Seeking quality where none exists
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Plumbing is a neglected area in the country, Sudhakaran Nair, president of Indian Plumbing Association, tells M. SOUNDARIYA PREETHA
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Looking forward: Sudhakaran Nair
It takes five years of academic study and another three years of field experience for a candidate to become a master plumber in the U.S. How are things in India? Though plumbing practices were present in the ancient days, “we lost the message in between,” says Sudhakaran Nair, president of the Indian Plumbing Association (IPA) and an executive board member of the World Plumbing Council.
He has been in the plumbing profession for the last 38 years.
Members
“Plumbing is a critical but neglected area in the country,” Mr. Nair told The Hindu PropertyPlus in a conversation recently. This profession has a direct impact on the health and safety of the common man. Many of the communicable diseases spread because of poor plumbing.
The World Health Organisation had said that poor plumbing was one likely reason for the spread of the SARS virus.
In New Zealand, plumbers come under the Ministry of Health. In Western Europe and the U.S., plumbing is an advanced study.
“We follow the British code and not the updated one.” In the U.S. the plumbing code is enforced.
Till recently, plumbing was one chapter in the National Building Code in the country. The IPA formed a core committee and drafted the Uniform Plumbing Code. It was released a few months ago and will be revised every three years.
Document
The code is an exhaustive document that covers design, installation and maintenance. The Bureau of Indian Standards gives the minimum guidelines and recommendation.
“We have elaborated and given additional inputs in the code,” Mr. Sudhakaran says.
The association has started educating the public, stake-holders and the Government departments on the code. “Awareness is needed on better plumbing activities. It is a part of engineering.”
Another major initiative of the association is a formal training programme. Plumbing is 7.5 per cent to 15 per cent of the total construction cost, depending on the type of building and the standards followed. But just 5 per cent to 10 per cent of the business is now done by the organised sector.
Three courses
Though we have a large number of plumbers, they need formal education. Hence, the association has proposed three courses in plumbing – design engineers (one year), construction supervisor (one year) and master plumber (two years).
“We will join hands with polytechnics and colleges to offer these courses. We have plans for distance education and certificate programmes too.”
By December this year, the association hopes to be ready with the syllabus and training.
Started in 1993 with about 25 members, the IPA currently has about 1,000 members, including corporates, plumbing consultants and contractors, and 11 local chapters.
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