Management system standards: the key integration issues

This paper has identified five key issues and four major questions regardin g the integration of quality, environmental and occupational health and saf ety management systems and standards. These issues and questions were teste d, using four distinct methods, in order to assess their relevance and to d etermine their importance. One of the major findings is that what organizat ions mean by integration depends to a great extent on what they want it to mean. However, if the culture and climate do not match their aims then the resulting integrated management system is likely to be no more than a mergi ng of system documentation. The findings have also revealed two approaches to integration which reflect both the differences in culture and the needs of organizations. They are a merging of the documentation (the aligned appr oach), and implementation of an integrated management system (IMS) through a total quality approach.