Certifiable standard
ISO 9001 — Quality Management
The international standard for quality management systems: consistent processes, controlled documents, measured performance and evidenced improvement.
Standards › IMS
Implementation approachIMS — Integrated Management Systems
One management system meeting several standards at once — commonly ISO 9001 + 14001 + 45001 — with one document set, one audit programme and one review, instead of parallel systems.
What it covers
Not a standard but a way of implementing several: shared context, leadership, planning, support and improvement elements, with topic-specific controls only where the disciplines genuinely differ.
Who it is for
Any organisation holding or pursuing more than one certification. For SMEs an IMS is usually the difference between a system people use and three binders nobody opens.
Key requirement themes
- One policy framework and one set of objectives with QHSE dimensions
- One risk and opportunity process feeding all disciplines
- One document control, training, audit and review machinery
- Discipline-specific operational controls where needed (e.g. permits, aspects, ITPs)
Theme-level description in our own words — the standard itself defines the requirements, and no standard text is reproduced here.
Construction-sector relevance
The SHEQ System document library is built this way: one catalogue where each document declares which standards it serves, so a RAMS procedure evidences ISO 45001 and ISO 9001 at once instead of being duplicated.
Benefits
- Roughly one system’s overhead for multiple certificates
- Combined external audits reduce fees and disruption
- One version of the truth for site teams
Common gaps we find
- Three systems stapled together and called integrated
- Integrated manual but separate unaligned audits
- Ownership split so nobody owns the whole
Typical documents
- Integrated policy and manual
- Combined objectives
- Single audit programme
- Combined management review
Typical evidence
- One audit trail serving all standards
- Combined review minutes
- Shared corrective action process
Certification-readiness route
We take organisations to the point where an accredited certification body can assess them with confidence: gap analysis → implementation → operating evidence → internal audit and management review → readiness review. The assessment and the certificate belong to the certification body; our role ends at prepared-and-ready, and continues afterwards only as support.
Related standards
Certifiable standard
ISO 14001 — Environmental Management
The international standard for environmental management systems: identify your environmental aspects, control the significant ones, meet your legal obligations and improve.
Certifiable standard
ISO 45001 — Occupational Health & Safety
The international standard for occupational health and safety management systems. It replaced OHSAS 18001, which was withdrawn when migration ended in 2021.
Certifiable standard
ISO 27001 — Information Security
The international standard for information security management systems: protecting the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the information you hold.
Free checklist: Integrated Management System checklist — printable, no email wall.
Questions we are actually asked
Can we be certified to an IMS?
You are certified to each standard individually, but a certification body can audit them together against your integrated system — usually cheaper and less disruptive than separate visits.
Should we integrate from day one?
If you know you will need two or more standards, yes — building integrated is far easier than merging systems later.
Does integration dilute safety?
Done properly, the opposite: safety controls keep their specific depth while borrowing the stronger document, audit and review machinery of the combined system.
Professional disclaimer: this page is orientation, not advice on your specific circumstances, and not a reproduction of any standard. Implementation support, templates and platform tools do not confer certification or legal compliance; certification decisions rest solely with independent certification bodies, and legal duties apply regardless of certification.