Integrated Management Systems (IMS) merges your ISO management processes into one convenient system, reducing hassle, cutting waste and refining compliance. With pre-defined processes and procedures, it gives businesses like yours a helping hand in achieving best practices for quality, environmental impact, occupational health and safety, and many more.
You can easily coordinate multiple business operations with just one system to oversee, saving time and unnecessary work. This will positively impact your efficiency by boosting output through fewer processes and maximising the use of your internal resources. By conducting just one audit and one management review, you can save time and money, and senior staff can move onto other essential tasks. In other words, it’s a time-saver as well as a money-maker.
At ABAC®, we can provide you with training and certification for ISO 37002 Whistleblower Management System, ISO 37001 Anti-Bribery Management Systems (ABMS), ISO 37301 Compliance Management System and ISO 31000 Risk Management – Guidelines. ABAC® works with clients of all industries, sizes and organisation types to develop robust programs using the latest techniques and best practices that help foster an ethical business culture.
Yes, but will an IMS suit my business?
An Integrated Management Systems can be a perfect fit for many businesses wanting greater efficiency. But some may prefer to keep their ISO management separate. Before you go ahead, it’s worth bearing the following in mind:
- Structure: If individual Standards are currently handled by different managers, you may need to reorganise them so that they work together more closely. You may even prefer to put one person in charge of the whole integrated platform.
- Consistency: An integrated system means that all of your Standards are viewed as a single unit due to their crossovers. If an auditor flags up areas for improvement (non-conformances) for just one Standard, this will affect the whole integrated product. Consistency across the Standards is key.
- Audits: In order to assess the compliance and relevance of your system, an external audit may require more preparation and time.
- Implementation: If you’re new to ISOs and want to achieve multiple Standards in one go, you will need to implement good business practices in several areas at once. But if you have the resources and staff to see it through, it can be a great way to achieve a hole-in-one. And of course, if you already have one Standard, you are well on your way to achieving another.
- Responsibility: Depending on your business’ structure, you may discover some clashes for the responsibility of a quality management system and an environmental system.
- Documentation: To ensure that every aspect of your integrated system is mapped out and maintained, the documentation to support it can become more detailed and intricate
