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