Why IMS? – The benefits of having an integrated management system

An integrated management system is a description of the organization’s common practices. It is a tool that helps the organization reach its targets. It enables an organization to aggregate fragmented practices and guidelines into a more easily adopted, coherent, and up-to-date operational framework.

Implementing quality and strategy management

At its best, an integrated management system helps an organization achieve its goals. Guidance, documentation and indicators created to ensure consistent operations help the organization implement quality management.

Process description emphasizes looking at an organization’s performance as a whole, generates new thinking, facilitates action planning, and assists in solving organizational problems.

Metrics can be set process-by-process, aligning them with the organization’s strategy: significant benchmarks are set, action plans are drawn up and monitoring is initiated. Systematic monitoring can help to further develop operations and processes. It provides the organization with up-to-date information on how to achieve its goals and act according to its strategy.

Enabling the development and maintenance of consistent operations

An integrated management system effectively facilitates the development and maintenance of consistent operations aligned with an organization’s goals and external requirements such as different standards.

An integrated management can be built with the requirements of a particular framework in mind. Such frameworks include various standards and their certifications that require auditing, such as ISO 14001. It is also good to keep in mind that even if a certain framework significantly influences operations, an effective management system should primarily be built to meet the needs of the organization itself.

In addition to guiding the operations of an organization, the policies and solutions described by the integrated management system can also be approached from the perspective of customer needs, and the expectations and requirements of authorities and other stakeholders.

Measuring performance and identifying risks

Besides process description, an integrated management system essentially includes metrics and risk identification. By systematically monitoring and analyzing its activities, an organization is able to develop its processes and bring practical learning into common operating models.

Measuring results allows an organization to compare its performance with its industry and identify potential risk factors in its operations. Measurement can be used to verify the goals set for an activity. At the same time, potential obstacles are identified and operations can be developed in a manner appropriate to the situation.

Managing by knowledge

When the employees know what is expected of them and management has up-to-date information on how to carry out their tasks, it is possible to verify the effectiveness of the organization’s strategic and operational activities.

An integrated management system enables an organization to identify the details and entities of its operations that are relevant to the customer, personnel, processes, and economy. Decisions on necessary changes can be based on documented information rather than guesswork.

Engaging employees in business development and supporting a self-directed organizational culture

An integrated management system can be described as a development platform in which the activities of an organization can be planned, implemented and measured according to the principles of continuous improvement. The operations of organizations are process-like, and an integrated management system is the platform that contain these essential policies i.e. processes.

Repeating defined processes in the same way each time will improve performance and allow the organizational community to focus on its core activities, and at the individual level, its core competencies.

With the guidelines and hierarchy of actions recorded in the management system, it is possible to grow self-direction within the organization. When everyone has access to the guidance and documentation relevant to their role, independent decision-making based on knowledge becomes easier.

IMS Software is a platform for building an integrated management system

Arter’s IMS Software is an integrated management system platform for the entire organization. The browser-based cloud service is easy to use, customizable and scalable. IMS contains the direction and goals set by management, as well as the instructions and procedures needed for the personnel to achieve their goals derived from the strategy.

An integrated management system brings the organization’s processes, documents, manuals, metrics, reports and risk assessment in one place. This way, IMS makes ensuring high-quality, environmentally friendly, and safe operations possible.