CSA and CIPH announce the development of a new standardized education and training program for plumbing inspectors

    TORONTO, March 2 /CNW/ - Canadian Standards Association (CSA), a leading
developer of standards and codes, and the Canadian Institute of Plumbing and
Heating (CIPH) today officially announce the development of a new program to
help ensure that standardized, quality education and training is available to
plumbing inspectors across Canada.
    The project is being funded by CSA and CIPH and is supported by the
Canadian Advisory Council on Plumbing (CACP). The new program is being
designed to help ensure national plumbing inspection personnel are best able
to provide the required level of quality as it relates to inspection,
enforcement, and installation processes.
    "This new program will help provide uniformity and address identified
gaps in the training of plumbing inspectors," says Lance Novak, Vice
President, Sales, Canadian Standards Association. "It will also create an
opportunity for CSA to pilot the development of inspector training that may
have wider applicability for the future development of training and
certification."
    As a first step, CSA has formed an education and training scheme
committee comprised of subject matter experts from across the country that
will define the curriculum and oversee the development of the new program.
This modular program will be developed as an e-learning product that will be
accessible to inspectors, plumbers and related professionals to learn at their
own pace and from their own personal computers.

    Regulators with CACP have already identified a number of key areas for
    the new CSA / CIPH program to address, including:
    -   Interpretation and application of codes, standards, and regulatory
        requirements
    -   Identification and management of counterfeit or non-approved plumbing
        products
    -   Improving the inspection process, methodologies and allowable time
        for inspections
    -   Recognized qualifications and abilities inspection and enforcement
        personnel.

    "The CIPH-CSA training program addresses all of the key recommendations
that were identified by a joint regulatory and industry task force in an
effort to produce a comprehensive national program, which currently does not
exist," says Cliff Sarjeant, Chair (NCI Marketing), CIPH. "As part of the
program, CIPH and CACP formed a task force on inspections and enforcement to
address a wide range of issues related to the enforcement of plumbing
standards and inspection practice. Additional training for plumbing
inspectors, building inspectors, fire inspectors and related industry
personnel were identified as essential elements needed for better enforcement
and improved quality for Canadians."
    The task force will also explore other potential issues and recommend a
solution(s) for CSA to incorporate into the new program. Task force members
include a number of plumbing regulators and industry representatives, and it
is being facilitated by representatives of Canadian Standards Association. The
curriculum for the new program is expected to be finalized by April 2009 with
the launch of the training program to be scheduled for the fall.

    About CSA
    Canadian Standards Association (CSA) is a membership association serving
industry, government, consumers and other interested parties in Canada and the
global marketplace. As a leading solutions-based standards organization
providing standards and codes development, application products, training and
advisory services, CSA aims to enhance public safety, improve quality of life,
preserve the environment and facilitate trade. The Canadian Standards
Association is a division of CSA Group, which also consists of CSA
International, which provides testing and certification services for
electrical, mechanical, plumbing, gas and a variety of other products; and
OnSpeX, a provider of consumer product evaluation, inspection and advisory
services for retailers and manufacturers. For more information visit
www.csa.ca

    About CIPH
    The Canadian Institute of Plumbing & Heating (CIPH) is a not-for-profit
trade association founded in Montreal in 1933. Members include manufacturers,
wholesaler distributors, master distributors, manufacturers' agents and allied
companies who manufacture and distribute plumbing, hydronic heating,
industrial pipe valves and fittings, waterworks and other mechanical products.
CIPH wholesalers operate more than 700 warehouses and showrooms across Canada.
Total industry sales exceed $5 billion annually.

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For further information: Anthony Toderian, Senior Media Relations
Officer, CSA Group, (416) 747-2620 or anthony.toderian@csagroup.org; Ralph
Suppa, President and General Manager, CIPH, (416) 695-0447 or
r.suppa@ciph.com