How an Integrated Management System Enhances Compliance Across Multiple Standards?
Introduction
An Integrated Management System combines multiple and diverse individual management systems into a single framework. Processes, policies, and standards are unified in a structured pattern bound by a single objective which makes business management convenient.
Conversion and consolidation are central to an Integrated Management System to enhance compliance across multiple standards. While conversion entails adding new processes to an existing system, consolidation entails merging different processes for formalization.
The latest integrated management softwareensures that all the compliance requirements are met for a business to remain relevant and updated. Keep reading further to learn more about this software.
What Is An Integrated Management System?
An Integrated Management System is a system that manages and optimizes an organization’s operations. With the help of integrated management software, businesses integrate the functionality of various departments so that the work runs smoothly.
This software ensures that functions performed by each department are timely, consistent, and effectively executed. By adhering to multiple standards at the same time, an organization commits to varied practices. Premium integrated management software makes it possible for leaders to develop a company holistically.
An integrated management system comprises the following aspects:
- Performance analysis to ensure consistent improvement.
- Premium quality management and ensuring that high standards are maintained at all times.
- Meeting environmental regulations and maintaining the best standards.
- Ensuring the health and safety of employees is taken care of in case they are working in hazardous conditions.
- Proper management and assessment of risks so that any legal issues can be avoided.
- Easy compliance with rules and regulations by ensuring there is no overlapping of duties.
- Managing documents systematically for correct resource allocation and auditing.
Important Standards Integrated For Better Compliance:
Here are 3 key organization-centric international standards that companies follow for maintaining health and ensuring the safety of employees, maintaining quality and minimizing the negative impact of their activities on the environment.
- ISO 9001 is the quality management system. This standard focuses on strong leadership, customer satisfaction and evidence-based decision-making.
- ISO 45001 is the health and occupational safety management system. The purpose of this standard is to reduce absenteeism and lower incident levels.
- ISO 14001 is the environmental management system. This standard focuses on reducing a company’s negative environmental impact by complying with the latest regulations.
5 Ways An Integrated Management System Enhances Compliance Across Multiple Standards
Integrated management software ensures that all international and local standards are met properly. A QMS software when combined with integrated management software ensures a precise focus on quality control and streamlining processes across various departments.
Here are 5 ways in which an integrated management system improves overall compliance by conversion and consolidation:
1. Clear Business Objectives
An integrated management software ensures that a business runs smoothly. Therefore, a company must adopt the least complicated system and set clear goals and objectives so that aligning with standards is easy.
For instance, if employees of a company are working under dangerous circumstances, having an integrated management system that complies with ISO 45001 is a must. Here, the objective and priority of a business is to ensure the safety of employees and minimize legal issues.
2. Proper Communication Channels
Cohesion between various departments of a company is vital. Working towards a common goal is made easy by having premium quality management software. By integrating quality management software with IMS, a company can share compliance-related data across departments under strong leadership.
ISO 9001 ensures proper leadership and clear communication channels. Relationship management leads to improvement in functioning as the software ensures that departments work in cohesion.
3. Tracking Developments
Tracking developments is a challenging task. An integration management system keeps a tab on resource allocation and offers real-time updates to the management to stay updated. Moreover, these tools also track compliance-related developments which are beneficial when it comes to avoiding legal issues.
ISO 14001 keeps the management up-to-date regarding environmental laws and regulations. These laws and regulations evolve very fast owing to the deterioration of nature. Therefore, tracking the functioning of a company to abide by these laws can be done easily by downloading an IMS software that is compatible with ISO 14001.
4. Review and Control Policies
Every company needs to review its actions as times change. Objectives and goals change with time and with laws. An integrated management system reviews processes so that they align with changing policies, international laws, and environmental standards.
ISO 9001 ensures that a business stays relevant at all times. Making a business customer-centric and engaging employees for consistent enhancement is important.
5. Gap Analysis
Analyzing and recognizing gaps within an organization is a must for the betterment of the organization as a whole. For a business to run smoothly, gaps have to be checked for at regular intervals. Therefore, a good quality management system ensures the leadership is informed at the right time.
Regular training of employees is essential for them to utilize the potential of a system. This approach is ideal for covering loopholes and minimizing compliance issues effectively.
Conclusion
Seamless integration with an existing standard involves adapting to new standards. When this conversion is coupled with a unifying overlapping process, an integrated management system works better as all the standards can be adhered to regularly. A company can combine any number of systems to comply with multiple standards at the same time.
Therefore, an integrated management system ensures optimization of functions and timely execution of activities which enhances the working of an organization.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q. 1 What do you mean by ISO compliance?
Answer: ISO compliance is the practice of adhering to a standard that optimizes the operations of a business and evolves the functioning of a company accordingly. Downloading integrated management software compatible with an ISO standard saves a company from legal battles and other penalties.
Q. 2 What are the key ISO standards?
Answer: Essential ISO standards are ISO 9001 for quality management, ISO 14001 for environmental management and ISO 45001 for occupational health and safety. Other ISO standards are ISO 27001 for information security and ISO 50001 for energy management.
Q. 3 What are the 3 key components of ISO?
Answer: 3 main components of an ISO are meeting customer requirements, consistent functional enhancement and implementing changes according to the changes laws and regulations.
Q. 4 What are the 3 C’s of 9001 ISO?
Answer: The 3 C’s of ISO 9001 are maintaining consistent performance, customer satisfaction, and constant improvement in the working of an organization.
