WPC GENERAL MEETING REVIEW

The WPC held its General Meeting in Frankfurt, Germany, on 13 March 2017. The meeting was well attended, as many Members were exhibiting at ISH Messe Frankfurt in the following days. The ISH exposition team provided the meeting space and other arrangements. The WPC and ISH have long been partners in promoting the same important role the plumbing industry plays in health and safety.
Several members were acknowledged for their service rendered.
Chairman, Shayne La Combre, stated the Strategic and Business Plan Summary document provided to General Meeting attendees was intended to capture and advance the work carried out at the EB's strategic planning meeting in Hong Kong in December 2016. The nine portfolio plans, with their specified accountabilities and outlined actions, focus on the implementation of the strategic imperatives agreed to in Hong Kong, throughout the current EB’s tenure ending in 2019. The summary of the responsibility portfolios is available in a separate article and the WPC Strategic & Business Plan Summary is available here.
The Honorary Secretary/Treasurer Ken Gardner summarized the WPC balance sheet and income statement results for 2015. Operating income increased and operating expenses have decreased. The tabled financial statements will be available to members who log onto the WPC website.
With respect to membership, Mr La Combre, stated that the 2017 invoicing of 2016 Members had recently occurred and was receiving a good response. After this initial wave of invitations to rejoin, the WPC will issue membership invitations to recent former Members and other organizations identified as potential Members.
Director, Tom Bigley, briefly discussed the aim and the tasks involved in his WPC Education & Training portfolio. The portfolio's purpose has been defined as "create an educated and trained workforce which can promote the links between plumbing, sanitation, public health and the environment."
The portfolio's five broad tasks are: maximize the impact of plumbing training scholarships; improve access to plumbing training globally; improve the standards of plumbing training globally; establish a plumbing education seminar; and support WPC communications concerning education and training.
Director, Dave Viola's Marketing and Communications presentation described the initial assessment and updating work the IAPMO team needed to perform. This included carrying out an inventory of the various WPC communication channels and marketing materials; making essential updates on the WPC website and other key channels; and establishing how WPC communication and marketing can best be managed into the future.
With this assessment and initial update phase now largely completed, Mr Viola further described the state of play for the WPC across a range of social media, outlined a number of steps aimed at upgrading the WPC's overall communication and marketing, including consolidating the WPC and WPD websites and renewing the format and timing of the WPC Review newsletter. All members are asked to contribute items and create links to the WPC communication channels and social media sites.
Director, Kevin Wellman, emphasized that his aims for the WPC Meetings and Events portfolio included promoting engagement with WPC activities among its grass-roots membership and developing collaboration with other organizations, such as WorldSkills.
The Strategic Alliances and Policy discussion led by Director Henry Hung discussed the value but also the challenges of the WPC establishing new strategic alliances, and talked of focusing more on China and countries such as Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines. He emphasized that development of alliances needed to be a joint effort across members versus a solo effort, and noted the contribution of Russ Chaney and others in maintaining a strong relationship with the World Health Organization (WHO).
Among the key programs for the WPC is the promotion of WPD. Director, Alberto Fossa, described how he and his staff are acting across the five areas of responsibility within the portfolio: gathering information about and reviewing 2017 and past WPD celebrations; developing a global level promotion strategy for WPD; providing operational leadership of WPD activities; pursuing United Nations (UN) recognition of WPD; and supporting WPC communications concerning WPD. A survey has been sent to all members and posted to the WPD Facebook and Twitter accounts to determine the extent of the global activities for the day.
In his presentation on Development Projects, Director, John Joseph, mainly identified a strategy appropriate for the WPC and addressed how it can be pursued. Broadly, in the short to medium term, the WPC will look to be an effective facilitator or enabler of development projects such as the International Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Foundation (IWSH) -led CPC, rather than trying to itself fund and directly manage such projects. The WPC will work to gain engagement from partners able to contribute resources and will then match these with projects needing assistance. Over the longer term, the WPC will take steps to develop its own capacity to lead development projects. This presentation will be available on the WPC website.
