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PLUMBING CONNECTION
WINTER 2015
WHAT’S IN A TECHNICAL COMMITTEE?
We often get questions about the role of Standards
Australia and who we really are.
The short answer is we are a developer of Standards; we
do not enforce, regulate or certify compliance with these
Standards. What we do is to form technical committees on
plumbing by bringing together relevant stakeholders into the
same room.
We work closely with the Australian Building Codes Board
(ABCB) and stakeholders on the National Building and
Plumbing Code Boards. Through a process of consensus,
our technical committees develop standards and technical
documents for Australia’s net benefit.
One key technical committee is WS-014 Plumbing and
Drainage, which comprises stakeholders from government,
industry, the community and interest groups. Its chairperson
is Dr Alan Law. We asked Alan to share his views on plumbing
standards and the standards development process.
INTRODUCING DR ALAN LAW, CHAIR OF TECHNICAL
COMMITTEE WS-014
ALAN’S BACKGROUND
Alan is a professional with a background in hot water
services. His company is part of the Gas Appliance
Manufacturers Association of Australia. He has nearly 20
years’ service on Standards Australia’s technical committees
with 10 of those years as Chair of WS-014 Plumbing and
Drainage.
WHY WORK IN PLUMBING STANDARDS DEVELOPMENT?
Alan decided to join Standards committees to contribute to
the development of documented technical solutions for the
benefit of the community and various industry stakeholders.
Alan enjoys his role in WS-014 for the many intellectual
and real-world challenges it brings him. Often, in finding
solutions to real issues, the debates within the committee are
robust and achieving consensus can be challenging. While his
background is in heated water services, he says he has learnt
a lot from being in a roomful of people with expertise in many
different areas. As the Chair, he relishes the opportunity to
hear new ideas and concepts and to achieve results in line
with the committee’s key objectives.
Alan comments that it can be a very humbling experience,
especially when people are “more right than you”. It is also no
small task to document this expertise into concise language
that is accessible for readers all across Australia.
When asked if he would recommend people to join in
developing plumbing standards, Alan quipped that the process
was most suited for people who were ‘detail-oriented’ and
enjoyed ‘technical writing’. But the results are often rewarding
when the standards developed by the committee bring benefit
to the community. On a personal level, he finds that he has
gained plenty of technical expertise in different subjects and
has benefited from the opportunities to develop professional
networks.
UPDATED AS/NZS 3500.3 ON STORMWATER DRAINAGE
The technical committee WS-014 has certainly been
busy. In Feb 2015, they were responsible for publishing an
STANDARDS AUSTRALIA IS THE NATION’S PEAK NON-GOVERNMENT STANDARDS ORGANISATION.
JENNIFER
HARWOOD
, SENIOR NATIONAL SECTOR MANAGER FOR BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION, PROVIDES US WITH AN
UPDATE ON WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE STANDARDS WORLD.
KEEPINGUP TODATEWITHSTANDARDS
Dr Alan Law with Standards CEO Dr Bronwyn Evans and former
Chairman Dr Alan Morrison.