Integration of quality, environmental and health and safety management systems: an examination of the key issues

This paper reports the main findings of a study of five manufacturing compa nies in relation to their attitudes to the integration of quality, environm ental and occupational health and safety management systems. It was found t hat less interest is shown in occupational health and safety management sys tems, ISO 14001 is preferred to EMAS and those organizations that have embr aced the principles and mechanisms of total quality management are more lik ely to pursue integration than those that have not. Integration of manageme nt systems is also seen more readily by those organizations that have opera tions involving high hazards. It is also pointed out that system integratio n can be achieved in a number of ways and at different levels which are exp lored in the paper.