Why the Training? – Certification by Manufacturer’s Reps on New Products Is Important

The plumbing industry is one industry that is so connected to our day-to-day lives that it calls for constant training/certification by manufacturer’s reps on new products. Such products may be untested before and therefore technicians who will install them must be adequately briefed and trained. The manufacturers of plumbing products must keep in touch with the changing needs and requirements of the customers. This is to say that they must keep on researching and inventing technology so that they guarantee the customer satisfaction. Sometimes a valve or a spare part used in plumbing could be found to be faulty and likely not to last for long. The manufacturers could therefore think of ways that they can come up with to make it more durable. Once they have come up with an invention, they must ensure that they train those involved with the installation, who more often than not are   the technicians.

Another important point to note is that the plumbing industry must work closely with other industries that are involved with general health and sanitation of the customer. This includes the ministry of health that ensures that much as it is the responsibility of the plumber to meet all the plumbing needs of the customer, they do so in a way that is healthy and safe. For example, the recent legislation by most states that the type of pipes used in plumbing must be certified and found to have a certain level of lead, or in other words “Lead free”. This particularly affects those pipes that come into direct contact with water for drinking. Lead content in such pipes must not exceed 0.25 %. These certifications are meant to protect the customer and the lead average in each plumbing pipe is determined by the wetted component multiplied by the proportion of the total wetted surface area represented by that pipe, then sum up the results. To ensure that customers are also knowledgeable and informed, training / certification by manufacturer’s reps on new products has been taken a notch higher.

The manufacturer’s reps are going to homes or seminars and demonstrating how some of the new products can be installed or even how one can fix some easy mishaps. This is a big step forward in ensuring that the customer does not have to keep calling the manufacturer for every plumbing need. It is also a fact that most plumbers are not necessarily the manufacturers of the equipment they use in their work. Therefore, training / certification by manufacturer’s reps on new products to the plumbers helps them become better acquainted with the new products. Being better acquainted means that they are more efficient in their work, and will have no trouble when they have to use of a new product. A manufacturer’s rep acts as the avenue through which  the manufacturer gets to have their new products certified, as well as training plumbers and customers alike on how best to use the products. By so doing, they ensure that the customer enjoys quality and safe products.