You may have just passed the MPLE, or you may be those who are RMPs for several years already but have not established their way into becoming a plumbing design professional sought out for their services.
In this article, I will discuss some key steps that RMPs must do in order to become a more effective Master Plumber both professionally and financially.
Step 1: Build your knowledge.
Your review and passing of the exam is only the beginning of your way to legally practice Master Plumbing in the Philippines, however, that knowledge is not enough for you to confidently design real world building plumbing systems, especially medium to large size projects. This is the reason why there is a requirement for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) seminars that each of us must collect for points in order to renew our RMP licenses.
The following are recommended avenues to get valuable knowledge and insights in Plumbing Design:
Quality Seminars and Trainings
Is you wish to build a better career than your contemporaries, do not settle on seminars alone, seek for paid comprehensive trainings in each specific field of plumbing practice. If you wish to have quality knowledge, most often, it is not free.
Trainings sponsored by Suppliers/Manufacturers
Manufacturer or supplier’s websites are a rich source of knowledge because they are the expert on how their product works. They set the trend, innovate new technologies, and provide proper instructions and guidance on the installation, operation, and maintenance of their products.
The following are some of the manufacturers who offer comprehensive free trainings to plumbing designers:
Grundfos Pumps
Grundfos is the market leader in pumps. If you want to learn about pump, Grundfos offers basic to advance training about pump design, selection, and maintenance.
Rain Bird
Rainbird is a trend setter in the field of landscape irrigation. They provide comprehensive free trainings about their products and irrigation systems.
Invest in technical documents such as Codes, Manuals, and Standards.
Most standards and documents can be searched out and be downloaded from the internet, however not all are accessible. Invest and purchase specific manuals that you find that would be immediately useful to you. The following are the recommended sources of design manuals and technical documents:
American Society of Plumbing Engineers (ASPE)
ASPE is an international organization of top plumbing engineers with extensive portfolio of books and manuals in the field of plumbing engineering.
International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO)
IAPMO is the developer of the Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC) and Green Plumbing Code. They have also developed unique standards such as Swimming Pool Standard among other several standards.
International Code Council (ICC)
ICC is the developer of a comprehensive set of building and specialty codes. They developed the International Plumbing Code and the International Building Code.
American Waterworks Association (AWWA)
AWWA is a unique organization specialized in the specification and installation of waterworks such as communal and district water distribution systems. They have developed several standards and product criteria for materials used in the field of waterworks.
American Rainwater Catchment System Association
If you want to be an expert in the design of rainwater catchment and stormwater catchment systems, ARCSA is your way to go.
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
NFPA is the authority in fire protection systems. They are the developer of various fire codes and standards.
Step 2: Join professional organization that will help you develop your career.
It is said, “You are who your friends are”. If you wish to become a successful practicing RMP, go along with those who practice effectively. The National Master Plumber Association of the Philippines (NAMPAP) have a large poll of practicing RMPs where you can discuss about the plumbing practice as well as enjoy their company.
The best way to delve into the inner circle of the organization is to become active in the organization’s activities and programs. Once you know personally the key persons within the organization, it will be easier to reach them out and casually ask questions that will help you in your practice.
You could also join international organizations such as ASPE, IAPMO, ARCSA, NFPA, among others. They provide useful insights in the practice of the profession, however, you may find some practices that are not applicable locally because of different trends and material availability, therefore, it is best to join both local and international organizations.
Step 3: Seek and partner with a mentor
As you start your plumbing design career. It is understandable to have doubts in your capacity and some projects may not yet be in line with your knowledge, experience, and capacity. It takes time and effort to build a career and your capacity.
When opportunity for big projects comes to you when you still don’t have the capacity, what you could do is offer project partnership with some who is better and more experienced designer than you currently are. You will do all the design production work, with the supervision and consultation of your partner, and both of you will share on the fee. There is no better way to learn than working on actual projects.
Step 4: Teach what you know
There a several benefits to becoming a teacher, or a trainer. All teachers and resource speakers would agree that you will learn more when you teach, thus transforming yourself to be an expert on the topic to which you are teaching.
When you are regarded as an expert in a specific field, projects and referrals automatically comes unexpectedly. Therefore it is to your favor to become a technical speaker or lecturer. It is one of the most effective way to build your network.
Step 5: Test your design and learn from your mistakes.
The best way to avoid mistakes is to learn from the mistakes of others through seminars, trainings, case studies, and mentorship talks. However, as you practice Plumbing Design consultancy, you would definitely commit mistakes because you may not know yet certain advanced knowledge, lacks experience, or perhaps you have been haphazard in doing the design and specifications. Nevertheless, errors and mistakes happen, however it is important to limit those errors to non critical ones. For example, you may commit an error like improper piping method, but you must not underdesign a pump specifications as you cannot say to your client to return it and have it replaced by the pump supplier. Pumps in medium to large scale projects costs Millions and takes about 6 months of lead time.
What I also do with my completed projects is I verify whether my design and specifications are correct or working effectively on actual conditions. For example, in my previously completed school project, I have verified that I have designed the system correctly because when the contractor were not able to install some downspouts based on my calculated design and when the heavy rain occurs, the water overflowed out from the gutters of the portion of the under-installed downspouts. I have ordered the correction to follow the design, and when another heavy rain comes again, I ran to the project site again and observed if the downspouts have effectively drained out all rainwater. Truly, it indeed works fine. That is how I verify whether what I design works effectively on actual.
Another example of verifying your design is visiting a pump system that I specified in a peak hour period to verify whether my specifications are at par with the actual operating conditions.
When you are able to verify the correctness of your designs, it will enable you to have more confidence in your skills as a designer.
As you venture into plumbing design consultancy, I hope this article will guide you to become a better plumbing design professional.
Author:
RMP James Ray Magdadaro
Registered Master Plumber (PRC Reg. No. 6491)
Managing Partner - MEP Global Co.
Principal Architect - JLM ARCHITECTS
Contact: jlm@jlmarchstudio.com
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