Implementation of an integrated management system

Today, companies and organizations of all kinds need to react quickly to multiple challenges. Technical, regulatory, organizational, structural, cultural, environmental, societal, economic and political challenges all come face to face with issues of performance and competitiveness.

All these contextual changes, coupled with the increasing demands of all our stakeholders, mean that we need to evolve our management methods, adopt a proactive approach and constantly innovate.

Whether in the fields of quality, environment, safety, energy, sustainable development, etc., an integrated management system is based on a global and coherent approach, with the aim of controlling risks and improving socio-economic performance and social ethics.

A genuine collective progress initiative, the implementation of an integrated management system not only takes into account current concerns, but also anticipates future requirements in terms of social responsibility, and is thus a relevant lever for committing to a sustainable development policy.

Today, many of the latest versions of standards are based on a common structure known as HLS (high structure level). This structure facilitates the construction of a management system that addresses technical, organizational, behavioral and skills-related aspects, enabling better risk control.

This article deals with the implementation and deployment of integrated QSE (quality – safety – environment) management systems, using the following standards as a reference. ISO 9001 :2015 , ISO 14001 :2015 and ISO 45001 :2018 which are a priori the most widespread. In addition, the ISO 50001 in its latest version of August 2018, and sustainable development from the perspective of corporate social responsibility (CSR) with regard to the ISO 26000 can all be taken into account in an SMI approach.

But beyond the purely normative aspect, bringing together various QSE-energy-DD disciplines is a complex exercise, and like any project, integrating them requires a strategy, an organizational structure, tools and methods.