“Starting 2018 on a positive note”, is something all registered plumbers in South Africa could say with the release of the latest edition of SANS 10254 for the installation, maintenance, replacement and repair of fixed electric storage water heating systems.

As plumbers, we sometimes find it difficult to keep up to date with the requirements of the SANS standards, and may feel that changes to the standards will cause a world of confusion and frustration in an already challenging work environment.

This is certainly not the case with the changes to SANS 10254, if anything the changes have made the standard easier to understand and brings it in line with some of the other current standards like SANS 10106 and SANS 1352 for solar and heat pump installations respectively.

We will be going into more detail on the changes over the next few months to better explain the requirements, but for now, we will only be looking at one of the key changes to the standard that may have the greatest effect on all geyser installations.

The key change in SANS 10254 requires that; on completion of a geyser installation, maintenance or replacement of components, a Certificate of compliance from the registered professional body for plumbers, being the Plumbing Industry Registration Board (PIRB) register (in terms of the relevant national legislation), shall be issued to the owner of the installation and to the body requiring such a certificate, along with a written notice of any non-compliance.

In simple terms; plumbers are now required to issue a PIRB Certificate of compliance for all work on a geyser, along with a non-compliance informing the geyser owner/ user of compliance issues.

This calls for plumbers to up-skill themselves and ensure that when completing work on a geyser, they understand the requirements of the standard not only to issue a Certificate of compliance, but also be able to note all non-compliance on the installation.

The issuing of a PIRB certificate of Compliance has already been a requirement of SANS 10106 for Solar geysers since 2014 and SANS 1352 for Heat Pumps since 2012. The inclusion of the COC requirement to SANS 10254 ensures that all hot water cylinder installations requirements are aligned to promote and uplift the quality of installation work and protect the well-being of the consumer and the environment.

IOPSA is available to assist all IOPSA members to ensure that they understand the requirements of the Standards, along with the changes to SANS 10254. IOPSA has Compliance table as well as Warranty and Geyser failure guideline documents available free of charge to all members. IOPSA can also assist and advise members on all the available training to plumbers to uplift their skills and ensure their growth within the industry.