Integrated Management Systems

Integrated Management Systems



Integrated Management Systems

Introduction

Integration is the complete harmony and alignment of strategy and operations of an organization. It means that different departments and levels speak the same language and are tuned to the same wavelength. In the literature, integration of management systems has been discussed as the merger of the quality management system (QMS), environmental management system (EMS), and occupational health and safety management system (OH&SMS). Indeed, to survive and thrive in a period of global competition, organizations need to look at every aspect of their processes, including cost cutting, wellbeing of their employees, the working environment, and the impact that organizational operations have on their neighbors and on the local community. Moreover companies must address these issues while continuing to provide quality products and services. The concept of integrated management systems (IMS) has arisen from this need.

In addition to ensuring customer satisfaction and loyalty, organisations must consider the well-being of their employees and the working environment, and the impact that their operations have on their neighbours and the local community. The long-term effects of their products while in use and after must also be considered, consequently legislation such as the Environmental Protection Act 1990, the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1988 cannot be ignored.

Commercial Benefits of Integrated Management Systems

Customers, employees, shareholders and the community (i.e. the stakeholders) are also concerned about these matters and creating an “image” that meets customer expectations can help to improve market share. Management standards and systems such as ISO 9001 (1994), ISO 14001 (1996) and BS 8800 (1996) have been developed and introduced to address these needs, but dealing with separate management systems covering quality, environment and safety and other issues, and ensuring that they align with the organisation's strategy, has proved difficult. The case for integrated management systems (IMS) is now starting to be made in the literature and an IMS is increasingly seen as part of the organisation's management portfolio.

In general, integration has been discussed in the literature dealing with quality, environmental, and health and safety management; Sissell (1996) has found particular interest in integration by the chemical sector. Most papers on the subject are written in English but since it is still an emerging topic, few extensive bibliographies have been compiled by other researchers. Journals such as Quality Progress and Quality World have proved to be a useful source for monitoring progress on integration and the current views on the development of new and existing standards, but case studies and surveys have sometimes tended to treat integration as a secondary issue rather than the main focus of attention.

The need for an IMS has also arisen as a result of the decision to implement an environmental management system (EMS) and/or an occupational health and safety management system (OH&SMS) in addition to a quality management system (QMS). It is important for researchers to understand the structure and history of the relevant ...