Plumbing Africa October 2017 | Page 57

ASSOCIATIONS 55 WPC initiative: Four Pillars of Plumbing By Shayne La Combre, World Plumbing Council chairperson The World Plumbing Council (WPC) wants strong industry frameworks for plumbing industries, and we think better frameworks will result from plumbing industries learning from each other. The frameworks of pl umbing industries can be categorised into four dimensions: • Participation: primarily the training requirements to work in the industry • Practices: standards and accountability in day-to-day work in the industry • Products: features and quality of the materials, fittings, and appliances used in plumbing work • Protection: measures to minimise risks and provide redress when failures occur. The WPC describes these four dimensions as the Four Pillars of Plumbing. The first step for this initiative is simple: the WPC is just asking for a clear description of the training www.plumbingafrica.co.za requirements to participate in the plumbing industry in your country or jurisdiction. The WPC has a guideline for producing the descriptions, but will be happy to receive a description in any form. The second step is optional, but should also be straightforward for many stakeholders in plumbing industries. The WPC asks you to state any changes you want regarding training requirements for your plumbing industry and to note any evidence or arguments supporting your wanted changes. In other words, the first step asks you to give a straight factual picture of the current training requirements for your plumbing industry; the second step asks you to state what you think Will you help us in this effort? Shayne La Combre, World Plumbing Council chairperson. Continued on page 57 >> October 2017 Volume 23 I Number 8