The Africa branch of engineering support services provider Babcock has been awarded integrated management systems certification by independent auditing and certification body DQS South Africa for its power generation business unit, Ntuthuko Generation.

Babcock met the criteria, in March, for the three-in-one integrated certification, which includes ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001:2004 and OHSAS 18001:2004 and officially received the accreditation last month at Babcock’s Africa headquarters in Bedfordview, Johannesburg.

Ntuthuko Generation, which specialises in boiler concept generation, manages State-owned power utility Eskom’s Boilerserve repair and maintenance contracts at local power stations, focusing on the feasibility of new build options, performance upgrades, efficiency improvements and emissions reductions.

“We are extremely proud to have reached this milestone and, as a company, we’re committed to aligning with global best practice and risk management principles and processes in our industry,” said Babcock safety, health, environment and quality (SHEQ) risk GM Mpho Matshane at the handover ceremony.

“We intend not only to comply with legal requirements but also to give our customers peace of mind that all business processes are conducted within the framework of international SHEQ risk management principles,” she added.

Matshane acknowledged that receiving three internationally recognised accreditations simultaneously was “not an easy path to take” and was, therefore, a significant achievement for the Ntuthuko Generation business unit.

“It wasn’t easy to mobilise support and to get everybody focused on this one goal, but we’ve made it. Not many organisations can boast such an achievement,” she noted.

Babcock Ntuthuko Generation overcame the inherent challenges of operating across several different sites with variable workforces, which, according to Matshane, reflected a collective determination to consistently work to the highest standards.

Matshane added that, as a leader, her challenge was to mobilise the Ntuthuko Generation team and to assure them that it could be done within the stipulated framework. She later told Engineering News that the target, set by Eskom, was tough.

“They stipulated that all Eskom-hired contractors should have ISO 9000, 14000 and OHSAS 18000 accreditation by March 2014 and we reached the target a year ahead of schedule. My team members had their doubts, but I assured them that we were specialists and, therefore, knew what needed to be done.”

Matshane added that Babcock Ntuthuko Generation’s main challenge would be to maintain the integrated certification.

“We, therefore, have to ensure that we create a culture of continuous monitoring and evaluation, which will be our focus going forward.

“Moreover, we will aim to introduce continual improvements to mitigate identified risks, address opportunities for improvement and focus on meeting our strategic objectives,” she concluded.

The business unit has already been ISO 9001-certified for 15 years and started to work towards OHSAS 18001 certification in 2011. During the implementation process, the company decided to seek integrated management system certification.