By Nicholas Akasula
Margaret Mukabene is an ISO/IMS expert, a field still largely dominated by men, yet one in which she has carved out a strong and respected presence. ISO refers to the International Standards Organisation, while IMS stands for Integrated Management Systems—frameworks that help organisations operate safely, efficiently and competitively.
For more than a decade, Mukabene has consulted for organisations across diverse sectors, including oil and gas, retail, construction and manufacturing. From a distance, her work may appear specialised or even luxurious, until the moment certification becomes mandatory or a crisis exposes the cost of ignoring safety systems.
Understanding ISO and IMS
“With IMS, we deal with management systems for organisations. We help them identify and understand their customers and how to deliver quality consistently,” Mukabene explains.
While ISO focuses on safety standards, precautionary guidelines and compliance, IMS integrates these with business efficiency, quality management and environmental responsibility.
“Given the growing competition in business today, organisations have no option but to deliver quality. That requires a rigorous approach to management, which is where ISO and IMS come in,” she says.
Why certification matters
ISO and IMS implementation begins with establishing structured management systems, including health, safety and environmental frameworks.
“I often find organisations where top management cares about health and safety but does not know what to do,” Mukabene notes, adding: “Others come to us because they are stuck when dealing with banks or partners. They are asked, ‘Do you have a health and safety policy? Do you report incidents? Do you track accidents?’ and they have no answers.”
According to Mukabene, lack of ISO/IMS certification can severely limit access to funding, loans and grants. “Without it, it becomes very difficult to secure financing,” she adds.
Humble beginnings
Mukabene, the last-born of seven siblings, comes from a modest background. Raised by a single father, she credits him for shaping her practical and business-minded approach to life.
“My father worked as an accountant with KCCA, then KCC. After its dissolution, he retired and went into small-scale trading. He always involved me in his business, showing me how things were done. That made me very hands-on,” she recalls.
Finding her niche
While at Gayaza High School, Mukabene was influenced by a school theme, Unleashing Your Potential, which encouraged students to explore every opportunity, no matter how small.
After completing Senior Six, she joined the Uganda Petroleum Institute in Kigumba, graduating as a petroleum engineer. In 2014, she furthered her studies at the Kenson School of Production Technology in Trinidad and Tobago under a Makerere University scholarship arrangement.
On her return, she specialised in electrical instrumentation within the oil and gas sector. However, she soon realised her strengths lay in health and safety management.
“I decided to make that my niche,” she says.
In 2015, Mukabene secured her first job with a French construction company. From the outset, she set herself a clear goal.
“I told myself that in five years, I had to be either a health and safety consultant or a manager and I worked towards that,” she adds.
How work is done
Mukabene explains that system implementation starts with policies, followed by procedures and, finally, detailed plans.
“For construction companies bidding for projects, such as road works under KCCA, they are required to present environmental and social management plans,” she explains and adds: “The law may require you to protect workers, but it does not tell you how. That is where we come in to guide and customise solutions.”
She recalls a client who initially questioned the cost of consultancy services: “People think it is expensive to hire us, but it is far more costly to lose an entire facility to a fire because safety systems were ignored.”
She emphasises the importance of adapting to each organisation’s environment.
Milestones and vision
Mukabene says her career has opened doors she never imagined. “It has raised my self-esteem as a woman, allowed me to employ others, and placed me at decision-making tables I would never have accessed otherwise,” she says.
At 35, she employs four permanent staff, interns, and several contract-based consultants through her firm, Kantyson Consult.
Her guiding scripture is Habakkuk 2:3,“Write the vision.”
“When I registered my company in 2022, I had no clients. By February 2023, I had two. By May, the third one came in. Resources come when you take the first step,” she says.
Looking ahead, Mukabene hopes that in ten years, her company will be recognised as a fully accredited ISO/IMS certification firm—firmly cementing her place as a leader in safety and standards management.
