Why plumbing matters to health, safety and water sustainability?
Today, it is very essential to have well-designed plumbing systems to prevent environment, sanitation, and outbreaks of communicable diseases. However access to the good quality of plumbing system is lacking in a country like India. Experts feel, it is high time that the country realises the significance of how plumbing plays a crucial role in health and safety of the modern society. In addition, rapid urbanisation and development of smart cities will also elevate the demand of well-designed plumbing systems.
According to Nitin Kulkarni, President, Sales & Marketing, Finolex Industries Ltd, the plumbing industry is growing well and increase in urbanisation will increase the need of proper water management systems and in turn a good opportunity for the manufacturers. While explaining his outlook on the plumbing industry in India Kulkarni says, “The plumbing industry in India is growing at a double digit figure. With growth in industrialisation and urbanisation; more and more people are moving into cities. As a result the requirement of well-planned urban living and industrial spaces is ever growing. This also means greater need for a proper water management system. Hence, piping has got serious attention from professional consultants (MEP consultants), architects, plumbing consultants and that is a good sign for quality product manufacturers such as Finolex Industries.”
He adds, “Good plumbing due to the advent of high rise buildings is the need of the hour. Scarcity of water in cities is another crucial parameter that dictates and upholds the view of saving water and we are very well poised to address this concern by offering quality products.” India is already experiencing water shortage and the problem will become very acute in the future unless preventive measures are undertaken on a substantial scale. The government is laying emphasis on rainwater harvesting and plumbing pipes cater to rainwater harvesting which will herald an era of water conservation and the peril of water shortage will be suitably contained.
In global market, plumbing is considered to be an important profession and is practised by people who are professionally trained. Traditionally, cemented pipes were in use for underground sewerage lines but now it is getting replaced with PVC pipes due to fast work process and ease of handling. “Owing to the changing perspective in the industry and the development in the urban, industrial and agriculture space, we foresee long term growth in PVC pipes industry. We expect piping industry to grow at 15 per cent CAGR in the next decade,” he states.
While sharing his views on plumbing industry Rishabh Sethi, Executive Director, SPML Infra says, “We are optimistic that the situation is going to change for better as the Indian Plumbing Skills Council is taking initiatives to train plumbers. Also the Indian Plumbing Association along with other private companies is starting focussed training programs to train the plumbers. SPML Infra being a leading water management company requires good number of trained plumbers for our various water supply projects across the country.”
There is no doubt that skilled plumbers are important in providing drinking water, safe sanitation apart from ensuring safety of buildings and their occupants.
Rishabh Sethi, ED, SPML Infra Ltd.
Contribution of plumbing on health, safety, and water sustainability.
India is facing huge water problems in many parts of the country. Proper water management solution can address issues of conservation. It is equally important to understand the health, safety and sanitation issues which can be addressed through plumbing. On this note Kulkarni shares some of the points on contribution of plumbing on health, safety and water sustainability.
Health: Leaking pipes cause health issues. If there’s a leakage in a pipe anywhere outside, like in a sink or toilet, the moisture could end up causing mould and mildew growth, or even rotting the woodwork. This destroys the health of the building. Serious diseases thrive in faecal matter which is transmitted through human waste. If not disposed through a proper channel they contaminate drinking water.
Safety: Strong pipelines and plumbing fixtures are very important for every building. It keeps buildings and infrastructure safe from leakages and damages during rains. Clogging and flooding can be prevented by ensuring neat, clean and suitable pipeline in the building. Finolex Industries Ltd, regularly conducts training sessions with plumbers to update them on newer products and better solutions.
Water sustainability: Leaking pipes cause huge loss of water. If one has a leak in a faucet or a supply line, one has to pay for the water that gets wasted. Absence of proper plumbing can cause water contamination which renders the water undrinkable and unfit for household consumption.
Plumbing manufacturing innovations have the ability to dramatically reduce the amount of water used through toilets, showerheads, faucets and other plumbing products.
Nitin Kulkarni, President- Sales & Marketing, Finolex Industries Ltd
Kulkarni also adds, “We recently collaborated and supported IPA in their campaign to save water by adding new aerators in the taps of residential buildings. Aerators when attached to tap heads, reduce the flow of water thus aiding water conservation. Plumbing manufacturing innovations have the ability to dramatically reduce the amount of water used through toilets, showerheads, faucets and other plumbing products.”
In many parts of the world, diseases and deaths are directly linked to polluted and contaminated water supply. It is often noticed that access to safe drinking water is not available to even the urban population. There are many instances where water is wasted and contaminated through leakages and substandard pipes. “It’s a proven fact that sound plumbing practices reduces the risk of water contamination and prevents outbreaks of communicable diseases like cholera, typhoid and many others. The other major contribution of good plumbing is it reduces the water leakage and non-revenue water thus preventing the revenue loss of water utilities and the available water can be supplied to other areas. It is important to understand that the role of good plumbing in the health and safety of modern society is significant, briefs Sethi.
Availability of skilled plumbers
Plumbers are an important part of water supply infrastructure development and management. A recent study of National Skill Development Council shows that at present only 0.5 per cent of plumbers in the country are trained else most of them are either untrained or self-trained. There is big shortage as by 2020, the requirement will be of almost 12 lakh trained plumbers, while the current availability of both trained and untrained plumbers are around 2.5 lakh only.
Availability of skilled plumbers is the need of the hour as lack of professionalism leads to unhealthy practice of plumbing. Due to the increasing demand of houses and critical designing of buildings the demand for professional plumbers will also increase. At the moment there is low number of trained plumbers are available in the country but soon the number will grow high. As per Kulkarni’s view the country lacks skilled plumbers and there is need to update them. He says, “There is a large deficit of skilled plumbers in the construction industry. As per industry estimates, about 90 per cent of the plumbing industry in India lacks professional training thus putting the Indian construction industry at a major crisis of quality workforce.”
Finolex Industries Ltd, has partnered with Kushal CREDAI (Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India) Pune Metro and National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC)) to improve the skills of the building services workforce by imparting training in the area of plumbing. The first leg of this ambitious partnership on Skill Development program will cover 500 plumbers.
“We believe that it is our duty to do what is possible to meet this shortage of skilled plumbers in the industry,” he adds.
To reduce water loses due to bad pipes or leakages and proper maintenance plumbers with proper skill-sets are required believes Sethi. He says, “There is no doubt that skilled plumbers are important in providing drinking water, safe sanitation apart from ensuring safety of buildings and their occupants. It is also very important for water conservation looking at the scarcity of water around the globe. An estimated almost 50 per cent of water is lost in transmission due to leaking pipes and old distribution networks in Indian cities. It is crucial that plumbers are trained properly and provided with required skill-sets, especially when our water loses are huge due to leakages and bad plumbing.”
Plumbing manufacturing innovations have the ability to dramatically reduce the amount of water used through toilets, showerheads, faucets and other plumbing products.
Nitin Kulkarni, President- Sales & Marketing, Finolex Industries Ltd
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