ONTARIO, CALIF. -- The American Society of Sanitary Engineering (ASSE) will join The IAPMO Group, pending a vote by ASSE’s membership. IAPMO President Dan Daniels and CEO GP Russ Chaney formally presented an invitation for the transition Friday, July 20, to the ASSE Board of Directors, which accepted the invitation. IAPMO and ASSE are now working together to draft a legally binding document for the transition. The proposal will be balloted to the society’s membership at ASSE’s annual meeting, Nov. 13‐17, in Philadelphia.
Founded in 1906 by the District of Columbia’s Chief Plumbing Inspector, Henry B. Davis, ASSE is one of the oldest plumbing organizations in the United States. Its professional membership develops and maintains both product and professional qualification standards for the plumbing and mechanical industry.
Founded in Los Angeles in 1926, the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) has grown to be recognized the world over for its Uniform Codes. Through its various business units, The IAPMO Group participates worldwide in product testing and certification, codes and standards development, and education, training and personnel certification.
In February of 2011, IAPMO and ASSE signed a copyright agreement to jointly develop and market Professional Qualification Standards under the ASSE/ANSI accredited standards development process. The ANSI‐accredited process and committee structure employed by ASSE to develop both product and professional qualification standards would remain intact.
“IAPMO and ASSE are two venerable organizations that for decades have worked both individually and often in collaboration toward numerous mutual objectives in the name of public health and safety,” Chaney said. “Because they are such strong complements to one another, there is really a natural fit in working together permanently.”
“As a result of this proposal, I would expect the goals of both ASSE and The IAPMO Group to become all the more attainable as the combined members’ knowledge bases synergize,” Daniels said.
As a result of the realignment, ASSE would maintain its name and identity while functioning as a National Chapter of IAPMO. This would enable ASSE to utilize IAPMO Group resources, such as access to IAPMO R&T Lab, membership fulfillment and recruiting staff, communications and marketing staff, and the Field Services department, which would promote all aspects of ASSE domestically and internationally, to further develop the society.
The IAPMO Group since 1995 has enjoyed steady, significant annual growth with regard to scope, financial flexibility and stature. The proposal would enable ASSE to expand its influence in both the domestic and international markets and further augment services provided to ASSE customers and members.
“ASSE and IAPMO have been working more closely together in recent years developing standards and programs to better enhance the industry,” ASSE President Don Summers said. “As a reflection of this work, ASSE has been able to grow several of its programs that have directly impacted the industry. Due to this collaboration, it only makes sense that this is the right time for these two organizations to join together for the health, safety, and advancement of the industry.”
For more information, visit www.iapmo.org and www.asse‐plumbing.org.