Integrated Management System - What is it?

In principle, every company has a management system because every company manages itself. The question is whether it is an integrated management system that takes into account requirements from different areas, whether it is a system that is based on a standard (for example ISO 9001), or whether it is just traditional strands of action that are used by the company to organize itself.

CONTENTS

• Integrated management system: Creating synergies from diversity
• What are the requirements?
• When complexity increases
• What is the goal of an integrated management system?
• What is the basis of an integrated management system?
• How can the High-Level Structure help with an integrated management system?
• What are the different ways towards integration?
• Benefits of an integrated management system - Conclusion
• Simply leveraging Quality.

Integrated management system: Creating synergies from diversity

For an integrated management system (IMS), the multitude of management systems that companies have to manage today is combined and integrated as far as possible so that there is as little friction as possible and synergies are used optimally.

This means that the methods and instruments for complying with requirements from different areas are combined in a uniform structure. This serves corporate governance (management and monitoring of organizations) and is supported by a risk-based approach.

The basic structure of modern management system standards, the so-called High-Level Structure (HLS), was introduced by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 2012. The underlying ISO/IEC Directive was revised by ISO in May 2021, which also meant that the HLS underwent a revision with various clarifications, additions, but also deletions. Since then, the High-Level Structure is now called "Harmonized Structure" (HS). However, it will only become effective with the next revision of the respective ISO standard.

What are the requirements?

Many management systems focus on specific requirements:

• Quality, e.g. ISO 9001
• Environmental protection, e.g. ISO 14001
• Energy, e.g. ISO 50001
• Occupational health and safety, e.g. ISO 45001, SCC
• Information security, e.g. ISO 27001
• Crisis or emergency management, e.g. ISO 22301
• Risk management, e.g. ISO 31000
• CSR / Corporate Social Responsibility, e.g. SA8000
• Various other systems, e.g. health, medical devices, feed or explosion prevention

Thus, companies are faced with a multitude of subject areas that they can organize normatively. In addition, various industries have special regulations such as IATF 16949 (automotive industry) or EN/AS 9100 (aviation). These mostly deepen the requirements of ISO 9001 for quality management and concretize them in the context of the application.

When complexity increases

A study by the "Harvard Business Manager" shows that the degree of complexity, i.e. the number of system-related requirements that a company must meet in business, has increased more than sixfold since 1955. This contrasts with the degree of organizational complexity within the company, the number of different processes, interfaces, instructions, documents and decisions, which has increased 35-fold. This shows that more and more are being added, but nothing is being eliminated.

HLS - An opportunity for an integrated management system

• 10 reasons for an IMS
• Comparison of the requirements of the "Big Five": ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 50001 and ISO 27001

by Rita Kagerer, an Expert in integrated management systems 

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The level of organizational complexity slows down employee productivity as well as revenue. Therefore, companies need to think about how to integrate topics and build management areas in a modular way to expand topic areas without too much internal administrative effort and without increasing the complexity of processes even further. Ideally, this eliminates the need for documents and allows a uniform system to be used for different subject areas.

What is the goal of an integrated management system?

The goal of the IMS must be to resolve conflicts, coordinate goals and ensure clear, preferably qualifiable specifications.

However, different management systems have different requirements to fulfil. In this respect, conflicts of objectives can arise, which must be taken into account.

At this point, organizations must decide which objective has priority and, if necessary, allow another objective to take a back seat. For example, solutions that would make sense from the perspective of efficient process design would have to take a back seat to an optimized occupational health and safety organization. Here, companies must make decisions on a case-by-case basis, also with a view to the certification of management systems.

What is the basis of an integrated management system?

A uniform process management system is needed for a solid foundation.

The working tools and forms of documentation must be standardized. Helpful for the implementation is a common measures cockpit, into which the various measures resulting from the establishment and operation of an integrated management system flow and via which the tasks can be controlled and tracked. The specialist processes are then set up and integrated on this solid foundation.

How can the High-Level Structure help with an Integrated Management System?

The High-Level Structure (HLS) is a helpful tool for companies that want to build their systems on a modular basis. This is because this overarching basic structure ensures that the structures of the management systems correspond to each other in their normative requirements and can therefore be integrated more easily.

In the standard revisions of ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018, the section structure and some of the terminology were changed to improve alignment with other management system standards. Thus, all major ISO management system standards are subject to the common basic structure. Other standards will also adapt to the High-Level Structure in the future.

Above all, this means that company processes can be adapted to new or changed conditions in line with requirements. And this is done without overburdening the basic structures of the company with redundancies and inconsistencies. Processes can be easily extended if new standards need to be taken into account.

When setting up an IMS, it is important to put yourself in the employee's shoes. Accordingly, terms and processes from the employees' everyday work should be used.

What are the different ways towards integration??

Planning phase: A good overview

In the planning phase, it is worthwhile to involve an external consulting firm to incorporate experience from integration projects at other companies. Then all documents and requirements are put on the table to be able to create a requirement and interaction analysis. Based on this, a diagnosis is made as to where, for example, integration is worthwhile as a first step.

Establishment phase: Setting the course - securing advantages

In the set-up phase of an integrated management system, it is of great importance to involve interested parties such as internal and external customers. During process design, it is essential to get employees on board, since they are the central resource that will later have to work with the specifications. The next step is the basic integration of document control, internal audits, policy, targets and key performance indicators, as well as higher-level action management. Then it is a matter of covering the various subject areas in the area of human resources, integrating the operational processes, involving the supply chain and suppliers and breaking down requirements for them.

Improvement phase: Bundling information

In the improvement phase, the organization measures the results, and the metrics which it has previously defined, from the perspective of interested parties. Monitoring via internal and external audits is important. Management review, where management itself can give an assessment, is also essential. This can be done, for example, through small-scale management assessments spread over the year. In the course of the improvement phase, the organization decides whether and which further systems it will integrate and for which management systems it will also seek or continue certification.

Benefits of an integrated management system - Conclusion

An integrated management system (IMS) has a process landscape that covers all topics relevant to the company. The system should therefore be built up step by step. The company must decide which areas and standards should be integrated first and which further expansion stages should be included. Otherwise, the integration will overwhelm the organization and its employees.

Management support is crucial in this process. Everyone within the organization must be aware that the integrated management system is not a manual that sits in a closet. Rather, it is a daily work tool that - when used correctly - makes everyone's job easier.

And this gives everyone involved the security of knowing that the essential requirements of customers, authorities and other key parties are being adequately taken into account.

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Simply leveraging Quality.

Since its foundation in 1985 as the first German certifier of management systems, DQS has been committed to the sustainable success of its customers. With value-adding audits and customer-oriented concepts, we accompany organizations all the way to business excellence.

Especially the combined, simultaneous auditing of fully integrated management systems offers numerous opportunities, as the cross-thematic assessment allows synergies to be used and at the same time interactions, but also contradictions between the different topics can be identified. To increase the benefits for our customers with integrated management systems, we focus on their multiple qualifications when selecting and training our auditors: DQS auditors cover at least three sets of regulations on average. Take us at our word. We look forward to talking to you.