Management systems and their integration: choice or obligation?
Posted: Mon Jan 27, 2025 6:47 am
Management systems and their integration: choice or obligation?Our Coordinator of the Master in Quality Management and Excellence in Organizations at Bureau Veritas Training , Lorena Bermúdez, talks to us in this post about integrated management systems.
Since ISO 9001 was launched back in 1987, several management systems have been emerging in different areas.
This has led to the fact that today we find a variety of standards that regulate the different aspects of management systems . To name a few:
Given the confusion of standards, there are several questions that may arise for someone who is just starting out in the field. I will try to answer them in this post.
Are organizations required to implement these standards? Are some required to do so, and some not? What does this depend on?
In principle, the application of these rules to which I am cryptocurrency data referring is voluntary , unless the competent Administration makes them mandatory by law, decree, regulation, or requires compliance in certain types of projects.
It is also worth noting that it may be the case that it is the client who establishes this as a requirement. For example, there are many organizations that establish this criterion when selecting their suppliers.
If I want to implement more than one Management System in my organization, which one should I start with?
The answer is simple: by the person or people who are most interested in the organization .
While it is true that (either due to their age or their general nature) most companies have grown hand in hand with ISO 9001 , the reality is that not all of them have the same activity or the same interests. Therefore, everything will depend on the particular circumstances of each organization and its strategy.
For example, a paper mill, given the large environmental component to which it is subject, may find it interesting to start with an environmental management system. A steel company may start with an occupational risk prevention system. And a law firm, perhaps with a quality management system. Or perhaps not. I repeat, it will depend on its own interests.
In any case, it must be kept in mind that it should be a well-considered decision taken by Senior Management .
How can different management systems coexist in an organization? Should they be independent, or given the similarities that exist, can they be integrated?
Again, there is nothing written in this regard. There are companies that have management systems implemented and functioning perfectly independently, and others that have opted for integration. Both measures are correct, because ultimately, what is at stake is that each company feels comfortable with its system(s), and that they are a faithful reflection of its correct way of acting .
Many companies have started with the planning, development and implementation of a first system, to which they have subsequently and naturally incorporated other systems, either independently or by integrating the new requirements into existing ones.
Others, however, have directly begun to develop and implement them in an integrated manner.
Experience has shown that many of these systems share requirements and similarities, and that is why it is easier to start the process from integration , allowing not only to unify the systems that manage them, but also the processes that support them as well as the activities that make up the processes.
Since ISO 9001 was launched back in 1987, several management systems have been emerging in different areas.
This has led to the fact that today we find a variety of standards that regulate the different aspects of management systems . To name a few:
Given the confusion of standards, there are several questions that may arise for someone who is just starting out in the field. I will try to answer them in this post.
Are organizations required to implement these standards? Are some required to do so, and some not? What does this depend on?
In principle, the application of these rules to which I am cryptocurrency data referring is voluntary , unless the competent Administration makes them mandatory by law, decree, regulation, or requires compliance in certain types of projects.
It is also worth noting that it may be the case that it is the client who establishes this as a requirement. For example, there are many organizations that establish this criterion when selecting their suppliers.
If I want to implement more than one Management System in my organization, which one should I start with?
The answer is simple: by the person or people who are most interested in the organization .
While it is true that (either due to their age or their general nature) most companies have grown hand in hand with ISO 9001 , the reality is that not all of them have the same activity or the same interests. Therefore, everything will depend on the particular circumstances of each organization and its strategy.
For example, a paper mill, given the large environmental component to which it is subject, may find it interesting to start with an environmental management system. A steel company may start with an occupational risk prevention system. And a law firm, perhaps with a quality management system. Or perhaps not. I repeat, it will depend on its own interests.
In any case, it must be kept in mind that it should be a well-considered decision taken by Senior Management .
How can different management systems coexist in an organization? Should they be independent, or given the similarities that exist, can they be integrated?
Again, there is nothing written in this regard. There are companies that have management systems implemented and functioning perfectly independently, and others that have opted for integration. Both measures are correct, because ultimately, what is at stake is that each company feels comfortable with its system(s), and that they are a faithful reflection of its correct way of acting .
Many companies have started with the planning, development and implementation of a first system, to which they have subsequently and naturally incorporated other systems, either independently or by integrating the new requirements into existing ones.
Others, however, have directly begun to develop and implement them in an integrated manner.
Experience has shown that many of these systems share requirements and similarities, and that is why it is easier to start the process from integration , allowing not only to unify the systems that manage them, but also the processes that support them as well as the activities that make up the processes.