In today’s world, most organizations use management systems to set up policies and procedures that can help in achieving their business objectives. A management system is the structure of processes and procedures used to make certain that an organization can manage all tasks required to achieve its objectives.

Companies or businesses will have management systems that support quality, health and safety, data privacy, and the environment. These management systems are often isolated from one another in the organization. For example, a quality management system might be unconnected from the health and safety management system.

While each management system works individually, it leads to duplication of effort, which in turn leads to squandered time and money. Furthermore, with the dynamic economic situation, the increasing complexity of the global marketplace, and the increasing need to deal with several compliance frameworks simultaneously, organizations have started to look out for a solution to support all their management systems under one roof.

This has led organizations to recognize the value of integrated management systems that combines two or more management systems into a single framework.

What are integrated management systems?

An integrated management system is a single system where all the management systems of an organization work together towards a single objective – to improve the performance of the entire organization. It combines all related components of an organization into a single system so that similar processes are seamlessly managed and executed without duplication and with cost-efficiency.

For example, Quality, Environmental, and Safety management systems are often combined and managed as an IMS. Typically ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 45001 are integrated into one system but it is not limited to just these standards. These systems are linked together so that similar processes are consistently managed and executed with replication.

When planning for an integrated management system, most organizations usually begin with the requirements for ISO 9001:2015 for quality management systems and then add others as required, such as ISO 14001:2015 for the environment, ISO 45001:2018 for health and safety, and ISO 27001:2013 for data security. The benefits of this approach include better conformity with legal essentials, higher customer satisfaction, and better information made available for executive decision-making. This, in turn, gives more money by improving profit.

The shared structure of integrated management systems can help companies attain their overall objectives besides the objectives of the individual management systems. This can save the organization a great amount of time and resources, resulting in an improved profit.

Benefits of the IMS

Knowing about the benefits of the IMS is a sound starting point to assess if the time has come for the implementation of the integrated management systems.

1.   Enhances performance

Integrated management systems are said to have a positive impact on individual management system elements. This leads to improvements in quality, safety, risk, and productivity. The improvement in the quality of the products or services will have a direct positive impact on organizational performance.

2.   Establishes consistency

With the implementation of integrated management systems, your organization can establish better consistency of the management systems. When there is consistency, the system will become less complex. Consistency will also help in achieving the common set of objectives that are important to the organization.

3.   Improves cost-efficiency

Integrated management systems also are more cost-effective in the long run. The organization can save costs in implementation, training, and auditing. An organization need not pay for different system audits separately to meet the requirements of each standard. An integrated audit can evaluate the requirements that are common for each standard altogether.

When all the standards are integrated, it can help reduce the time taken to do various activities, thus eliminating the amount of time interrupted, which in turn enhances cost-efficiency.

4.   Optimizes processes and resources

When viewing standard requirements, do not consider them an added load or task to the organization, rather remember that they are a way to implement expectations from customers, interested parties, and the organization, and create a smooth and effective process. Resources can be optimized and they can start focusing on process implementation instead of taking care of the system or standard maintenance. This can add value to the organization.

5.   Reduces maintenance

Implementing an integrated management system ensures that you are upholding the management system standard requirements. You can also have a check over the requirements and processes, allowing the organization to concentrate on improvements rather than maintaining different systems.

6.   Helps in decision making

An integrated management system is an effective approach to simplify the work, avoid conflicts and reduce duplication of documents. Eliminating redundancy and avoiding conflicts within the organization allows for a more complete view of the functional needs and performance. This integrated approach also allows the organization to examine functional and department hurdles and thereby improve communication and decision making.

The Bottom Line

To survive in global competition and today’s markets, you need to look at every aspect of the business processes. A properly integrated management system will help companies remain competitive while coping with many other factors that could be crucial for the company’s strategy. 

Looking to integrate your management systems?

IRQS has the expertise to help give you the skills to integrate management systems in your organization that will enable you to enhance performance and operate with greater cost efficiency.