2 CONTENTS

ISSN 1812- 1705

INCORPORATING

PUBLISHED BY INTERACT MEDIA DEFINED( PTY) LTD 13A Riley Rd, Bedfordview, 2007, South Africa PO Box 695, Edenvale, 1610 Tel: + 27( 0) 11 579 4940 | Web: www. interactmedia. co. za

PUBLISHING UNIT LEAD: Sean Macnamara | sean @ interactmedia. co. za

WRITER: Megan O ' Connor | megan @ interactmedia. co. za

SUB-EDITOR: Eamonn Ryan | eamonn @ interactmedia. co. za

NATIONAL ADVERTISING SALES: Dale Macnamara | sales @ interactmedia. co. za Mari Macnamara | mari @ interactmedia. co. za

DESIGN / LAYOUT: Ruan Coetzee | ruan @ interactmedia. co. za PROCESS CO-ORDINATOR: Royce Headger | royce @ interactmedia. co. za

ADVISORY COMMITTEE: Darryl Brainin, Steve Brown, Dean Cane, Arthur Classen, Nick Joubert, Ramogoman Obed Kekae, Sello Mokawane, Dewald Nel, Terry Smith, Lior Solomons and Steve van Zyl

OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE: Institute of Plumbing South Africa( IOPSA) | Sani`ter Africa, Plumbdrain Africa and Plumbing ' s Travelling Exhibition( PTE).

MANAGEMENT: Operations: Sean Macnamara | sean @ interactmedia. co. za Finance: Laetitia Arnott | laetitia @ interactmedia. co. za

PRINTING: Typo Colour Printing Specialists DISTRIBUTION: distribution @ interactmedia. co. za

PARTICIPATION

ASSOCIATIONS 3 From the executive director 6 JASWIC listings 7 CPD questionnaire 9 Leading the charge for mental health in the

Trades

BUSINESS AND TRAINING

10 Women on Site 11 Tell Me Why: Amogelang Phelane has a passion for plumbing 13 Do you love your business, or is it quietly breaking your heart?

PRACTICES

FEATURE 14 World Plumbing Day:‘ Worldwide problems, global solutions’ Opinion piece

HEALTH AND SANITATION 28 If it ain’ t broke( or stolen), don’ t fix it

HEALTH AND SAFETY

31 Building safer plumbing workspaces through communication, time and quality management

TECHNICAL

35 What should the orientation of the inline strainer be?

REGULARS

1 Fitting Thought: The importance behind the

Day – 11 March 2026 1 POPI Act 3 Can you fix it? 19 What’ s in your toolbox? 36 Web / Brand listings

Audit Bureau of Circulations

ABC CIRCULATION: Jul- Sep 2025

PRINT: 4 324 | ONLINE: 6 211

SUBSCRIPTIONS: Ralph Shongwe | ralph @ interactmedia. co. za

ENVIRONMENT-FRIENDLY PRINTING: All paper is sourced from the Forest Stewardship Council and Chain of Custody-certified suppliers. All wastepaper from the plant is recycled. All used plates are recycled. All new printing equipment is purchased for low energy-consumption levels and low volatile organic-compound emissions.

OPINION PIECE 22 When compliance becomes optional, plumbing gets dangerous

PROJECT 26 The revamp of the auditorium bathrooms at

Drakensberg Boys Choir School

To receive your personal copy of # PlumbingAfrica, send a message with your email address to 071 848 5946 with PA02

DISCLAIMER: While every reasonable precaution has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the advice and information given, neither the editor, publisher, proprietor, staff, nor any official body represented or published in this issue, will accept responsibility for any damages, loss, injuries, or false claims that may arise or be made in the content. Including but not limited to any references to gender, religion, politics, ethnicity, or personal preferences of any editorial contribution whether an industry expert, advertiser through sponsored or paid content or contract writer. We subscribe to the Code of Conduct of the Advertising Regulatory Board( info @ arb. co. za) and the Press Ombudsman( see below). Disclaimers by individual companies are hereby overridden by this disclaimer.

COPYRIGHT: Reproduction of any of the content and photographs is expressly forbidden in terms of the Copyright Act of 1987 with all amendments. All requests to reproduce must be made in writing to the publisher and such confirmation must be given in writing before proceeding. A copy of where the reproduction was published must be supplied to the publisher at the above address. All publication and exhibition titles are registered as trademarks in terms of the Trademarks Act of 1993 and are held by Interact Media Defined( Pty) Ltd, Reg No 2014 / 092774 / 07.

PRESS OMBUDSMAN: This publication has committed itself to maintain the highest standards of journalism as embodied in the Press Code of Professional Practice. If you believe we have failed to report news and comment accurately, honestly and fairly, you may lodge a complaint with the Press Ombudsman either by email, letter, or by telephoning the office for the procedure to be followed. Tel: + 27( 0) 11 484 3612 / 8. Email: enquiries @ ombudsman. org. za Website: www. presscouncil. org. za for the press code and / or the complaints form.

INTERACT MEDIA DEFINED Reg. 2014 / 092774 / 07 | VAT. 4560266159

SAVE THE DATE 2026

IOPSA regional events – check with regions or www. iopsa. org

SOUTH AFRICA

March 26: Plumbing’ s Travelling Exhibition – Bloemfontein

June 11: Plumbing’ s Travelling Exhibition – Durban North

July 22 – 23: Plumbing Indaba – Johannesburg

INTERNATIONAL

March 31 – April 2: ISH China – Beijing, China

April 28 – 30: WQA Convention and Expo – Miami Beach Florida

June 23 – 25: World Plumbing Conference 2026 / InstallerSHOW – NEC Birmingham, UK

September 13 – 17: IAPMO Annual Education and Business Conference – Hollywood, California, USA

October 21 – 23: WaterSmart Innovations – Portland, Oregon, USA

Cover credit: supplied by Drakensberg Boys Choir

ISSN 1812- 1705

Participation:

The training requirements to work in the industry

March 2026 | Vol 32 No 01

For Plumbers and WET Services Engineers

Official journal of the Institute of Plumbing SA

F I R E – G A S – M E C H A N I C A L – P L U M B I N G

Practices:

Standards and accountability in day-to-day work in the industry

Products:

Features and quality of the materials, fittings and appliances used in plumbing work

R92.00 incl. VAT per issue

THE REVAMP OF THE AUDITORIUM BATHROOMS AT DRAKENSBERG BOYS CHOIR SCHOOL

To receive your personal copy of # PlumbingAfrica, send a message with your email address to

071 848 5946 with PA01

Protection:

Measures to minimise risks and provide redress when failures occur

Please note: If you are receiving this publication and no longer wish to, please email us at: distribution @ interactmedia. co. za to let us know so that we can remove you from our mailing list.