26 DESIGN : DEAR PLUMBERS
The institutional framework
By
D . S ( Vollie ) Brink Pr . Eng . MSAICE , MPMISA
The institutional framework in terms of the National Building Regulations ( NBR ) is of critical importance and needs to be followed carefully to prevent legal consequences .
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 .
Many years ago , I worked for the largest consulting engineering company of the day — before all the old companies were taken over by the large global enterprises . I worked with an elderly engineer who was also a director . He would come into your office and look over your shoulder while smoking his pipe , and then after a while , he would say , “ Young man [ or lady ], you must be very , very careful about what you do .”
It is now my own duty to mentor and train young engineers , technologists , and technicians , and I always tell them , “ Please remember that all the work you do has potential legal consequences .” This is also relevant for the contractor and the plumber and everybody in the building industry , from the manufacturer and supplier to the developer — the bodies who are responsible for the administration and the relevant authorities .
It is crucial to know the relevant Acts , regulations , rules , and legal requirements that relate to your work and your contractual responsibilities .
I have found that there are many people in this industry , from the designer to the administrators and the construction company , who do not know , or just ignore , the legal requirements and just ‘ bend the rules ’, so to speak , to suit themselves .
Image by pch . vector | Freepik
What follows is my understanding of the hierarchy , as presented to me by legal professionals who were involved with the NBR Act and , in some cases , who went to the review board , which I understand has now been disbanded .
The NBR hierarchy consists of the constitution , the Act , regulations , rules , standards , and then the local by-laws at the bottom of the ladder .
The basis of the NBR is health , safety and economy for affordable housing and the regulations , which are compulsory , describe the performance that is based on these three principles . These regulations give a clear , concise description of how the end product must function / perform .
HOW TO COMPLY The next important element of the regulations is the ‘ how to comply ’ sections . These sections are fully addressed in the ‘ performance regulations ’ and it makes provision for three options on how to comply :
1 . Deem-to-satisfy rules design option Every part of the NBR has a set of deem-to-satisfy rules , which deem to satisfy the performance regulations , if fully applied . The reason for these rules ( which are not compulsory as it is not a regulation ) are “ so that you don ’ t need an engineer for the design of a non-complicated installation such as a house ” – these were the exact words given when the NBR came out in 1977 . However , if you apply the ‘ recipe ’, then you must still be careful because there are situations that could require the input of a professional , for instance when the soil conditions are not suitable for building . The gap in this solution is that it does not specify any competence or “ competent person ” to be able to apply the recipe ; in other words , the deem-to-satisfy rules .
2 . Rational design option This option of design is for complicated buildings with complicated services that require the competence of the engineer and where the deemto-satisfy rules cannot be used to satisfy the level of competence required .
www . plumbingafrica . co . za @ plumbingonline @ plumbingonline @ PlumbingAfricaOnline May 2023 Volume 29 I Number 3