INDUSTRY MATTERS
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services rational design. All other designs
must be submitted as deem to satisfy by those
not governed by an official body. service offered by engineering companies. In
recent years however, the role has become
more common at bigger engineering firms.
Most municipalities will accept the CoC
issued by the plumber, with the plumber
taking responsibility for the practical
installation. Issues arise in the industry
when clients, mainly developers, use this to
accelerate the process and avoid employing
a wet services engineer. While experienced in
their own way, they may choose products or
services that do not suit the type of solutions
required for the project. The choices may be
based on similar installations, but in reality,
not fit for purpose for all installations. Based
on the previous necessary designations
discussed, the plumber is not listed
under Form 2, is not an ECSA registered
professional, and therefore cannot sign for a
wet services rational design. As part of a rapidly evolving industry, it’s
imperative that the South African Bureau of
Standards (SABS) adopts new technologies
and emerging products. Key people should
be involved at the onset of projects to ensure
that the right roles are filled by the right
people. Wet services engineers, plumbers,
and builders should be consulted with and
included throughout the process to ensure
that design, installation, and product meets
the local requirements. Local standards must
be better enforced and communicated to
ensure they are treated as compulsory.
While this appears to be a good solution at the
time, when the time comes for a building to be
commissioned and problems are found with
the plumbing, the client seeks the opinion of
an engineer. This reactive response results in
a severed relationship between the plumber
and engineer, when the plumber shouldn’t
have been given the authority by the client and
shouldn’t have accepted the work.
The result is re-work, correcting structural
mistakes, and trying to fix a system that
was built incorrectly. This can lead to more
money spent by clients to fix the problems or
even legal action taken against the plumbing
contractor by developers.
SO WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
Quality is an integral part of any technical
process. A prevalent issue in the industry is
non-competent engineers or architects signing
off on wet services rational designs. When
drawings go to building inspectors and they see
a professional engineer designation, they do not
question the authority of the signature.
However, when things go wrong, the
responsibility falls on the signee who will be held
accountable for any issues with the project.
The general rule of thumb is to employ the
right professionals to fill the right roles. A
wet services engineer should be employed
for specialist operations. This isn’t the norm
because historically, this wasn’t a common
www.plumbingafrica.co.za
In South Africa as an example, it is common
for residents to throw bottles, towels, rags,
and nappies down the drain. This behaviour
must change if we want to advance to more
innovative piping systems.
A PROPOSAL FOR SOLVING THE CHALLENGE
As drastic as the steps may be, there needs
to be a change in the industry as a whole.
Developers and construction contractors need
to understand the different roles involved in
the process. More specifically, the role of a wet
services engineer falling under the mechanical
and civil scope of works as categorised at
ECSA, needs to be more clearly defined.
Sign-off of installations all depends on
each council and the appointed inspector’s
understanding of what a ‘competent person’
is. This is where ECSA and the South African
Institute of Civil Engineering (SAICE) must
educate the inspectors on what characteristics
a competent person has, as well as the whole
list of items they would need to check for.
Councils should also implement a background
check for the appointed engineer using the
ECSA website that lists what the areas of
registration for each engineer are, or a simple
phone call to ask for the information required.
IN CONCLUSION
All players in the sector need to perform the
work they are competent to fulfil to ensure
that profitability, timelines, and reputation are
not threatened. Individuals filling key roles
must understand each participant’s function
and where each function ends in order to
create a successful end product. PA
May 2019 Volume 25 I Number 3