The launch of the book Integrated Quality, Safety and Environmental Management System- A Practical Guide for Implementation, by engineer Faustino José Ramos Kocken, took place on Thursday (13) at the BCI auditorium in Maputo.
The book covers the international standards ISO 9001, ISO 45001 and ISO 14001 and aims to clarify the requirements of these standards, facilitating their understanding and implementation in the national context, among other aspects. The author seeks to stimulate interest in and application of these quality, occupational safety and environmental management systems, which are essential for the sustainable development of companies in Mozambique.
In his book, Faustino Kocken explains that ISO 9001 was created with the aim of improving the performance of organisations to achieve a high level of quality in their operations, enabling compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, helping companies to conquer new markets and identify business risks.
Regarding ISO 45001, the writer explains that it is a management system that enables organisations to understand the nature of occupational risks and prevent safety incidents. As for ISO 14001 certification, it helps to identify and manage environmental risks associated with the internal processes of the activity carried out by the organisation.
The author said that he started writing the book because he noticed a tendency, in the various debates, to only quote old and renowned authors, something he doesn’t agree with, as he believes that knowledge should be moulded and shared. ‘My idea in writing this book was to share what little I know about the management of Occupational Health and Safety, Health and Environment systems. I wanted to make it simple so that anyone could understand what a quality management system is,’ he explained.
Faustino Kocken
The author explained that another of the book’s aims is to disseminate the ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation) standards and bring them to the attention of the public and companies. ‘During my time as a consultant in many of the companies I’ve worked with, I’ve noticed that quality, safety and environmental managers have great difficulty in understanding the standards, interpreting them and applying them in practice. The standard is not such a simple instrument to understand,’ he emphasised.
Faustino Kocken emphasised that investing in quality standards makes companies more competitive when it comes to entering the market. ‘If you ask me whether ISO standards are sustainable in financial terms, I would say yes. The point is that it’s not a tangible asset. The standards aren’t going to give me money directly, but they can open doors when bidding for public tenders. So it’s an investment that companies should consider,’ he reiterated.
In the conclusion of his book, on page 108, the author states that the aforementioned standards contribute to improving the organisation’s credibility and image, customer satisfaction, process integration, the creation of opportunities and employee involvement, resulting in increased productivity.
The writer intends to launch more books on the same subject, in order to help academics and businesspeople. ‘My dream, as a quality, environment and safety manager, is to bring out more works that can encourage debate. We want to present more works of this nature. But the biggest ambition is to share knowledge with students who are interested in the area, professionals and quality, environment and safety managers who are starting out and have difficulties understanding the standards,’ he said.
The materialisation and launch of the book to the public was made possible thanks to a partnership between the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), Promove Comércio, the Ministry of Economy, through the National Institute for Standardisation and Quality (INNOQ), Tecnel Service (a company that has been providing services in the energy sector since 1992) and Banco Comercial de Investimentos (BCI).
With a degree in Occupational Health and Safety Engineering, the author is internationally certified and works as a quality manager and auditor. With his book, Faustino Kocken provides a tool for improving processes, implementing efficient management systems and guaranteeing quality and safety in the workplace.
