildings . Both are qualified , with the civil engineer and the mechanical engineer overlapping in the water space especially as both disciplines will have ‘ specialised ’ in water . so let us look at what needs be done by these disciplines .
Building water engineering consists of the design and project management of the construction of the following building services : 1 . The cold-water system . 2 . The hot water system . 3 . The hot water generation system . 4 . The sanitary drainage system in the building . 5 . The sanitary drainage system outside the building to connect the drainage of the building to the municipal connection .
6 . The blackwater treatment system if there is no municipal connection or for green building projects . 7 . Water treatment . 8 . The rainwater system . 9 . The storm water system . 10 . The grey water system . 11 . The fire water system . 12 . The fire protection . 13 . The gas system . 14 . The steam system . 15 . The compressed air system . 16 . Hospital gas system . 17 . These building services require infrastructure which the municipality must provide and therefore responsible for the engineering design of water and sanitation and roads and electrical power and stormwater etc .
The civil and mechanical engineers both have tertiary education which are based on the basic principles of water engineering and thermodynamic theory which are the important elements of the design of building services .
Both engineers must have knowledge of the electrical and mechanical elements of the design of the services .
Both engineers will require a plumber to do the basic ‘ plumbing ’ and a ‘ specialist plumber ’ to do the specialist items such as the hot water plant and pumping stations etc .
Both engineers have the basic knowledge and basic competence to ‘ kick-off ’ their career and specialise in the design of the water services of buildings and around the buildings .
The plumber requires three / four years of field work ( apprenticeship ) and theory by a qualified plumber and accredited training provider respectively and must then pass the national trade test which is issued by the Qualifications Council for Trade and Occupations ( QCTO ). Official bodies like the Institute of Plumbing SA ( IOPSA ) together with related bodies would prepare advanced courses to provide the plumber with ‘ specialist ’ skills like solar , heat pump , and the like .
My experience is that it takes me between 6 and 12 months to train a civil and or mechanical engineer to become fully competent to design building water services and it is because both already have the basic knowledge of the principles of water and energy and how to apply it in the design of systems .
The civil and mechanical engineer must comply with the ‘ 11 Outcomes ’ for registration , and this normally takes about five years , and during this period the candidate can master more than one competency and specialise in one or more disciplines .
The civil engineer can specialise in the design of the infrastructure and in the building , water services whereas the mechanical engineer normally specialises in the building water services only .
www . plumbingafrica . co . za @ plumbingonline @ plumbingonline @ PlumbingAfricaOnline March 2022 Volume 28 I Number 1