ASSOCIATIONS
standards, and there were inadequate resources within
municipalities to carry out the necessary inspections.
Urbanisation also resulted in a swelling of the numbers
of unqualified plumbers. IOPSA took the high ground in
encouraging standards, as the guardian of compliance
and good plumbing practice – and regulations were
introduced which has raised the bar for installation and the
manufacture of products.
The consulting editor of Plumbing Africa at the time,
Mervyn Jordan, in the second issue noted: “In the plumbing
field, a heavy responsibility and accountability rests on the
shoulders of the plumbers as well as that of the agents
and merchants responsible for bringing in these products,
to ensure that they match up to local requirements, and
more particularly so in the case of low income type housing
whose owners are probably most vulnerable.”
A further IOPSA initiative was the first Plumbing Exhibition
held at Kyalami in March 1995 which evolved into the
current PlumbDrain, and IOPSA’s membership continued
to grow. PlumbDrain was relocated with Interbuild (now
AfriBuild) which provided IOPSA the ideal platform to
continue its projects, particularly encouraging standards
and gaining more awareness in the broader market. By
1997, Plumbing Africa had become a monthly magazine,
in tandem with calls for the licensing of plumbers and the
inspection of work by plumbing contractors (led in the main
by municipalities who wished bylaws were more dynamic).
In 2000 the IOPSA Plumbers’ Handbook was conceived
and became an important training tool with the
Construction Education and Training Authority. By
2009 IOPSA had become active in the field of handling
consumer complaints. It had earlier been instrumental in
the formation of the Plumber Industry Registration Board
for licensed plumbers, and in encouraging consumers to
use only PIRB-registered plumbers. This was becoming
more in demand due to the prevalence of cheap and nasty
plumbing products, and IOPSA would advise consumers
telephonically of their remedies. If it was an IOPSA
member, a site inspection would take place, a written
October 2019 Volume 25 I Number 8
13
report given and the plumber, if he/she installed
incorrectly would be instructed to make it right. The
ultimate penalty would be delicensing with PIRB. This
voluntary disciplinary procedure avoids unnecessary
legal costs and time wasted.
The past year
IOPSA remained an organisation run on a shoestring
until approximately one year ago when Brendan
Reynolds took over as executive director. In the space
of a single year the staff component has grown from
three to 13 as it relocated from a house to new offices
in Dowerglen. This was primarily due to the acceptance
by IOPSA of the auditing role from PIRB, and an
expansion of the training capability. At IOPSA’s 21st
anniversary, it reported approximately 1 200 members
– today that figure is 700, a reflection of the tough
market of recent years.
Vollie Brink, one of the
industry’s longest serving wet
services engineers.
What has also changed in the past year is the evolution
of the industry view of IOPSA from being a grudge
purchase to it being seen as a guardian of plumbing
standards in the country and effectively looking after
the interests of registered plumbers.
Plumbing Africa extends its congratulations to IOPSA
on its 30th anniversary and in the November issue
will profile some of the past and honorary members
of the institute.
Source: Celebrating Plumbing: 21 Years of the Institute
of Plumbing South Africa, Compiled by
Rory Macnamara. PA
www.plumbingafrica.co.za