The Members also were reminded of the World Plumbing Conference planned for 2022 in China.
The IWSH Foundation-led CPC 2017 Project will take place in Indonesia later this year. Mr Viola discussed how the program is a major evolution in the CPC concept, building on experience from prior events and drawing on expert advice concerning the best approach to community development in the context of an Indonesian village.
There will be two main phases: a design and scoping phase in early August and the construction phase over 5 - 10 November 2017. The project team is taking an approach that includes creating comprehensive developmental links between the project and the village community overall. The project tasks will include: design and installation of septic tank, water supply and wastewater systems; an upgrade of existing toilet facilities; and community activities and games reinforcing health and hygiene awareness. The approach being taken in this project has the potential to be reproduced in multiple other villages across Indonesia. A copy of the presentation is available here.
Mr Russ Chaney, Chief Executive Officer, IAPMO, and former Chairman, WPC, presented the history of the WPC relationships with the WHO and the WorldSkills Foundation. The CPC is proving to be a basis for a renewed relationship. A proposal is underway to involve the WHO in a CPC project for a medical facility in a less developed country.
Director, Tom Bigley, presented an update to the WPC scholarships, while also addressing better global access to plumber training more broadly. The initial slides in the presentation described the WPC scholarships' framework and gave details on recent applications and a report by a 2015 scholarship winner. The presentation then turned to new initiatives for the scholarship program, including: new efforts to solicit scholarship funding from industry partners; teaming manufacturers with applicants through sponsorships; creating recognition for sponsors on the WPC website; increasing the number and value of the scholarships; and modifying the scholarship procedures to enable a wider scope of applicants. A copy of the presentation is available here.
A further presentation was given by Iris Jeglitza-Moshage, Senior Vice President, Messe Frankfurt, on the 2017 Frankfurt ISH Trade Fair and other ISH Trade Fairs in India and China planned for later this year.
Volker Meyer, Managing Director, Water, figawa, provided an extensive presentation titled "Drinking Water Installations in Europe — State of Play." figawa has led an effort resulting in the recent formation of European Drinking Water (EDW), an alliance of 29 trade associations representing suppliers of products and materials used in drinking water applications. EDW is looking to achieve harmonized regulatory requirements and conformity assessment for products and materials used in drinking water installations throughout the European Union. Its advocacy is presently focused on a review of the European Water Directive and the revision of European mutual recognition regulations.
Mr Pete DeMarco, Executive Vice President, Advocacy & Research, The IAPMO Group, led discussion based on his presentation titled "Water Efficiency Research – Fostering International Collaboration". Mr De Marco outlined the context and historical development of the WPC research database and how, leading up to its launch in December 2015, he had identified a range of obstacles to international collaboration on plumbing issues.
Another very informative presentation titled "European Water Efficiency Labelling" was made by Ms Yvonne Orgill, Chief Executive Officer, and Mr Christian Taylor-Hamlin, Technical Director, UK Bathroom Manufacturers Association. The European Water Label Scheme is operated by the European Water Label Company Limited, administered by the Bathroom Manufacturers Association and has partnered with eight national trade associations from across Europe. Applications to join the Scheme as registered companies or Scheme Partners are invited. See: www.europeanwaterlabel.eu.
All members are reminded to make early arrangements to attend the World Plumbing Conference in Melbourne, Australia, 11-13 September 2019.
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WPC EB MEETING REVIEW

Of key importance from the 12 March 2017 WPC EB Meeting in Frankfurt, Germany, is the establishment of nine portfolios, each of which is headed by a Director. The Strategic and Business Plan Summary document provided to the Board was intended to capture and advance the work carried out at the Strategic Planning Meeting in Hong Kong in December 2016.
The nine portfolio plans, with their specified accountabilities and outlined actions, focus on the implementation of the strategic imperatives discussed in Hong Kong through the current EB’s term ending in 2019. The overall structure shown in the last page of the document summarizes the intended operation of the WPC over the next three years. Directors also have shorter-term action plans for their portfolios.
