Knowing how to implement IMS in an organisation ensures successful ISO certification. It lets you fully enjoy the benefits of your IMS.
An Integrated Management System (IMS) is now necessary for any business wanting to be more sustainable and competitive in the modern market. Still, not all companies see positive results from these initiatives. So there’s a need to learn more about what makes an IMS deployment successful.
What are the Challenges of Implementing an Integrated Management System?
How tough is it to adopt an IMS? The answer can vary a little. Some businesses have the foundation for an effective management structure, even if they are unaware of it. In such a situation, making specific changes and obtaining certification can be a breeze.
Other businesses require Substantial changes. The process can run relatively quickly if your team manages its resources and timeline efficiently.
Either way, some of the challenges firms may have to face as they deploy a management system include the following:
1. Employee Engagement
Dealing with change can be pretty stressful. As a result, some workers may be reluctant to learn new skills or risk making mistakes in the workplace. A switch to the new system may eliminate and create some positions.
The new procedures and increased workload may cause some employees to feel overwhelmed. Management’s responsibility is to anticipate workers’ concerns and allay such fears as soon as possible. Listening to employee feedback can help cultivate employee engagement and dedication to the new processes.
2. Strong Leadership
Organisations accustomed to delegating may lack leaders who get their hands dirty. It might be difficult for managers to get their staff fully invested in the process and motivated to achieve the desired results.
Any new initiatives in a company need top management’s full support.
Since this is the case, ISO standards include calls for participation from top management. Numerous ISO standards, including ISO 9001, ISO 27001, and ISO 22301, highlight the importance of top-down support.
The company’s top administrators must plan how to implement IMS in an organisation. Leaders are accountable for the following:
- Establishing policies
- Delegating responsibilities
- Conducting audits
- Helping the rest of the team to carry out those policies and audits successfully
3. Planning
Businesses take varying s approaches when implementing an IMS. There are no specific guidelines to follow; therefore, careful planning is vital.
Many difficulties encountered while implementing a management system may be traced back to a lack of foresight, including:
- Lack of proper financial preparation
- Improperly calculating the amount of time needed
- Difficulties in introducing a system that is adequate for the company’s size and specialisation
- Not realising an IMS’s true worth and function
These difficulties are directly related to actions and choices made during the planning stage.
4. Communication and Collaboration
Every employee contributes to the success of the company’s management system. That is why it’s essential for all the right people in the proper departments to talk to each other. They must share information back and forth with each other and their staff.
When managers fail to provide necessary information to their staff, misunderstandings might arise. Complete documentation, another mandatory ISO standard, can eliminate such roadblocks to collaboration.
What are Some of the Most Important Elements of an IMS?
The essential elements of an IMS are:
1. ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System (QMS)
This International Standard requires a process-based approach to creating, implementing, and enhancing the efficacy of a quality management system. Compliance with this standard boosts customer satisfaction by fulfilling customer needs.
2. ISO 14001:2015 Environment Management System (EMS)
Organisations can improve their environmental performance by adhering to the standards of ISO 14001:2015. This international standard details the requirements for an environmental management system.
Organisations that want to manage their environmental responsibilities systematically can use ISO 14001:2015. It can help companies ensure their contribution to the environmental pillar of sustainability.
3. ISO 45001:2018 Occupational Health and Safety Management System
ISO 45001 outlines preventive measures organisations can follow to boost their OH&S performance. It can help businesses provide safe and healthy workplaces by reducing the risk of injury and illness.
ISO 45001:2018 applies to any organisation that desires to create, implement and maintain an OH&S management system. Compliance with this international standard promotes occupational health and safety, reduces hazards, and mitigates OH&S risks.
What is the Purpose of an Integrated Management System?
1. Improving Outcomes
Integrated management systems aim to improve quality assurance, safety procedures, risk management, and productivity.
2. Reducing Duplicate Tasks
An IMS integrates, compares, and contrasts different standards. It identifies shared and unique aspects of a management system. These can be things like plans, goals, procedures, or resources.
