Summary
Since 2015, Abraham has provided advisory services to corporations requiring amendments to standards and codes, conformity assessment for innovative products and market entry, or representation on standards development committees.
His extensive experience in the world of building codes, standards, testing, and certification, together with his engineering expertise, make him the ideal advisor for organizations requiring assistance in those areas.
Abraham is a Civil Engineering graduate from the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia, and a Master of Engineering (Civil) graduate from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He is a licensed Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) in the Province of Ontario, Canada, and also holds a Certificate of Authorization (CofA) issued by Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO), which allows him to offer and provide professional engineering services to the public.
His professional background includes extensive work with committees of multi-discipline stakeholders and technical experts in leading North American conformity assessment and standards development organizations (i.e., CSA Group and IAPMO). Through his involvement for many years in standards development, he honed his professional judgement and his ability to bring stakeholders from all walks of life on board as engaged committee members, as well as build and maintain solid business and personal relationships.
For those organizations interested in entering the Latin American market, Abraham offers much more than just fluency in Spanish: tapping into his Colombian education and work experience, he brings a profound knowledge and understanding of the Latin American culture and business world.
Read the testimonials on Abraham’s focus on customer satisfaction and his ability to respond rapidly and effectively to client inquiries, or contact him today.
Brief Bio
Abraham started his engineering career in Bogotá, Colombia, where he worked for more than 12 years in Constructora Azahara S.A. (a residential development and construction company), initially as Construction Project Manager and later as the General Manager.
In 2000, Abraham immigrated to Canada with his family. He initially worked for two years in a construction-cost consulting firm in Toronto, before joining, in 2002, the Canadian Standards Association (now CSA Group) as Project Manager in the Built Environment Program (later renamed as Sustainability Program). At CSA he managed 16 national and bi-national committees of more than 300 professional volunteers for developing and maintaining technical standards for plumbing products. Some of the subjects covered by these standards were plastic piping, plumbing fixtures and fittings, water conservation, water reuse, and decentralized (onsite) wastewater systems.
While at CSA, Abraham brought to fruition a standards harmonization effort between Canada and the U.S., which had started in the early 1990s but had been stalled for more than a decade. Under his leadership, the first ASME/CSA joint harmonized standards for plumbing fittings were published in 2005, and since then more than 20 harmonized plumbing standards have been published.
In 2010, he published, together with Jabeen Quadir, a sustainability expert, a paper entitled “Green Building Technologies that Use Plastic Pipe and Tubing to Function”. The paper was primarily intended to be used by the plastic piping industry to raise awareness about the increasingly important, integral role of plastic piping in the proper functioning and environmental performance of technologies such as greywater reuse, geothermal loops, radiant heating, solar heating, vacuum systems, and irrigation.
In 2011, he became the Director of Standards Development at IAPMO, where he directed the development and maintenance of IAPMO’s portfolio of more than 300 technical standards. The portfolio included the ANSI-accredited Z124 series for plastic plumbing fixtures, Z1000 series for septic tanks and grease interceptors, and several CSA/IAPMO harmonized standards for plumbing fixtures and fittings.
In 2015, Abraham established Abraham Murra Consulting™, serving clients in North and South America, and Europe.
Since 2020, Abraham has lived in Southern California, with his wife and their miniature dachshund. He divides his time between his professional practice and his passion for mountain biking and road cycling.
Abraham is currently a member of several standards development committees in ASME, ASTM, CSA, ISO, and SAE, and in the past has been a member of other organizations such as ASSE, IRAM, and PPI.
WORK Experience
Codes and Standards Consultant (2015–Present)
Director of Standards Development, IAPMO (2011–2015)
Project Manager, Canadian Standards Association (2002–2011)
Cost Management Consultant, Helyar & Associates (2000–2002)
General Manager, Constructora Azahara (1998–2000)
Education
Master of Engineering (Civil), Cornell University, Ithaca, New York (1989–1990)
B.Sc. in Civil Engineering, Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia (1982–1987)