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Associations
requirements for a COC with regards to air conditioning , but Botha admits “ there ’ s still a long way to go before the message gains traction .” Even among HVAC & R firms , he cautions that it sometimes may take an audit from the Department of Labour and a report stating that they have no SAQCC Gas registered practitioners , before the message sinks in . “ We ’ d like to help them avoid that shock by educating them on the relevant SANS regulations , OHS laws , design or installation challenges .
“ Above all , we need to grow the membership base , as this is how we ultimately prove our relevance as a contractors ’ association . We need to grow the association to a critical mass whereby it releases resources to then assist start-up and smaller companies coming into the association to survive . Most businesses in South Africa fail between the first two to five years . In the case of HVAC & R we need to assist these smaller start-ups to stay in business by assisting them to follow regulations , and thereby grow their businesses to be sustainable ,” explains Botha .
Currently , there are only about 4 000 registered practitioners in South Africa – a small figure that implies the bulk of practitioners are not registered and are therefore noncompliant . To judge the scale of the informal sector , Botha points out that a country like Australia – with a far smaller population – has 33 000 registered practitioners . “ This highlights the importance of getting more practitioners to register , to recover refrigerants and to write out certificates of conformity . With such COC clients , contractors and engineers can then have confidence that they have well trained practitioners working on their equipment .
South Africa is going through tough times , but energy and water security are two of the most pressing concerns for the years ahead . As an association and industry , Botha asserts SARACCA must do its part to protect the environment . “ One of the main issues we face is getting HVAC & R companies to recycle refrigerants instead of venting them . With the phase out of refrigerants increasing over the coming years , refrigerants such as R22 will not be available much longer , or only in small quantities . It ’ s important that we ensure companies and individual contractors are aware of the need to recycle refrigerants .
“ The training courses available educate practitioners on how to recover refrigerants and return them to main suppliers for reclamation or destruction . This way , we can prevent damage to the environment and the ozone layer . We also work closely with environmental services in the government to this end ,” says Botha . RACA
“ Above all , we need to grow the membership base , as this is how we ultimately prove our relevance as a contractors ’ association .”
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RACA Journal I January 2024 www . refrigerationandaircon . co . za