September 2010

An Exciting Start

In Colleges of Further Education all over Scotland groups of individuals are about to start on a journey which should see them, in about 4 years’ time, becoming professionals in one of the world’s oldest- and most underrated industries.

Many of these people are recent school leavers with good qualifications in important subjects like Maths and English as workers in this industry need to be able to calculate and read and understand written instructions. Passes in science and technical subjects might point to the individuals having practical skills. Others will have left school some time ago and might either have undertaken other studies or have worked in different industries.

All of them will be aiming high with a Scottish Vocational Qualification (SVQ) at Level 3 being the goal of their college attendance and industry recognition being the overall goal of their training.  Each one will have the backing of an employer in the industry who has committed to provide the essential work experience which is a major part of the training programme.

Unlike their friends who have chosen to go to University, these people will earn while they learn and should not be lumbered with the millstone of debt when they qualify. Above all, they should expect to enjoy an occupation with one of the highest levels of job satisfaction of any job and an excellent prospect of earnings.

The fortunate people described here will probably have had to face significant competition before beginning their training. The recession has had a major effect on the ability of employers in the industry to offer a four year commitment to new recruits. New starts this year are likely to be less than 50% of the number recruited 3 years ago.

In a blog about plumbing, it is of course obvious that the people described here are this year’s new plumbing apprentices. They should certainly appreciate the value and worth to society of the role for which they have chosen to train. How many customers of plumbing services however give appropriate recognition to the commitment and patience which is required to become a professional plumber? This is not an industry where people can be trained overnight or even over a few months.

If you are the employer of one of these new starts, you should feel justifiably proud that you are contributing to the future of our industry. If you are one of the new-starts- congratulations and good luck. If you are a potential user of plumbing services and have stumbled across this blog, then I hope that you will think of the process which the qualified professional who does your work has undertaken to be able to deliver a safe and effective service to you.        

August 2010

Can your customers trust what you say?

All aspects of construction (including plumbing) have a pretty poor reputation when it comes to delivering what customers want when they want it. Although we would like to think that this is a minority problem, one recent experience suggests that it might be more common than we would like to think.

Shortly after its move to new offices SNIPEF needed some relatively minor construction work (NOT plumbing) undertaken. We will not go into detail here to spare the blushes of the contractor concerned.  Keen to use a member of the appropriate trade association, we found a member firm based very close to the new offices. On phoning, I discovered that this firm had suffered during the recession and no longer employed the kind of tradesmen we needed. They were, however, happy to recommend another contractor. Our first mistake was to take that recommendation at face value.

The contractor responded to my telephone request promptly and visited the site the next day discuss to measure up and agree our requirements. When asked when we would like the work done, he said that he could probably do it either the following day or the day after. Mistake number two was to accept such a commitment at face value.

Exactly three weeks later (and after three broken commitments as to when he would appear), we had had enough and phoned his office to cancel the job. Strangely enough, there was a phone call within the hour and a promise that he would come immediately. Mistake number three was to accept that rather than sticking to our guns and finding another contractor. Our very plausible contractor appeared that day with two men and proceeded to carry out two of the three jobs which needed to be done. “We’ll be back tomorrow to finish off” were his parting words. Mistake number four was to believe him.

This is being written 6 working days after his promise to return the next day. Naturally enough we have seen or heard nothing. It is not looking likely that we will have the third job done any time soon.

There is simply no excuse for this type of behavior. What was wrong in him saying initially that he was really quite busy and would probably not be able to do the work for 3 weeks? At least at that stage we could have decided whether we could really wait for 3 weeks. What leads any contractor to promise to customers that he will be there next day when he knows full well that this is unlikely?   

It would be wonderful to think that no SNIPEF member would ever conduct his business in this way but we suspect that there may well be some who can identify too easily with the pattern described above.

It really is little wonder that the industry suffers a bad reputation-experiences like this simply serve to confirm that much needs to improve before customers will really be able to trust construction contractors in general.

July 2010

New home for SNIPEF

Thursday 1 July 2010 was a significant day for SNIPEF. The long planned move to new purpose-built offices in Edinburgh commenced that day.

2 Walker Street in Edinburgh had been the “home” of the Federation for over fifty years. Built in the 1820s as a private residence, it was a delightful property in a leafy area near to the west end of Edinburgh city centre. While it had served the organization well, it had its limitations including a lack of space and some departments of the organization being accommodated in separate rooms in different parts of the building. Although the organization had been considering the desirability of new premises from time to time over the last 20 years, the SNIPEF Council agreed just two years ago that a move to a 21st century  building would enable the organization and its staff to deliver a truly 21st century service to members and the wider industry.

2 Walker Street was sold and it is expected that one day it will return to the residential use for which it was originally designed and built.

Bellevue House, 22 Hopetoun Street, towards the east end of the city centre is the only office building in a street of recently completed residential developments and it has been fitted-out by SNIPEF (together with Plumbing Pensions (UK) Ltd which has also moved from Walker Street), to provide good meeting facilities and modern, open plan office accommodation.

The move, which had been planned for the first weekend in July since the building was purchased almost exactly one year before, went well and SNIPEF staff were back at their desks even earlier than had originally been hoped. 

While any move of this magnitude does not come without a few glitches, it is good to report that none were major or insurmountable and already most staff have become well accustomed to their new working environment.

SNIPEF looks forward to welcoming members to the new offices and the staff look forward to continuing to tackle the real issues facing the industry today from the modern SNIPEF offices.

