Water, Sewage & Effluent January February 2019 | Page 37

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www.waterafrica.co.za
Water Sewage & Effluent January/February 2019
innovations
sent overseas at great expense to be tested, despite the fact that
we had local testing facilities. Understandably, serious questions
were being asked about certification. The past 18 months have
seen a marked improvement thanks to role players such as SATAS
and PESC, without whom it would be impossible for us to perform
our job effectively in ensuring that safety, environmental, and
ageing requirements of plastic pipes manufactured by SAPPMA
members are met,” concludes Venter. 
factory visits and for independent testing to be done on their
products. Only members who are in compliance, and whose
products meet the SANS standards, are allowed to bear the
SAPPMA mark of quality.
SATAS operates as an independent product certification
body. It obtained accreditation to certify manufacturers
to the requirements of ISO 17065 through South African
National Accreditation System (SANAS) in 2003, and has
since then made it their mission to provide an internationally
acceptable South African certification scheme that will
enable its clients to compete on the international markets
by awarding certification to manufacturers of product
in compliance with the requirements of the relevant
SANS standard. SATAS also participates in different
technical committees for national standards and industry
associations.
“It has been our experience this past year that SATAS
is becoming more efficient both in their unannounced
surveillance inspection and auditing of product, as well as
in the feedback they give to the industry and the issuing of
permits. They have highly trained, knowledgeable personnel
appointed in strategic positions, who know and understand
our industry and are therefore able to give valuable and
insightful recommendations after they have performed their
surveillance activities,” Venter explains.
In the same way, the Pretoria-based PESC has grown
into an important productivity monitoring and enhancement
company that gives feedback to SAPPMA on issues relating
to plastic pipe characteristics, properties, and flaws they
might have picked up during their product testing. The
company has made a considerable investment in new,
state-of-the-art testing equipment that is compliant with
the latest international standards. They are currently in
the process of moving to larger premises to deal with the
growing demand for sample testing on their automated
testing facilities, which allow for accurate testing and quick
turnaround time.
“It is encouraging to see how the market has opened up
for more service providers who are able to offer certification
and testing services. In previous years, we have had to deal
with the frustration of long turnaround times for tests to be
performed and results to be forthcoming from individuals
who had little or no knowledge of the industry. Samples were
The past 18 months have seen a marked improvement thanks to role players such as SATAS and PESC who have helped ensure that
safety, as well as environmental and ageing requirements of plastic pipes manufactured by SAPPMA members, are met.
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