WPC

"Regulations for sustainability in Plumbing – a case for international standards"

ENERGY – SANITATION –  ENVIRONMENT – WATER

The conference will open discussion on plumbing’s critical and essential role in providing a healthy and safe environment for the people of the world. It will also address the plumbing role in ensuring, through regulation, that the four pillars in which plumbing operates, namely, ENERGY, SANITATION, ENVIRONMENT and WATER, are never compromised on the altar of greed and non-compliance.

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Each country has its own set of regulations as does each local authority in terms of by-laws that suit the environment but WPC 2016 believes that with an understanding of regulations that are referred to using international standards as a start, will  ensure a firm basis for regulations in any application and in any country.

The fact that the world plumbing industry will discuss this through a variety of keynote addresses and breakaway session means that all governments, local, provincial and national, NGO’s, official bodies, governmental organisations, training colleges, property owners, architects, quantity surveyors, engineers plumbing system designers and plumbers will have a universal base from which to operate from.

Water is an international issue. It is a universal right that everyone on earth must have access to healthy water and sanitation from the poorest of the poor to the richest of the rich. The plumbing sector’s role in providing water and sanitation and ensuring that it is designed in the correct manner will contribute to healthy nations and people and contribute no end to water conservation. It is true, water will never disappear but potable water becomes scarce as the cost of treating water and supplying it becomes more and more expensive. So potable water is what we must protect and plumbers are trained to ensure good plumbing practice.

WPC 2016 is no ‘talk show’ but a conference to present outcomes that will take delegates to points where they can and will influence others, be they in government or private sector. Work groups will be formed to take the world of plumbing into the legislators and communities.

The World Plumbing Council, (WPC) already engaged with influential  groups and bodies, and highly representative of most plumbing organisations around the world will be better placed to take the outcomes  beyond and into the international community as will Institute of Plumbing South Africa (IOPSA) be able to take this into Africa as part of their commitment to the WPC, Africa and the world.

Concurrent with the conference will be an International exhibition showcasing the local and international products and services. In keeping with the theme all products on display need to carry , for South African companies, the SABS mark/JASWIC acceptance, and outside companies the recognized standard applicable to their country/ies. South Africa has compulsory standards for plumbing and anyone wanting to do business here needs to acquaint themselves with these standards.

The South African National Plumbing Skills Competition will be held during this period and the winner will represent SA at the International World Skills competition in Abu Dhabi in 2017.

The Community Plumbing Challenge (provisional) will also be run during the conference. This is a joint initiative of WPC, Healthabitat and World skills.