30 PERSONALITY PROFILE
Adriaan Myburgh: new
national IOPSA President
By:
Eamonn Ryan
In March, Lea Smith stepped down as President of IOPSA. Force
majeur in the form of Covid-19 prevented his successor from
immediately stepping into his shoes. But on 23 June, Adriaan
Myburgh was finally elected remotely to the position during the
AGM held online.
Most people know Myburgh from his work on IOPSA
Technical Talks each week, but he has a long history
in plumbing.
“It is evident
from the
improving pass
rate of the
assessments
being done,
albeit IOPSA
assessments for
designations or
PIRB ones, that
plumbers are
starting to take
their industry
seriously
again.”
“Four of us were recruited from my alma mater Technical
High School, Oudtshoorn, by one of our older alumni, Tien
Jordaan. He had already been operating a successful
plumbing business, Jordaan’s Plumbers, in Port Elizabeth
for a number of years. It was a fortunate break for me to
be mentored by an absolute professional, respected by
his peers. He not only treated all his staff, apprentices and
artisans equally with respect, but was quick to step in when
there were any instances of non-compliance with rules and
regulations. He and his wife were like a dad and mom for
me away from home: he had a huge impact on how I look at
things: that the easiest way to do something is to do it the
right way, with no need to reinvent the wheel if others have
already done it successfully,” says Myburgh.
He has been drawn throughout his career to the broader
building industry by its ‘hands-on’ character: “As a whole,
plumbing is a very ‘involved’ trade – as a plumber, you
are one of the first people on any building project, site
setup (ablutions, water points, and more). During that
same project you will interact with almost every trade
working on that site, from underground drainage, provision
of sleeves and ducts, the actual chasing (demolition
according to most builders) and work in the building, right
up to finishing stages. That requires some serious planning
and keeping your wits about you. That was always part
of my inspiration – making a difference at a time when it
matters,” Myburgh adds.
IOPSA
Incoming IOPSA President, Adriaan Myburgh.
He says he was fortunate to be involved right from the start
in any number of major construction projects at a time when
there were big projects on the go in his area. “Mr Jordaan
had enough faith in me to include me on the planning side,
but I was never really keen on the paperwork side.” However,
that blind spot had to change as the projects grew in
complexity and responsibilities increased.
He lists some examples: “Our company was involved with a
couple of housing projects. The first project I managed was
the Standard Bank Regional Offices (PE). We did some major
revamps on local hospitals, as well as some new wings
being built. We built some office blocks, including Sanlam
Park, being a nice new development. Then there were
shopping centres; ongoing renovations to the Greenacres
Shopping Centre; as well as the new Makro that was going
up in Port Elizabeth at the time. We replaced an 80m
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