Benefits of Integrated Management System (IMS)

Integrated Management System is solution to meet dynamic demands of various interested parties at the same time ensuring a consistent output, protecting the environment and maintaining a safer workplace where wellbeing of employees is taken care.

Initially when looking at the list of requirements, the task can be seen as huge but following standard timeline process and defined roles and responsibility enable organization to reap benefits of IMS.

Some Benefits of IMS can be listed here under are:

1. Unified Approach 

2. Path towards process-oriented organization

3. Maximize productivity

4. Eliminating Duplication

5. Defined Roles and Responsibility

6. Consistency

7. Cost Effectiveness

8. Reduction in effort of maintenance

9. Certification Audit
   

   

Below are benefits discussed in details:

1. Unified Approach: When the goal and objectives of the organization are clear, it becomes a solid foundation on which IMS builds. This allows for bringing everyone, right from leadership to operations team to the same ground. It also showcases organization to be lean in their processes and approach.
   
   

2. Path Towards Process-Oriented Organization: When multiple management system run parallel and each are governed separately, there are high chances that required efficiency is not achieved. Decisions are difficult to make and at the same time can harm more than actually benefit the organization. The hierarchy and multiple layers to arrive at a decision is time consuming and at the same time not provide entire picture on how organization can get impacted. IMS helps eliminate this very fact. A streamlined system with defined roles and responsibilities brings everyone on the same platform and decisions taken would be cohesive since any cross functional differences or issues are discussed not as a standalone topic but the overall impact in various ways that it might be having on the output of the organization. Also improves communication and decision making down the line in the value chain.
   
   

3. Maximize Productivity: IMS is bound to maximize the productivity of not just the operations but the people, machines, equipment, etc . It has a 360-degree impact on the organization.  The best part about IMS is it pens down the requirements but the processes that one wants to establish is completely on the organization thus gives a freedom on the user end. Here it is important to understand, ISO standard does not ask for separate procedures to be established if an organization has started the path of implementation. Instead, it asks to integrate the requirements of as many standards the organization wants to implement in existing procedures. If there are no procedures that have been developing to cater to certain requirements, then a new procedure needs to be developed. This helps is simplifying the integration of various standard requirements to existing processes thus nullifies the fact that its an additional task. Processes are optimized and it is now seen as value added activity rather than an additional activity to the list.
   
   

4. Eliminating Duplication: Single most important benefit of IMS is eliminating duplication, not just in the documents/records but also multiple reviews that management or the leadership had to conduct to review effectiveness of standards individually. One single management system that includes unified policy, goals and objectives, etc. There are multiple clauses such as Internal Audit, Management Review, etc that are there is most standards, it can be integrated into one that will eventually save a lot of time, effort and money.
   
   

5. Defined Roles and Responsibility: This is a such a strategic benefit for the organization. Better defined roles in the beginning itself means accountability thus less time spent in figuring out assigning roles on the go. Clear accountability translates into more productive working environment and less interference. Also, when leadership itself starts showcasing accountability, it acts as benchmark for rest of the team and gives a clear message to everyone on what the organization needs from each one.
   
   

6. Consistency: IMS approach provides can organization to create more consistent singular management system. This result is less complexity of processes, easy to understand and more focused approach towards organizational goals in large. Consistency here means even in the tiniest factors such as a common format for training records, common processes of training needs identification, communications, resource planning etc. When consistent processes are maintained to that level is when gaps between standard requirements and actual on ground implementation shrink.
   
   

7. Cost-Effectiveness: Organization’s productivity also lies on the fact how effectively one manages resources. IMS allows to integrate processes, optimizing manpower utilization, maximize machine utilizations, integrated assessments and audits and at the same time optimize on resources too. IMS helps in eliminating redundant processes, saves time and reduces cost eventually. This also means one can have one single certification audit as per the periodicity rather than engaging resources multiple times during the year.
    

8. Reduction In Effort of Maintenance: IMS once implemented, is not a one-time task, it needs to be ensured that implemented processes are effective throughout. This is difficult in the case when multiple management systems are implemented and not integrated. IMS allows the organization to establish/integrate existing processes in line with requirements and then on focus on continual improvement. 
   
   

9. Certification Audit: IMS allows for integrated certification audits by auditing agencies thus saves efforts, money and time for all. Usually, certification audit man-days depend on the size of organization and manpower. In an average organization of 250 employees, it is usually 3 man-days with almost 3 auditors at the same time. If an organization were to have different certifications and thus separate audits, the amount of money and time spend is huge. Also, even if separate audits were happening, impact of one system on the other remained a grey area and it was not assessed too. IMS fills such gaps and ensure a holistic approach.
   
   

Benefits are not just limited to these, there can be many depending on the size of organization, type of product, global presence, distributional channels, etc. Overall, IMS can be seen to benefit organization in achieving their goals and objectives.