Meet Richard Butler Quality Director

Already as a young man, Richard Butler from Nottingham, United Kingdom chose a smart path. Instead of traveling by train in Europe like his friends, he received a small scholarship at university and a summer job at Lloyd Register in the UK. The scholarship helped to manage living costs and at the same time Richard gained practical experience and the opportunity to develop new knowledge. Immediately after studying for a degree in Marine Engineering, he continued with Lloyds as a trainee and this time also in Australia. The heat appealed and when he suddenly had three weeks to prepare to work in the cold Nordic countries and Sweden, he could never have imagined that he would stay put. Being hand-picked by Lloyds for such a project is of course an honour, but the country did not (at the time) attract Richard, compared to Australia.

Quality all the way

For more than 30 years, Richard has worked on issues related to quality, environment and safety. He has certified management systems at many companies and been involved in their quality process in many different ways. Getting to see and get to know different businesses and industries is a great advantage and motivation for Richard. Some examples are ABB, Metso, SSAB, OVAKO, Sandvik, Volvo, Tetra Pak, Sweco, Kongsberg and also a number of smaller companies in the engineering industry. He is also a trained third-party verifier for MRV – an EU directive that verifies ships ‘CO2’ emissions when they operate in European ports.

“MannTek was always one of his favourites because the approach was impeccable, and the team is incredibly dedicated”, Richard says. In 2004, MannTek was also certified by Richard. For many years he worked in a number of different roles at LLoyd’s Register such as Lead Verifier, Senior Lead Assessor, Engineer Surveyor and Technical Manager, but since 2019 he is also part of MannTek. The advantage of having insight into what third-party organizations require and having been in the service of the certifying body is of course a great advantage when it comes to developing that part of a business like MannTek.

Important accuracy

Richard Butler, like many of us, would like to have more hours available in one day. It is difficult to keep up with everything that is going to happen. Right now, he is on loan to Lloyds at 50% and the remaining time is dedicated to MannTek. Should he still be allowed to certify MannTek? No, of course not. However, he knows all about what the company should think about in order to meet the standards and rules required to be approved.

Today Richard lives in Onsala, but also has a small apartment in Mariestad. He loves the outdoors and being active in nature. Especially during the winter, which almost feels ironic given the doubts about cold Sweden once upon a time.

Wide knowledge and a bright future

He sees the job as stimulating and rewarding and the contact with various classification societies, certification bodies (for example ISO standards) and Notified Bodies, who approve to EU directives and regulations, is very rewarding and requires flexibility and knowledge. Of course, some are harder to meet than others. Everyday life offers insight into more than many people have time for in a lifetime. A year is filled with meetings with different activities and people. He takes part daily in various discussions about processes where everything from the environment, work environment and quality to safety and sustainability are on the agenda. Being a generalist is necessary in the role, even if he wishes that you would have time to go even deeper. Or as he says, “You simply know a little about a lot.” Everything from food to steel.

The future always requires development and with it come new methods, processes and standards. Richard looks forward to being a part of further development for MannTek. “If someone had asked me if I would dedicate my life to auditing, I probably would have hesitated, but today it feels completely natural to continue”, he concludes.

We do it the MannTek way

At MannTek we work closely together to create world-leading product solutions for our customers and innovations for our world. It requires commitment, drive and knowledge development to reach and maintain such a position. A collaboration that would not be possible without a highly dedicated team. The individual roles at MannTek are not solo artists instead it is about building and creating together. Here you get to meet our employees who tell us about their journey at MannTek.

What does a quality director really do?

A quality director at MannTek is ultimately responsible for ensuring that our solutions meet the optimal quality and safety that we promise our customers. And that the necessary standards are met.

“In our line of business, we need to meet the highest Standards regarding Safety and Quality. We work hard to fulfil both internal demands and external such as ISO 9001 and PED, when we deliver our LNG Solution Systems the additional demands such as for example SIL 2, and marine classification. We succeed with this and much more through a dedicated team led by Richard Butler.” Markus Bäckström, CEO MannTek.