The Southern African Plastic Pipe Manufacturer’s Association (SAPPMA) has just concluded the third round of random sampling of plastic pipes manufactured in South Africa in order to test for product quality and consistency.
The need for quality tests Due to the fact that the plastics piping business is a strategic industry, hardware needs to be reliable for extended periods of time. Long-term product quality is fundamental and quality plastic pipe should be good for a minimum period of 50 years according to industry standards. To ensure industry compliance and high standards throughout, SAPPMA launched the first in a series of random sampling exercises at the beginning of 2011, whereby a selection of pipes were randomly obtained from various stocking merchants. How plastic pipes are tested A number of PVC and HDPE pipes, all bearing the SABS mark of quality, were randomly selected in the market and then tested at an independent certified laboratory, all according to the relevant SANS standards. Analysing the results According to Jan Venter, chairman of SAPPMA, the results of the tests showed that a considerable percentage of SABS mark-bearing pipes did not entirely conform to the relevant standards. “The SABS mark is supposed to give consumers and end-users peace of mind that a product has passed performance and quality assurance tests stipulated in a standard or regulation, or that the product complies with a national and international standard or regulation governing quality and minimum performance requirements,” explains Venter.However, due to growing economic pressures, it is easy for a manufacturer to look for ways in which to cut costs, which often impacts negatively on product quality.
“It is important to for SAPPMA to be seen as not working against the SABS, but as an association that is strongly supporting it as a custodian of the National Product Standards,” Venter says. It is our vision to create absolute quality, trust and integrity throughout the value chain of the Southern African plastics pipe industry. To this end, SAPPMA continues to work very closely with the SABS in a joint effort to weed out inferior quality plastic piping systems.”
Raising the bar to become a member of SAPPMA Although the quality of pipes manufactured by SAPPMA members was generally superior to that of those manufactured by non-members, the association felt it necessary to develop a number of additional requirements that need to be met before pipe manufacturers would be allowed to obtain and use the SAPPMA mark of approval. These include:- the company’s products must be SABS approved and bear the SABS mark
- the company must be listed under the ISO 9001 scheme, or working towards it (in the latter case, SAPPMA will conduct a full systems audit prior to accepting the member)
- the company’s CEO must sign a Code of Conduct and Letter of Undertaking, outlining certain matters related to quality –this document must be refreshed annually before a Membership Certificate is issued.
- regular, unannounced factory audits will be carried out, whereby pipe samples are to taken and tested at an independent laboratory
- PVC pipe must be manufactured without lead or any other heavy metal stabilisers
- additional internal standards are continuously developed and applied to further raise the product standard of member companies.
