Integrated Management Systems
In today’s complex business environment, organizations frequently need to focus on new issues beyond quality management. Energy efficiency, the environment, occupational health & safety information and cyber security and many more topics trigger companies to take a structured, holistic approach by implementing integrated management systems.
What is an integrated management system?
To meet the growing regulatory, societal and business demands the range of management standards emanating from the ISO and other standards bodies has ballooned in recent years. The ISO alone now offers more the 30 management system standards. Some are applicable to almost any organization whereas others are industry specific.
When embarking on the road to implementing a management system in line with an ISO standard, most organizations begin with an integrated quality management system in accordance with ISO 9001. Later may come standards such as environmental (ISO 14001), organizational health and safety (ISO 45001) and energy management (ISO 50001) . In this digital era also implementation of an information security management system (ISO 27001) aimed at preventing cyber-crimes and business recovery after a cyberattack could likely be relevant. These standards are the cornerstones of ESG so an Integrated Management System covering these would highlight an organizations ESG commitment.
It is possible for each of these systems to exist in a silo but far better is to move to an integrated management system, which combines all aspects of an organization's systems, processes, and standards into one coherent system. This allows for a more efficient management process, reducing duplication, and ensuring that different standards and overlapping requirements are aligned and working in harmony.
The ISO has facilitated the implementation of integrated management systems by enforcing a common harmonized structure for all their management system standards. This means they use the same clause structure and similar core content in addition to topic specific requirements. This common structure helps improve the alignment of different ISO standards by means of a cross-standard structure, which in turn facilitates implementation for users.
A handbook entitled ‘The integrated use of management system standards’ is available from the ISO. It brings together international expertise and best-practice guidance on integrating management system standards. It features illustrations as applied in real-world organizational contexts and relevant case studies, all of which can be applied to all kinds of sectors and industries.
Types of integrated management systems
Organizations’ Integrated Management Systems can vary depending on the standards they incorporate. The integration of these systems allows for a more cohesive approach to managing an organization's diverse aspects. Some examples of the types of individual management systems that can be combined into an integrated system include:
Quality Management System (QMS)
A Quality Management System (QMS) integrates the principles of quality control and assurance across all departments, ensuring consistent quality in products and services.
Environmental Management System (EMS)
An Environmental Management System (EMS) focuses on reducing environmental impact and ensuring compliance with environmental regulations.
Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS)
An Occupational Health and Safety Management (OHSMS) aims to minimize risks and enhance employee safety in the workplace.
Information Security Management System (ISMS)
An Information Security Management System (ISMS) aims to minimize cybersecurity risks and enhance IT security and privacy protection.
Energy Efficiency Management System (EnMS)
An Energy Management (EnMS) aims to assist organizations manage their energy related aspects and to achieve improvement in their energy performance, e.g. such as reducing energy consumption and improving energy efficiency. Other positive effects can be reduced costs and reduced carbon emission.
This is by no means an exhaustive list as there is also sector specific standards available such as food safety management (ISO 22000). It is even possible for an integrated management system to cover systems from different standard bodies.
Benefits of an integrated management system: why is it important?
An IMS allows for a more structured, comprehensive approach to manage the complex issues organizations frequently face. Also, IMS offers numerous other benefits, including improved efficiency, reduced costs, and enhanced performance. Moreover, it simplifies compliance with various standards and facilitates continuous improvement, leading to better decision-making and strategic planning.
An example of this is the possibility to adopt IMS audits rather than audit each separate system individually, both for internal audits as well as for external third-party audits. An IMS audit can lower certification costs and provide a more holistic approach to auditing and thereby adding value.
Another benefit of an IMS is that it allows the organization to gain a better understanding of the relationship between processes and product and service development. This alone can generate more and faster improvements to products and services.
Management integration and certification
The ISO has not developed a specific standard for integrated management systems. Following a successful integrated certification audit, separate certificates is normally issued for each of the standards where compliance with requirements has been verified. Because an integrated audit will need to address the requirements of each of the standards the integrated audit need to be more extensive than for a single standard. However, as many of the requirements have been combined, also due to the common harmonized structure, there will be an overall time saving. How large this might be will of course depend upon the number of standards in the IMS.
Certification of the various ISO standards that might be included in an IMS demonstrates an organization's commitment to meeting these standards and enhancing its reputation and competitiveness.
