GP Russ Chaney
Chief Executive Officer
A Glance at What’s New With IAPMO in 2013
Happy New Year, everyone! As the New Year begins, the global financial crisis continues and there still remains uncertainty throughout the world. IAPMO is hypersensitive to the ongoing pressures and demands that confront its members and clients worldwide. As a result, The IAPMO Group 2013 budget was developed with the understanding that prices must remain as stable as possible so that our clients can remain competitive.
The IAPMO Group continues to be aggressive in promoting all of its services, especially those that have an impact on sustainability, including Green Plumbers education and personnel certification programs, and the newly published Green Plumbers Reference Manual, which is designed to provide an additional source of information for those enrolled in Green Plumbers training. The content of the manual is based on the class curriculum and is designed to allow the user to review and explore class content when preparing to take the accreditation exam. Some of the items covered in the manual are: Climate Care, Water Efficiency Technology, Solar Hot Water, and Inspection Report Service. The goal of this training is to inform the student of green technologies and to help plumbers revitalize their businesses by answering the call to be better stewards of the natural resources of the earth.
Along the same lines, the 2012 edition of the Green Plumbing and Mechanical Code Supplement is now available. This newest edition includes standards for rainwater catchment systems and water reuse treatment technologies, as well as clarified provisions for water to be captured, treated and reused for certain applications. There are also new requirements for landscape irrigation systems. Developed by IAPMO’s Green Technical Committee, the Green Plumbing and Mechanical Code Supplement is regularly reviewed to ensure the most current technology is included. The development of the 2014 edition is already underway, with the next meeting of the Green TC scheduled for April 16-17 in Chicago.
Code development is ongoing. We have begun the development of the 2015 editions of the Uniform Plumbing Code® (UPC) and Uniform Mechanical Code® (UMC). The Call for Proposals deadline was Jan. 3, and the Code Development staff is now in the process of collecting all proposals for inclusion in the Monograph. Essentially, the Monograph is the agenda for use by the Technical Committees, as it contains all Task Group reports and proposals that will be addressed during the Technical Committee meetings the week of April 29 in Salt Lake City, Utah. I encourage you to attend these meetings and be a part of the code development.
The 2012 editions of the Uniform Swimming Pool, Spa and Hot Tub Code® (USPSHTC) and Uniform Solar Energy Code® (USEC) were just released last summer. These codes, as well as the UPC and UMC, have much more of an economic focus as a result of the provisions related to sustainable practices within them, in addition to the public health and safety focus they have always had. The 2015 edition of the USEC and USPSHTC will begin with the Call for Proposals in April, and it is with the development of this newest edition that the USEC will expand to include hydronics provisions related to wet cooling and heating, the result of which will be a new title of the code — the Uniform Solar Energy and Hydronics Code. This, of course, is a result of the Radiant Professionals Alliance (RPA) becoming a part of The IAPMO Group. Experts in the radiant field are already involved in the working group that is preparing proposed changes to the code to include these newest provisions. We are looking forward to utilizing hydronics experts to help educate the industry on this technology.
During its most recent history, IAPMO has been fortunate enough to be in a position to acquire other businesses, welcoming them in the fold of the various services and programs that The IAPMO Group offers to the industry. The first of such businesses – the Backflow Prevention Institute — joined IAPMO in 2005. Then in 2011, IAPMO welcomed the Green Plumbers North America program. Last year, the Radiant Professionals Alliance became a part of The IAPMO Group and in November the American Society of Sanitary Engineering (ASSE) membership voted during their meeting in Philadelphia to become an international chapter of IAPMO.
ASSE is a 106-year-old nonprofit organization and has made major contributions to the industry over the years, including standards development, personnel qualifications, product certification, as well as research on subjects such as Legionnaires and other health effects on society. IAPMO has great respect for this history and did not propose this acquisition without significant consideration for the future of ASSE. I'm hopeful that ASSE's future will be better and brighter as a result of having access to expanded staff assistance, a broader market, and the ability to promote their programs globally. IAPMO fully intends to retain ASSE's identity. There is great value in the ASSE logo and trademarks and, most importantly, ASSE has a very loyal and dedicated membership, all of whom will be a part of IAPMO.
Moving to the international arena, IAPMO's product certification business in India has grown very dramatically in the first six months of operation. Many manufacturers have already consulted with product engineers to start the process of having their products tested and certified by IAPMO R&T in the Indian market. This conformity assessment validation, completed by a third party in India, provides assurance to users of plumbing products throughout India that these products have met the applicable performance standards. This assurance provides manufacturers and their competitors a high level of confidence that the products being sold and installed throughout India are of a high minimum quality. IAPMO R&T is working closely with Intertek Testing to implement this program and to date I am thrilled by the level of interest that has resulted from the implementation of this program. The Indian plumbing industry, via the IAPMO/Indian Plumbing Association (IPA) collaboration, has developed very quickly and comprehensively over six short years. IAPMO has never seen nor participated in such a rapid, dramatic and comprehensive level of growth as has occurred in India.
In late September, The IAPMO Group welcomed a delegation from Indonesia for the purpose of further discussing an already long-standing relationship between IAPMO and the National Standardization Agency of the Republic of Indonesia (BSN) — the ANSI equivalent in that region. With a history that dates back almost 20 years, it was time for the two entities to further discuss ways in which they could work closer together on the development and implementation of the Uniform Plumbing Code – Indonesia (UPC-ID). Beyond code development, the group also discussed the adoption of standards, testing, personnel and product certification, and inspections for Indonesia in an effort to further protect the citizens of that country. I look forward to further updating you on our progress throughout 2013.
In closing, I’d like to remind you all to celebrate World Plumbing Day on March 11 — every year, everywhere. Visit www.worldplumbingday.org to see how other organizations around the world are planning to celebrate.