COBA is a multidisciplinary firm of Engineering and Environmental Consultants. We develop studies & designs and provide assistance in management and construction supervision in the field of storage and use of water for hydropower generation, drinking water supply, for agricultural development through irrigation...
Our ultimate goal is the complete satisfaction of our clients’ expectations, by providing services of excellence within agreed deadlines and costs, and thus contribute to the prestige of Portuguese engineering in the country and abroad. Drawing from it experience and aware of the demanding nature associated with engineering design...
COBA relies on the collaboration of approximately 250 employees that integrate its permanent staff, including graduates, mid-level technicians and support staff. Multidisciplinary teams cover almost all of the company’s sectors of activity, which allows the permanent availability and prompt intervention of all required areas of expertise...
Our History
Multidisciplinary firm of Engineering and Environmental Consultants, we develop studies & designs and provide assistance in management and construction supervision in the field of storage and use of water for hydropower generation, for drinking water supply, for agricultural development through irrigation, in the field of rainwater and wastewater drainage networks and wastewater treatment, and in the field of road, rail & air transport infrastructures and cartography & cadastre.
We develop our activities in an integrated manner, ensuring their environmental viability through the necessary environmental studies, valuing their effects on economic and social development and minimizing negative impacts via Geographic Information Systems that support their management and operation, through the creation of Monitoring and Safety Systems and by carrying out the rehabilitation projects of works.
COBA is today one of the largest Portuguese companies in the field of engineering consulting with activity developed in Portugal and in 45 foreign countries spread across all continents, presently with approximately 150 permanent employees.
COBA is registered with the main international funding agencies, namely: European Union; World Bank; African Development Bank; Asian Development Bank; European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; Inter-American Development Bank; UN - United Nations.
Strategy & Quality
COBA's mission is to place engineering at the service of its Clients with a view to improving people's quality of life and the sustainable development of society.
Given its experience and the demanding nature of the activity of designers, particularly with regard to knowledge, technical capacity of execution, reliability and maintenance of quality standards, COBA has implemented a Quality Management System based on the NP EN ISO 9001 Standard, certified by APCER - Portuguese Association of Certification since December 2000, in the areas of "provision of consultancy services and preparation of studies and projects in the fields of engineering and environment, including prefeasibility studies, feasibility studies, base programs, preliminary studies, preliminary designs and final designs; works management and supervision, safety and health coordination and environmental control of all types of engineering and environmental works".
The implementation of a Quality System was always intended to guarantee, with the intervention of all the company's employees, not only efficient operation in the services provided, but also the full satisfaction of Customers, Employees, Partners, Suppliers, and other Interested Parties.
With regard to Works Management and Supervision, COBA has also held, since 1992, the General Quality Manager Status for Construction Projects (“Estatuto de Gestor Geral da Qualidade de Empreendimentos da Construção”), granted by the Quality Mark Commission of LNEC – National Laboratory of Civil Engineering, having obtained the highest classification in all existing categories (Hydraulic Works, Roads and Buildings and Monuments).
With the Certification of the Quality Management System and always aiming at the continuous improvement of the Organization, COBA subsequently implemented an Environmental Management System based on the NP EN ISO 14001 standard and a Safety and Health at Work Management System based on the OHSAS 18001 standard and, more recently, the NP EN ISO 45001 standard.
Therefore, COBA currently has an Integrated Quality, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety Management System in force, and the certification of the System in the three references is expected to take place soon.
COBA - Consultores de Engenharia e Ambiente, S.A. has defined excellence of the services rendered to its clients as the main goal of all its activities.
To achieve this purpose, COBA's Board of Directors is committed to maintain and continuously improve its Quality Management System, establishing the following main objectives:
To achieve these objectives COBA relies, above all, on the competence, experience, loyalty and joint commitment of its employees, suppliers, and partners.
COBA is fully aware that its Employees are the reason and the origin of its success. No other company resource is as important as the human resources who, with their work, their dedication & intelligence, contribute to our culture and to our results.
Protection of people is therefore a core value of the company. It is, as such, important to provide a safe and healthy environment for everyone involved in company life: employees, service providers, suppliers, and clients. COBA is committed through this policy to:
To achieve these objectives COBA relies, above all, on the competence, experience, loyalty and joint commitment of its employees, suppliers, and partners.
COBA - Consultores de Engenharia e Ambiente, S.A. has defined excellence of the services provided to its clients as the main goal of all its activities, developing such services with the maximum respect for the Environment.
To achieve this purpose, COBA is committed to:
To achieve these objectives COBA relies, above all, on the competence, experience, loyalty and joint commitment of its employees, suppliers, and partners.
Organizational Structure
COBA relies on the collaboration of approximately 150 employees that integrate its permanent staff, including graduates, mid-level technicians and support staff. Multidisciplinary teams cover almost all of the company’s sectors of activity, which allows the permanent availability and prompt intervention of all areas of expertise required for the development of studies and designs. From these numerous experts, several act as permanent consultants of the firm, who offer their rigorous and impartial technical expertise whenever deemed necessary.
To support its own human resources, in very specific matters COBA resorts to the know-how of external consultants, usually from lecturing boards of several educational institutions or researchers, and maintains cooperation protocols with some research centers.
COBA's production is fundamentally based on complementarity and staff interaction, which in practice results in comprehensive discussion of all the technical issues associated with a given project - on an integrated and sustained basis - ensuring high working standards and that no technical detail is neglected.
Engª Maria Cristina Marques Sousa Costa - Chairman
Engº António Táboas Beirão Amador – Vice-President
Drª Sílvia Celina dos Santos Meirinhos – Secretary
Engº Fernando Baltazar Clara Prioste – Chairman/CEO
Engº Alexandre Candeias Simão Portugal – Board Member
Engº António Pereira da Silva – Board Member
Drº Tiago Carvalho Santos – Board Member/CFO
Sole Auditor: Oliveira Rego & Associados represented by Manuel de Oliveira Rego
Sole Auditor’s Substitute: Paula Cristina Guerreiro Ganhão de Oliveira Rego