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Filipe Ferrao
Quality Director
Bourbon Management,
France
What was your career path before BOURBON?
I have two Bachelor degrees, in business administration and in information management and statistics, two postgraduate courses in the field of QHSE and a Masters degree in quality management, taken in Switzerland, Spain and Portugal. I am currently doing a doctorate in Occupational Health, Safety and Hygiene. I am also a Senior Member of the American Society for Quality, and an accredited auditor and trainer in management systems for ISO standards. Before I joined BOURBON, I had a very varied career path – military officer in the air force as air traffic controller for NATO, corporate head of quality for 10 years in an oil sector company, freelance QHSE* consultant, auditor and trainer, university lecturer, and head of professional development courses... I got to know BOURBON closely when I was HSE manager in Angola for Saipem. I really enjoyed working with them and it made me want to join the group, which I did in 2007.
What is your role at BOURBON?
I am Corporate Quality Director, reporting to the Group’s QHSE Vice President. I wear two hats in this role: I am responsible for quality audit and continuous improvement processes for the Offshore Division, and in charge of the documentation management system at Group level. I develop processes for QHSE audits and I am in charge of its operational management worldwide. In all the affiliates, we are establishing audit processes that are compliant with ISM and ISPS maritime codes, ISO 9001 (quality standard) and ISO 14001 (environment standard) and, in particular cases, with the OHSAS 18001 (occupational health and safety at work standard). At the same time, we are developing self-evaluation systems to enable each entity in the Group to detect areas for improvement and implement the necessary actions. We are in the process of creating and training a team of corporate auditors who, under my responsibility, will be visiting all the entities and affiliates to ensure that they are working in compliance with international standards and to help them improve.
My second role concerns the entire Group and all its business lines, onshore and offshore, functional and operational: my role is to oversee the running of the Quality Management System (QMS) which incorporates various management systems, including Quality, Safety, Health, Environment and Security etc. To this end, we are developing a methodology and quality audits to ensure that all the Group functions can communicate effectively by interchanging standardized information.
What do you like most about BOURBON and your job?
BOURBON is a fast-expanding, very dynamic and highly diversified group which is underpinned by a great cultural diversity and a spirit of openness. Everyone can contribute innovative ideas and put them into practice. The task that has been assigned to me is a very interesting challenge: we have to consolidate the new structure and reconcile the standardization of processes with the necessary flexibility to adapt to different cultures, legal structures, and ways of working all over the world.
What is your philosophy on quality?
For me, quality has to be customer-focused. Having worked in the oil industry, I am well placed to know what the customer wants. But this notion of customer does not only concern the external customer who signs the contracts: the company is a chain of functions, in which everyone relies on the results of another person's work. So we are all customers and suppliers to each other. To me, the best indicator of a company’s quality is the way the different functions interact with each other. My objective is to improve internal communications so that everyone understands the requirements of “their” customer, respects the work of colleagues and have in consideration all constraints.
What message would you like to pass on through the company?
This quality message is very well understood at head office and it is up to us to infuse this attitude and methodology into the subsidiaries. Our business is a dangerous one, and everyone at BOURBON is aware of the need for safety. To progress quality, we need to see a spiral of continuous improvement, which is a major factor in improving safety. In our system, the auditor is not a policeman but a friend who helps you find a way to do things better. Quality is actually something very concrete. If everyone, at their individual level and for every task facing them, applies the PDCA (Plan, Do Check, Act) method, it is almost automatic. This will improve the quality of the tasks conducted and consequently the safety and quality of life in the company...
* Quality Heath Safety and Environment
Careers in the offing
I was sailing with the Bourbon Hera as Chief Engineer when I heard for the first time about the Ulysses project, that's the name of the program that will be installed. I had already used this type of program in other companies, and recognized the effectiveness, so I was interested in participating in the start-up of the whole project and, one thing leading to another, I ended up with a shore-based position.
At BOURBON, my career has taken a new turn: I have been promoted to captain, I earn a better living and I sail modern vessels...