Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering
The Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE) is the professional body for the United Kingdom plumbing and heating industry. Its membership comprises approximately 8,000 individuals, including consultants, specifiers, designers, public health engineers, lecturers, trainers, trainees and practitioners.
The CIPHE is a member of the Construction Industry Council, the Engineering Council and Build UK. Through its CEO, the CIPHE is represented on the World Plumbing Council and the WaterSafe Approved Installers Scheme.
History
The original Institute of Plumbers was established in 1906 to develop both industrial and technical aspects of the plumbing trade, but the industrial and commercial aspects were taken over by what is today known as the Association of Plumbing and Heating Contractors (APHC) in 1925. The Institute then concentrated on education, training and technical matters, becoming the Institute of Plumbing in 1957.
It was merged with the Registered Plumbers Association in January 1970, taking on management of the Register of Plumbers (created in 1886) on behalf of the Worshipful Company of Plumbers. In 1979 the Institute became a registered educational charity.[citation needed]
In 2004, a further name change was announced; it became the Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (IPHE). Four years later, it was granted a Royal Charter, becoming the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering in July 2008.[1]