Plumbing Africa October 2023 | Page 21

BUSINESS AND TRAINING 19

The international landscape of standards

By
Herman Strauss of SA Watermark
Are international products just as good as products that are tested to SANS standards ? Are these international products not better ?
If it is good enough for the USA , UK , Europe , China , Japan and more , should it not be good enough for South Africa as well ? These questions are often heard with a variety of arguments being presented both for and against each answer . Let us set aside our opinions on the matter and look at the facts .
While some of the consumer goods in the country are made locally , a significant portion are imported . The proportions of local vs imported goods vary between the different industries . Within the plumbing environment , we see that there are some products locally manufactured and some fully imported , and this is the largest portion of the available products in South Africa . There are also the goods that are locally designed but the manufacturing happens internationally .
This leaves South Africa as a country in a vulnerable position , where we are significantly affected by what happens internationally . We are not the only country affected in this manner . All countries want to use their own local goods and export them to other countries , while protecting their people from undesirable goods being imported into the country .
To create an environment in which countries can trade fairly while having the risks thereof managed , the World Trade Organisation was established . The root of this organisation goes as far back as 30 October 1947 , when an initial agreement was signed in Geneva . South Africa joined the WTO as a member in 1995 .
Fast forward to today : South Africa is bound by the various agreements of the WTO , which include the “ Agreement on technical barriers to trade .” The Standards Act , Section 2 ( h ) imposes a responsibility on the South African Bureau of Standards to uphold this agreement .
When SANS standards are developed and maintained , some principles need to be maintained to prevent technical barriers to trade . What this means is that no requirement may be included in a standard for the purpose of excluding imported products . However , if a requirement is necessary to protect the people of the country , it may then be included .
A simple example of this relates to electricity supply . In South Africa , the power grid supplies 230V to households . Some international countries use 110V for appliances . It is therefore acceptable for SANS standards to require an appliance to operate on 230V . Those appliances operating on 110V will be noncompliant , hence they cannot be sold .
The same conditions apply to plumbing components . Some standards are similar to international standards but not necessarily the same . Tap standards
Herman Strauss are an example . The standards for taps all over the world have similar and related requirements , but they differ between USA , Europe , Japan , Australia , South Africa and other countries . Not one of these countries ’ standards can be considered as equivalent to that of the other countries .
On the other hand , for some products the SANS standard is a direct adoption of the international standard for the same products . Many plastic pipes fall within this category . A multilayer pipe that complies to the ISO standard is therefore equivalent to a pipe complying to the equivalent SANS standard .
What does this mean for the consumer in South Africa - how can a consumer know if a product is equivalent or not ? Compliance verification is a topic that has been discussed at length and the discussions continue . You can be on the lookout for a future article on this topic .
It is important to note that the South African public can rely on the SANS standards . Once a SANS standard is published , you know that it was evaluated to ensure that the South African consumers interests have been catered for . If the standard happens to differ from international standards , it is with good reason . PA
“… where we are significantly affected by what happens internationally .”
SA Watermark
October 2023 Volume 29 I Number 8 www . plumbingafrica . co . za