The International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials joined with the Jordanian National Building Council, Water Authority of Jordan, and Jordan Standards and Metrology Organization in signing a memorandum of understanding to enhance water/sanitation infrastructure in the kingdom through the continued development and enforcement of plumbing codes and standards.

Jordan’s Minister of Public Works and Housing H. E. Eng. Sami Halaseh, JSMO Director General H. E. Dr. Haydar Al Zaben, WAJ Secretary General H. E. Eng. Malik Rawashdeh, and IAPMO Senior Vice President of Government Relations Dain Hansen signed the MOU. IAPMO’s delegation to Jordan also included Ohannes Dembekjian, executive  vice president of continuous compliance for IAPMO R&T, and Christopher Lindsay, director of government relations. Officials from the United States Embassy also attended the signing.

IAPMO and their Jordanian partners have been working together toward the development of a Uniform Plumbing Code – Jordan for several years. In 2015, IAPMO sent a delegation to Amman to participate in the International Water Association’s Water and Development Congress and Exhibition as part of a U.S. grant highlighting U.S. standards, codes, and testing practices that can assist Middle Eastern communities in developing solutions to water scarcity issues. This work was funded through an effective public/private partnership known as the USAID/ANSI Standards Alliance.

“IAPMO and Jordan have long engaged in a fruitful collaboration and strong partnership, and the signing of this new MOU with JSMO, MOPH, and WAJ takes this partnership to the next step,” Hansen said. “We are thrilled to work together to ensure that strong, water-saving product standards are embedded into technical regulations, to establish a robust conformity assessment scheme to protect Jordan from inferior, counterfeit products, and to update Jordan's plumbing code.”

Rooted in their shared understanding of the importance of standards in developing water and sanitation related infrastructure, the signees agree to cooperate via the MOU on such goals as:

• Recognize and promote the value of the most recent edition of the Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC) to update Jordan’s current plumbing code, which is based on an older version of the UPC.
• Promote the development of a skilled workforce that is capable of designing, building, maintaining, enforcing and inspecting the quality of water systems in buildings that Jordan desires.
• Recognize the important role international standards play in developing a conformity assessment scheme for plumbing products that will enhance manufacturing in Jordan and promote the trade of goods certified to safety and efficiency standards

“The signing of the MOU marks the consolidation of a true partnership with IAPMO,” Halaseh said. “This is an opportunity to further develop the Jordanian plumbing code and national standards in addition to product certification and personnel certification of plumbers and inspectors on plumbing systems that can assist Jordan in contributing to solutions dealing with water scarcity.”

Specifically, IAPMO pledges to work with JSMO and other government stakeholders in mandating water efficient plumbing regulations and product standards, provide technical assistance in developing conformity assessment schemes and processes that meet international best practices, provide the most recent edition of the UPC to JNBC and JSMO to officials updating Jordan’s codes, and assist in the development of personnel certification criteria for a skilled workforce and competent inspection officials.