The Portfolios of Responsibility are assigned as follows:
Planning, Organization, Membership and Resources – Shayne La Combre
Finance and Governance – Ken Gardner
Marketing and Communications – Dave Viola
World Plumbing Day – Alberto Fossa
Education and Training – Tom Bigley
Strategic Alliances and Policy – Henry Hung
Research and Development – Peter Jackson
Development Projects and Community Plumbing Challenge – John Joseph
Meetings and Events – Kevin Wellman
The EB agreed to include multiple-language versions of the website as soon as possible. Initially, the content will be translated into Spanish, Mandarin and/or Cantonese. This plan of action would greatly help WPC's ability to increase membership and involvement. The Board also discussed various methods for increasing the strength of the WPC's web presence and agreed that the WPC should have goals for increasing traffic to its website. WPC Members linking to the WPC website and social media will have the most valuable immediate impact.
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EVOLUTION OF THE WPC STRATEGY FOR THE 2017-2019 TERM

The WPC’s Strategy and Business Plan for the 2013-2016 Term lays out a clear Vision and Mission Statement to guide the Council's activities. The Business Plan was centred around nine strategic objectives, with various committees established to pursue their achievement and to advance other important WPC initiatives.
During a specially convened strategic planning session on 5 – 6 February 2017 in Hong Kong, the EB endorsed and reconfirmed the strategy's Vision and Mission Statement elements, while reorganizing and consolidating the downstream elements. The existing nine strategic objectives were then combined into newly identified areas of focus and mapped against three new Strategic Imperatives. This allowed for the establishment of Portfolios of Responsibility for each EB Member.
The WPC strategy's key elements include the existing vision of a united World Plumbing Industry safeguarding the health and environment of all communities, and the Mission Statement "To promote the role of plumbing in improving public health and safeguarding the environment by uniting the plumbing industry for the benefit of all." Three strategic imperatives have been added: Improve world access to fresh water and sanitation and safeguard the environment; Grow WPC Capability; and Unite the World Plumbing Industry.
Planning, Organization, Membership and Resources – Shayne La Combre
Finance and Governance – Ken Gardner
Marketing and Communications – Dave Viola
World Plumbing Day – Alberto Fossa
Education and Training – Tom Bigley
Strategic Alliances and Policy – Henry Hung
Research and Development – Peter Jackson
Development Projects and Community Plumbing Challenge – John Joseph
Meetings and Events – Kevin Wellman
Please visit the WPC's website for the PowerPoint outlining details of each EB Director's responsibilities.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS OF SERVICE

The World Plumbing Council only exists because of the Members who serve the organization. The 13 March 2017 meeting in Frankfurt, Germany, provided an opportunity to honour some of these noteworthy Members.
Mr La Combre acknowledged Mr Sudhakaran Nair, describing his many contributions to the WPC as a Director from 2005 to 2011; Deputy Chairman from 2011 to 2013; and Chairman from 2013 to 2016. Mr La Combre noted that throughout this long period of service on the EB, Mr Nair showed a strong commitment to the Council, along with an enthusiasm to drive such WPC initiatives as WPD.
An early highlight of Mr Nair’s period as Chairman was the 10th World Plumbing Conference in India, which drew more than 600 delegates from around the world and was an outstanding effort by the Indian Plumbing Association, in conjunction with the WPC. Another highlight of his Chairmanship was the introduction of a WPC scholarship specifically geared toward applicants from least developed and developing countries that was sponsored by the Indian Plumbing Association.
Mr Nair ensured that new WPC social media channels were established and led the development of a WPC promotional video titled "Seeing is Believing." In summary, Mr La Combre advised that Mr Nair worked in a wide range of ways to consolidate and strengthen the Council and offered him a sincere thank-you on behalf of the EB and the WPC membership for his service.
