12 BUSINESS AND TRAINING
The same, or another role player, must quantify the user requirements as comprehensively as possible in a brief or as a scope of work, dealing with the location and any enabling works if necessary before the project can commence. Such works include: the space and utility services as well as the type and quality of finishes required, the accommodation and / or installation of specialised equipment, such as a MRI scanner in a hospital. In addition to the normal compliance with local town planning and building regulations or industry specific operating licences and / or conformance with recognised performance standards, a project must be completed within a defined budget by a stipulated date.
The initiator and the project team must, during each of the six work stages – as the project requirements are refined to the final design stage before construction – test the validity of the user requirements and the possible solutions proposed, such as the statutory compliance, cost and duration thereof and the alignment with the business objectives of the initiator and / or the user to proceed to the next work stage, or abort the project.
In addition to the tasks listed, the initiator, as the chief executive of the commissioning organisation, is ex officio the‘ responsible person’( referred to as‘ 16.1’ in Section 37 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993( as revised)) who can delegate such authority to a competent person as a 16.2 for the preparation of and compliance with the Health and Safety Specification for the builder and to register the project with the Department Employment and Labour before construction may commence.
for incorporation in a new or refurbished construction project. They must allow for adequate production and circulation spaces, provision of appropriately sized utility services and / or disposal services for commissioning in accordance with local or international standards, operating licences or approvals, and to identify items with a long lead time, for example, obtaining a water use license and / or importing sophisticated equipment allowing for its manufacture.
The user-initiator team must confirm if the project is to accommodate a single or multiple users( tenants) and, if so, if such spaces are to be handed over as a grey box( no floor, wall or ceiling finishes) or a white box( flat screed, plastered walls and possibly unfinished ceiling boards) within the project – be it a greenfield project or in refurbished existing premises.
The user-initiator team must confirm the suitability for its intended purpose of the project location be it a new greenfield( vacant land) project, or a brownfield project( previously built on, may have to be demolished, may be contaminated from previous uses), or to refurbish existing premises.
The answers to these criteria will guide the decision if this is a conventional building project using one of the four SfCC and supporting documentation by negotiation or by open tender process, or, if early contractor involvement is desirable, negotiated as a design and build – or variation thereof – contract.
The User The user could be an independent entity or part of the initiator’ s business, tasked with providing essential operational information
The user or the initiator may be the‘ legal owner’ of a project and / or the premises. PA
How to behave like a leader of your plumbing business
By
Craig Lourens, ACTION Coach
There is a point in every plumbing business owner’ s journey when technical ability is no longer enough.
You can be the best plumber in town. You can solve complex problems, delight customers and produce exceptional workmanship. But if you want your business to grow beyond what you can personally do with a toolbox in your hand, you need something more.
You need to be a leader. Many plumbing business owners don’ t fail because they’ re poor tradespeople. They struggle because they never make the transition from working in the business to leading the business.
Leadership isn’ t a title, it’ s a behaviour And the good news is every business owner can learn it. Stop thinking like the best plumbing artisan in town. That was appropriate when you started your business, value came from what you could do. Today, it is far more important what your team can do.
That requires a different mindset. Instead of asking:“ Which job do I need to do today?” Start asking:“ How do I build a business that consistently delivers outstanding service? How do I develop my people? How do I improve our systems? How do I develop more leaders in my business?”
As the leader of a business, your tasks are no longer to fix plumbing problems. You are doing your job to develop a business that solves plumbing problems well, even with you not there. That ' s leadership.
Great leaders create clarity One of the biggest frustrations employees have is uncertainty. They don ' t know:
• What success looks like.
• What standards are expected.
• Who is responsible for what.
• Why certain decisions are made.
Coach Craig, + 27( 0) 79 388 5709.
© Plumbing Africa www. plumbingafrica. co. za @ plumbingonline @ plumbingonline @ PlumbingAfricaOnline October 2026 Volume 32 I Number 08