SAPPMA warns against cost-cutting as pipe manufacturers return to work after lockdown.
South Africa, like the rest of the world, is facing a stark new reality of “life after lockdown” as the outbreak of the Coronavirus recently forced companies to shut down their operations for five weeks. As pipe manufacturers have now been allowed to resume their operations, many of them do so with a reduced workforce and a negatively impacted cash flow. The Southern African Plastic Pipe Manufacturers Association (SAPPMA) has urged pipe makers and pipeline installers to avoid giving in to the temptation of compromising on quality or sidestepping certain processes and procedures for the sake of saving a few Rands.
“Piping systems is one of the key elements of a country’s infrastructure. Communities are relying on the fact that the pipes we provide for their water, sewage, telecommunication and gas supply, will last for fifty to a hundred years before they need replacing. Similarly, a wide spectrum of industries, such as mining, agriculture, telecommunication, building and construction also need pipelines they can trust as the cost of failure in terms of disruption and repairs is prohibitive,” says Jan Venter, Chief Officer of SAPPMA.
SAPPMA is an association of leading companies in the plastics piping business, with the purpose of facilitating high standards of ethics, product quality and technical information. Its primary focus is to create absolute customer confidence in the plastics pipe industry by ensuring that pipes produced by its members and bearing the SAPPMA mark meet local and international quality and manufacturing standards.
Venter warns that the temptation to cut corners will compromise Quality and Trust.
For this reason, SAPPMA members undergo regular announced and unannounced factory visits during which every step of the production process is inspected, and pipe samples are randomly picked and sent away for testing by an independent body. Only once the compliance officer is satisfied that every standard has been met, are members allowed to display the SAPPMA logo on their pipes as a guarantee of quality, reliability and dependability.