Job title: Safety, Health, Environment and Quality Manager
Employer: New and Renewable Energy Centre
Qualifications:
- BSc Chemistry
- PhD Organic Chemistry
- CQI Diploma in Quality Management
- NEBOSH Certificate and Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety
- NEBOSH Environmental Diploma (in study)
Institutions:
- Chartered Quality Institute, MCQI CQP
Career path:
- Imperial College: Post Doctoral Fellow
- Evonik Degussa: R&D Manager, QA Manager then SHEQ Manager
- NaREC: SHEQ Manager
What does your current role involve?
I provide guidance on business management. This will include risk management, minimising waste and improving service delivery. I work across all the divisions of the organisation to help ensure that continual service improvement is a priority for everyone.
Fundamentally this involves studying exactly what our different customer groups want and expect to receive and ensuring that our delivery keeps ahead of customer requirements.
What’s great about being a quality professional?
My function works across all the different divisions of the company, so I am continually faced with new problem-solving challenges and ways to improve. The sheer variety is endlessly interesting.
From a business perspective, nothing beats seeing a measurable improvement in the way the company is running because of a system or process that I have suggested.
How did you get into quality?
I was “asked”. My background was in chemical research and then chemical process research and development. In 1992 my then employer, whose business involved the supply of registered chemical intermediates to the pharmaceutical industry, asked me to head up the quality assurance function and set a quality management system in preparation for ISO 9001 certification and FDA cGMP inspections. An opportunity I couldn’t refuse.
My subsequent move from pharmaceuticals to energy was only possible because I had the experience of quality. As a framework for business improvement, quality training provides skills that can be applied to any industry sector.
Any tips for pursuing a quality career?
My advice would be to undertake a course of study that provides a background to all of the elements of quality management (such as the CQI Certificate and Diploma) at the earliest possible opportunity. This will give a good grounding in the principles and toolkit to help any business meet its quality objectives and improve.
Then I would advise joining the CQI to keep abreast of developments and aim for Chartered Quality Professional status with the continuing professional development undertaking that this requires.