Mr Wellman contributed the acknowledgement for Mr Elmar Esser, who served as an active Director from 2011 until his resignation in late 2016. Mr Wellman particularly highlighted Mr Esser's contributions concerning the successful "Water is Life" international poster competition, the amendment of WPC Bylaws, deepening the working relationship with Messe Frankfurt, support for the WPC scholarships program, and his involvement with the redesign of bathrooms to facilitate the elderly staying in their homes.
Mr Viola gave the acknowledgement for Mr Allen Inlow, who was elected as a replacement Director in 2015 and served until the full election for the EB in September 2016. Mr Inlow also was Honorary Secretary of the WPC in the 1993-95 period.
Mr Billy Smith, American Society of Plumbing Engineers, volunteered the acknowledgement for Mr Jim Kendzel, who was a Director during the 2013 to 2016 EB tenure.
Mr Bigley gave the acknowledgement for Mr Mike Massey, who was elected as a Director in 2013, and resigned in early 2015 because of a change in employment. Mr Massey headed the Marketing & Communications Committee and managed the production of the WPC promotional video.
Mr Gardner gave the acknowledgement for Mr Steve Brown, who was a Director over the 2013 to 2016 term representing the Institute of Plumbing South Africa. Mr Gardner noted the huge effort Mr Brown contributed leading to the World Plumbing Conference in South Africa in 2016. Gardner commented that, while no longer a Director, Mr Brown was still a committed and active Member of the WPC.
Mr Hung expressed the WPC's acknowledgement of the services performed by Mr Mingjiu Hua, citing his willingness to contribute strongly to the WPC. During Mr Hua's tenure as a Director, the WPC hosted a very successful General Meeting in China; about 50 new Chinese Individual Members joined the WPC; China sent a strong delegation to the 2013 World Plumbing Conference in India; and WPC information materials were translated into Chinese.
Former WPC Chairman, Russ Chaney, gave the acknowledgement for Mr Stuart Henry, noting he had served as Vice Chairman from 1999 to 2002 and as Chairman from 2002 to 2005, before being appointed to the Secretariat position in 2011. In addition to being a major driving force behind the WPC overall for many years, Mr Henry was a leader in several specific key developments, including negotiation of a Memorandum of Understanding with WorldSkills and the establishment of the Exclusive Industry Member Agreements with Messe Frankfurt.
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CONNECTING ON SOCIAL MEDIA

The WPC has a strong social media presence on Facebook and Twitter, and recently added LinkedIn to the list. The WPC shares useful content with its followers, such as exchanging new ideas to improve public health and the environment, and highlighting the important role plumbing plays in the health, safety and sustainability of our community every year on WPD, 11 March.
The goal of sharing information on social media is to not only establish an audience consisting of organizations or individuals involved in the water, sanitation, and hygiene industry, but to urge them to share and talk about these topics on social media.
Social networks share similarities; however, it should be noted that each has a specific objective when it comes to sharing content:
- Facebook allows users to share news updates, photos, videos, events and links to websites without a content limit. Users also may like, comment, and share content with their own networks of friends/followers.
- Twitter allows users to share short and simple updates (tweets); however, there is a 140-character limit (including spaces) so it is often best to link to a company website where more information may be found.
- LinkedIn is designed for businesses and professionals to showcase their work experience and company information and connect with other professionals.
Social media is a highly valuable — and free — marketing tool that gives organizations such as the WPC the opportunity to become a highly visible global resource through the sharing of fresh and interesting content.
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DATES FOR DIARY MAY 2017

ISH Shanghai & CIHE 2017
Shanghai, China, 5 to 7 September 2017
WorldSkills Competition
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 14 to 19 October 2017
World Plumbing Council General Meeting & Training Forum
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 19 October 2017
Community Plumbing Challenge 2017
Jakarta, Indonesia, 5 to 10 November
2018 Emerging Water Technology Symposium
Ontario, California USA, 15 to 16 May 2018 |