June 2010

Scottish Government Approved Certifier of Construction Scheme Launched

A new scheme which will allow professional plumbing and heating installers to self-certify drainage, heating and plumbing work, including micro-renewable installations such as solar panels, which is subject to a Building Warrant, was launched by the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change, Stewart Stevenson MSP at the Scottish and Northern Ireland Plumbing Employers’ Federation (SNIPEF) conference which was held on Friday 21 May in East Kilbride.The Scottish Ministers approved a Scheme for Certification of Construction (Drainage, Heating & Plumbing Installations) at the end of last year and at the same time, the Scottish Government’s Building Standards Division (BSD) appointed SNIPEF to run the Scheme.

As well as being able to self-certify their work, members of the scheme will also be able to display a Scottish Government logo which will identify them as a member of the scheme. The Approved Certifier of Construction Scheme is a significant step forward for the Plumbing Industry in Scotland. For the first time, properly qualified plumbers will be able to self-certify their work under a building warrant without waiting for a Local Authority inspector to inspect their work and sign off a completion certificate.

The range of work covered under the scheme which includes drainage, plumbing, heating, micro-renewables as well as a selection of electrical work is also significant as the scheme covers not only the traditional work areas of the industry such as drainage but it also encompasses the new skills the industry is learning on micro-renewables.It is often claimed that it is difficult to find a really good plumbing and heating firm. This has now changed in a dramatic way as Scottish Government Approved Certifiers will give purchasers of drainage, heating and plumbing services real confidence that work will be carried out to high standards in accordance with industry and regulatory standards.

It is hoped that SNIPEF members will recognise the outstanding opportunity offered to them by the Approved Certifier Scheme.The scheme will go live to the public shortly and customers will be able to access the Building Standards website (http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Built-Environment/Building/Building-standards) and search for a list of Approved Certifiers.

May 2010

Why is gas work still done illegally?

Gas Safe Register (the organization which is now responsible for the registration of UK gas installers) believes that some 250,000 gas jobs are undertaken illegally each year in the UK. Some 20 years after it became a legal requirement for those working on gas for gain to be registered this is an appalling statistic.

SNIPEF was active in the drive for statutory registration of gas businesses in the 1980s and remains absolutely committed to this issue. Prior to statutory registration there were simply too many people dying each year as a result of poor gas installation or maintenance work.

A combination of factors including registration, the competence assessment of individual operatives and publicity have helped to see the number of deaths reduce. However, gas is still potentially lethal. Only this week a plumber has been charged with manslaughter following the death of a young woman in a relatively new flat. Her lodger is still in a coma two years after the incident. The plumbing business which sub-contracted this individual has also been charged.

There is really no excuse for anyone either to do gas work illegally or indeed for a consumer to pay someone to carry out illegal work. Twenty years into the registration regime, absolutely no one working with gas can claim ignorance of the requirement for the business to be registered and for all operatives to demonstrate their competence. A blatant defiance of the law deserves to be punished severely.

Consumers might be in a position to claim that they were not aware. There can be confusion- particularly if individuals turn up at a home displaying their ACS competence cards. It is perhaps not surprising that some consumers don’t know that this card does not prove that the person being paid for the work is registered. A recent trade press article suggested that employees of one of the UK’s largest gas suppliers regularly work on their own, in their own time, while not being registered. Apparently against the company’s policy, such illegal behavior also deserves to be dealt with appropriately. However, there has been extensive publicity over the years and we feel that too many consumers use illegal gas workers simply to save money. How can you balance savings a few pounds if someone dies as a result?

As part of its contract with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Gas Safety Register has been undertaking a review of the current enforcement regime. We hope that when this review is completed in the next few months, we will see a sensible package of measures which will help to reduce even further the extent to which people are put at risk from illegal gas work.   

April 2010

It´s Spring and the chilly wintry conditions continue

In January, this blog mentioned wintry conditions. Many people would assume that 3 months on we might be welcoming Spring with all its connotations of warmer weather and longer hours of daylight. Sadly, as I write this, the snow continues to fall not too far away from Edinburgh (where at best the weather could be described as dreich). Who could possibly disbelieve that there is something changing with weather patterns? Ask those who have been on holiday in Spain or Florida in recent months. 

So much for the weather. What about the temperature of the industry? Have we moved on during these last three months or do we continue to suffer the chilly economic conditions which have blasted many firms over recent months? Has anything happened which might cause  plumbing contractors’ temperatures to rise?

Uncertain is probably the best word to describe the health and mood of many plumbing businesses. Some new houses are being built- but not in anything like previous volumes and prices are being depressed. Repair, maintenance and renewal work goes on but many customers are wary about their employment position and might not be willing to spend on that desired (but not essential) new bathroom suite. A Westminster General Election in a few weeks with no clear outcome is another reason for the uncertainty to continue.

On a more positive note, details are still awaited of the Scottish boiler scrappage scheme while at the same time applications for the 125,000 grants in England have now closed. SNIPEF led the calls for a Scottish scheme and is hopeful that when the arrangements are announced (this month?) they will contain welcome news for SNIPEF members.

If workload remains uncertain, then SNIPEF members should see the announcement of the Approved Certifier of Construction Scheme for Drainage, Heating and Plumbing as something of a boost. The Scheme is an excellent opportunity for certain firms to stand head and shoulders above competitors who are unable to certify that their work meets the Building Standards requirements. Supported by a logo indicating Scottish Government endorsement, Approved Certifiers should see real benefits coming from their approval under the Scheme.

As the driving rain continues and people outside remain cocooned in their winter woolies, we continue to hope that both the weather and the health of plumbing busineses will improve and indeed blossom in the months ahead.

Click here to view all of the Director's Blogs from 2010.

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