Stanislav Karapetrovic

Integration of quality and environmental management systems

Discusses quality and environmental management systems integration. Concepts of a system and a “system of systems” are addressed, followed by a description of different management systems, and their interrelations and integration. Subsequently, strategies for integration of the quality system based on the ISO 9001 standard and the ISO 14001 environmental management system are presented. The harmonization of related audit sub‐systems, namely ISO 10011 and ISO 14010/11/12 is also addressed. Finally, a discussion on the development of a generic performance management system is provided.

Musings on integrated management systems

Because of the avalanche of management system standards for business functions ranging from quality and environment to corporate social responsibility, integration of management systems that these standards describe has become a popular topic of research and practice. This paper provides a summary of the most important issues regarding integrated management systems (IMS), including the main problem, the reasons behind it, the differing routes toward a solution, and the meaning of the solution itself. The overwhelming need for a solution points in the direction of a methodology for the integration of internal management systems, not an integrated standard. This paper illustrates one such methodology, and applies it to provide a foundation for and guide the construction of an IMS. Finally, it is argued that the future of IMS rests with the extension of its minimalistic requirements towards a set of comprehensive criteria able to steer the delivery of excellence to all stakeholders.

Strategies for the integration of management systems and standards

Due to the proliferation of function‐specific management systems and related standards, a need has emerged to somehow integrate them in order to reduce wasteful redundancies and possibly generate synergy effects. While the integration of the requirements of standards, for example ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, does not represent a major issue, doing the same for internal management systems may present a few obstacles. This paper discusses various ideas for the development of an integrated management system, together with the supporting audit methodologies. A two‐pronged model based on systems thinking is suggested for future work in this exciting area of research and practice.

Integration of management systems: focus on safety in the nuclear industry

The need to create integrated management systems (IMS) in order to handle the proliferation of management system standards is undeniable. There is also evidence in literature and practice that organizations are slowly starting to tackle the IMS issue, mainly by putting an integrated quality and environmental management system in place. Due to the existence of internationally accepted standards covering these two fields, namely ISO 9000 and 14000 series, such a scope of integration comes as no surprise. However, can and should other systems, for example, the ones for occupational health and safety, dependability, social accountability or complaints handling, be included? What would such an integration mean for the existing organizational structures and how could be it be accomplished? When we attempt to address IMS issues, do we really talk about the integration of standards, systems, both or neither? These and other important questions regarding IMS are addressed here. By means of an example from the nuclear industry, this paper focuses in particular on the integration of a safety management system within an IMS framework. Since safety is of such a paramount importance in nuclear plants, it makes sense to integrate safety requirements within a quality management system, as a possible first step in the integration efforts. Subsequently, other function‐specific requirements may be included to form a “real” IMS.

Integrating Sustainable Development into Existing Management Systems

Abstract Organizations are under increasing pressure from both outside and within to apply the principles of sustainable development to their operations. Although a variety of initiatives have been undertaken, many organizations have struggled with the implementation of the concept in practice. This paper addresses this issue by providing a framework for the integration of sustainable development into mainstream business systems. The proposed integrated management systems (IMS) model illustrates how existing management systems for quality, environment, occupational health and safety, and corporate social responsibility may be enhanced so that they are more reflective of sustainable development. Integration is considered from both a macro-level and a micro-level perspective. The macro-level perspective emphasizes a systems approach to viewing the IMS while the micro-level perspective considers integration on the basis of the models seven elements. The paper highlights that sustainable development cannot be viewed as a disconnected initiative and implementation requires integration with existing business infrastructure.

Has ISO 9000 lost some of its lustre? A longitudinal impact study

Purpose – Seeks to analyze changes in the perceived benefits and costs of ISO 9000 implementation over time.Design/methodology/approach – Results of two surveys, performed in 1998 and 2002, with 283 and 399 Catalonian companies participating, respectively, are presented, compared and analyzed.Findings – There has been a significant decrease in the perception of ISO 9000 implementation benefits from 1998 to 2002. However, most companies still believe that ISO 9000 is beneficial overall. ISO 9000 implementation and maintenance costs have substantially decreased in the same four‐year period.Research limitations/implications – In July 2002, when the second survey was conducted, the majority of the participating companies were still registered to one of the old versions of the standard, namely ISO 9001/2/3:1994. The findings support the notion that ISO 9000 standards are limited in providing a set of concrete benefits over time.Practical implications – The outcome of the study contributes to a better understan...

