With its recent introduction of the Uniform Plumbing Code – Abu Dhabi, co-developed with the Environmental Agency of Abu Dhabi (EAD), the IAPMO Group is primed to help the Emirate and its neighbors in the region undertake each subsequent phase of their capacity building initiatives.
With strong uniform requirements now in place to govern the installation and maintenance of Abu Dhabi’s plumbing systems, in addition to those recently created with IAPMO’s assistance in Kuwait, Jordan, India and Indonesia, each of these nations is equipped to institute capacity building measures that when taken in sequence will drastically improve infrastructure and health and safety standards on behalf of their general populace. The IAPMO Group is uniquely qualified to support these efforts.
Once just a small association of 39 plumbing inspectors who authored the United States’ first model code of plumbing standards in 1928, The IAPMO Group has grown into a large, but close-knit family of eight distinct business units with offices in 12 countries. Its Uniform Plumbing Code© is routinely cited as a versatile and easy-to-apply document that can be tailored to fit almost any nation’s needs for ensuring drinking water safety and sanitary waste disposal. Each of The IAPMO Group’s business units is specially designed to support these goals within any nation adopting a plumbing code.
IAPMO — Developer of four model codes — Uniform Plumbing Code©, Uniform Mechanical Code©, Uniform Solar Energy Code©, Uniform Swimming Pool, Spa and Hot Tub Code©; the former two designated as American National Standards. These Uniform Codes are regarded worldwide as the most technically advanced codes available, as evidenced by the numerous countries that have used the Uniform Plumbing Code as the basis for their own code or a revision of their existing code.
Furthermore, IAPMO is the developer and administrator of educational and training programs designed to help individuals master the skills necessary to implement the requirements of these codes. The association has created Train the Trainer programs and a collection of class syllabi for instructors to use when educating entry-level plumbing industry apprentices. Certification/licensing of qualified designers, installers, inspectors and maintainers of plumbing systems is another critical capacity building exercise handled capably by IAPMO on behalf of any authority working from a uniform plumbing or mechanical code.
IAPMO Research & Testing — Responsible for creating numerous capacity building capabilities, IAPMO R&T develops standards for plastic plumbing fixtures, as well as other standards for use within plumbing systems. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) designates these consensus documents as American National Standards. IAPMO R&T also administers the world’s largest (by number of customers and products) conformity assessment program and an ISO 9000 Quality Management System registration program, which enables manufacturers, government agencies and the entire plumbing and mechanical industries to prove they have met the very high standards embedded within the ISO Series 9000 Standards.
IAPMO R&T Laboratory — Responsible for testing products as part of the conformity review process, as each product seeking market access must be accompanied by a test report from a duly authorized test lab verifying that the product has been tested to each applicable section of the performance standard for this particular product, component or material. IAPMO R&T Lab also provides other services, such as assisting manufacturers in enhancing their quality control programs, which results in the creation of more reliable products.
Last modified: April 3, 2009