It creates a single policy for document control, process enhancements, training, management reviews, and internal audits. Simultaneously implementing many standards allows you to identify these commonalities, which can save your company significant resources.
3. Accountability
An IMS improves accountability by integrating multiple management systems and setting unified goals, procedures, and assets.
4. Creating Consistency
When a company uses an IMS, its processes are more in sync with one another. Making the system consistent makes it simpler and easier to learn. By maintaining uniformity, the team will be better able to concentrate on reaching the same goals.
5. Making Quick Decisions
An IMS removes unnecessary processes to reduce bureaucracy. Problems occur due to bureaucratic red tape when organisations apply various management standards separately.
Integrating your organisation’s management systems allows for a more systematic strategy. There is a greater capacity for the processes to adapt to changes.
6. Saving Money
An IMS optimises processes and resources and conducts integrated audits and assessments. Combining these tasks makes it possible to cut down on wasted time, interruptions, and overall expenses.
7. Process and Resource Optimisation
Standard requirements are not an extra chore. They are a means to meet the expectations of customers, interested parties, and the company itself.
An IMS facilitates a streamlined and efficient procedure for meeting these requirements. It allocates resources to valuable activities.
8. Unified Audits
An IMS makes unified audits possible after implementing an integrated management system. Integrated audits can maximise database storage space, stores audit trail clearly in the database, and improves auditing performance.
How to Implement IMS in an Organisation
1. Training and Information Dissemination
Inform and train all employees in your organisation in the standards IMS addresses. Leadership, medium, and entry-level employees should attend their training sessions.
Being informed inspires employees to work toward the common goal of adopting an ISO-compliant management system.
2. Creating Policies and Objectives
Incorporate the company’s vision, mission, goals, and strategic direction into comprehensive quality, environment, health policies, and related objectives. Work with senior leadership on the formulation of the policy.
3. Gap Analysis
Evaluate how well your current system meets the criteria of the standards you’re considering for your IMS and identify the level of compliance. Examine current procedures against the ISO standard’s prerequisites to determine discrepancies.
4. Process Design
Outline processes according to the specifications of the applicable standards. Create a user guide, work instructions, functional procedures, system procedures, and associated forms encompassing the company’s operations.
5. Process Implementation
Put the designed processes and documents into place. Hold a workshop to discuss implementing the necessary procedures and documents to meet the criteria of the relevant ISO standards.
6. Internal Audit
Every company needs a solid internal auditing system. But audits are more likely to yield valuable results if internal auditors have received proper training.
Qualified auditors conduct a thorough internal audit of the entire organisation. Make adjustments in all audited departments to close identified gaps and guarantee the IMS’s efficacy and compliance.
7. Senior Management Review
Let senior management assess how well the organisation performs against the standards. Evaluate the outcomes of the following:
- Policies and objectives
- Internal audit results
- Process performance results
- Complaint/feedback/legal compliance results
- Risk assessment results
8. Pre-Certification Gap Analysis
Evaluate the efficiency and conformity of your IMS. An audit that is a close approximation of the final certification audit would help describe the extent to which the IMS complies with requirements. In addition, it can show you how to complete the certification audit.
9. Corrective Actions
Fix non-conformities identified by the gap analysis. This step completes the organisation’s readiness for the certification audit.
10. Certification Audit
Ensure your organisation meets all standards so you can acquire ISO certifications.
How can FocusIMS help?
Organisational policies and processes are crucial. They serve as a road map for conducting daily business operations. They guarantee adherence to rules and regulations, provide direction for making decisions, and improve organisational efficiency.
FocusIMS can help improve the adoption of your IMS through better communication. It’s a system that keeps your company’s policies and procedures in one place.
FocusIMS includes several features to help implement IMS in an organisation, including the following:
- Job Descriptions let employees know the policies and procedures relevant to their positions.
- Internal Documents to make it easy for you to add new procedures or update procedures as your company grows
- Procedures Matrix to provide an overview of employee training status
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