Jon Michelena (CEPREVEN): “The biggest challenge is remaining competitive in the face of the unexpected”
“The biggest challenge is remaining competitive in the face of the unexpected,” says Jon Michelena, Director General de CEPREVEN. In the opinion of this expert, who analyses fire prevention and safety in 2023, the pandemic and the war in Ukraine has shown us the need to be prepared for unforeseen situations.
How to is the fire safety and prevention sector approaching 2023?
I would dare to say that we enter 2023 with cautious optimism. Optimism because despite the world situation in which we are immersed and the predictions of the biggest pessimists, activity continues to perform better than expected, in our sector and others. However, we cannot for get the adjective cautious, as it is difficult to shake off the sense that things could change at any time, from one day to the next.
What is the importance of training in a sector in which climate change and other factors force operators to constantly improve prevention and safety?
Training in an essential activity in all walks of life. By making sure we have the best knowledge, we can differentiate ourselves from other people or companies and be more efficient in our tasks, while also serving as an incentive for those who want to compete with us. Competition, based on continuous improvement, makes societies progress and improve the lives of citizens. Training, with a solid and reliable base, is the solution for almost everything that is wrong with our society, although, as we can see in the news, it is sadly lacking in many area.
Could you give us an example?
Specifically, with regard to climate change, we need to reduce CO2 emissions at all costs. We cannot afford to allow an industrial or forest fire to emit millions of kilos of CO2. The awareness of all of society and the training of people directly involved, together with the application of the knowledge acquired, is the only way to minimise the effects of these accidents.
What other challenges is the sector facing in the current climate of international economic instability?
“The biggest challenge facing us is remaining competitive in the face of the unexpected” The pandemic and the war in Ukraine are two events that have shown the need to be prepared for unforeseen situations. It's difficult to predict what we don’t know so we must be flexible and capable of reacting quickly, including successive modular contingencies that can be grouped to respond to the unforeseen events as efficiently as possible.