The erosion of ISO 9000 benefits: a temporal study

Purpose – To analyze the changes in the perceived benefits of ISO 9000 with the passage of time.Design/methodology/approach – An empirical survey of 399 companies conducted in 2002 in Catalonia (region of Spain).Findings – ISO 9001: 2000 registered organizations report benefits to a lesser extent than their ISO 9001/2/3: 1994 registered counterparts across all studied benefit categories. Considering that the new standard is supposed to be a much improved version of the old one, these findings are then contrasted with the results of an almost identical survey performed in 1998. The discussion demonstrates that the perceived benefits of the ISO 9001/2/3: 1994 implementation have also decreased over time.Research limitations/implications – These findings may indicate that ISO 9000 will eventually fade away due to the lack of short‐term reasons to implement yet another version in the future, unless substantial long‐term benefits are proven. In July 2002, when this survey was conducted, the number of ISO 9001:...

What happened to the ISO 9000 lustre? An eight-year study

The evolution of the benefits and costs of ISO 9001 registration over time is analysed through a four-year follow-up on the research published earlier in this journal (Casadesús & Karapetrovic, 2005a). A longitudinal empirical study was developed and conducted over a period of eight years, with three surveys administered in 1998, 2002 and 2006, respectively. More than 1000 companies based in Catalonia (Spain) took part in the study, which asked for their perceptions regarding the resources involved in and the outcomes of the implementation and registration of an ISO 9001-compliant quality management system. The results show a continued decrease in the benefits of ISO 9001 registration overall. However, the benefits which are directly related to the objectives of an ISO 9001 quality management system, as stated in the ISO 9001:2000 standard, are still dominant and reported by a large majority of companies. The study also found an additional decrease in the costs of implementing and maintaining the standard, and a further reduction in the average time needed for implementation, with reference to the initial (1998–2002) longitudinal research.

Systems thinking for the integration of management systems

This paper discusses how a systems approach to management can be used to facilitate the development and implementation of an integrated management system (IMS) in an organization. It is argued that any solution to address the rapidly growing need for the integration of function‐specific management systems requires two elements: a conceptual model and a supporting methodology. While the research on IMS modelling is fairly advanced, evidenced by a number of existing models that would probably qualify to provide the basis for integration, development of methodologies to achieve fully‐integrated systems is still lacking. This paper therefore provides a set of criteria for selection of the most appropriate IMS model, followed by a discussion of one such model based on the systems approach. The presented model can be used to integrate the requirements of existing and upcoming function‐specific management system standards, and provide a foundation for the top‐down integration of internal systems that these standards describe. Subsequently, a short discussion on the issue of the IMS methodology is given, and the paper concludes with a list of questions that will help researchers design a comprehensive IMS methodology.

Audit and self‐assessment in quality management: comparison and compatibility

In recent years, two performance evaluation methodologies have received significant attention in managerial circles: quality audit and self‐assessment. While the quality audit examines the compliance of a quality system with ISO 9000 standards and its suitability to achieve stated objectives, the self‐assessment measures organizational performance against a selected business excellence model. In a continuous improvement effort, an organization can lay out the groundwork by establishing an ISO 9000 quality system, and subsequently use an excellence model to enhance performance, thereby effectively applying both evaluation methodologies. This paper compares the principles and practices of quality audits and self‐assessments, for the purpose of examining their compatibility and providing the basis for integration. Numerous differences in the concepts, purpose, scope and methodology are illustrated, and self‐assessments are found to be more advantageous in enabling continuous improvement. However, it is concluded that audits and self‐assessments are compatible, and further research into the issues of enhancing both methodologies is suggested.