A management system for your company provides the structure, direction and accountability for the people who perform the work of your organization. It is the framework that your company employs to set goals and strategies, as well as the tools you use by your team members to achieve the results you desire whether it’s to comply with the legal requirements for occupational safety or to improve profits through leaner processes.
Management systems are founded on the belief that tasks can in theory manage themselves if all processes are documented and responsibilities are assigned. This is not always true in reality, but it is the aim that companies aim for when they introduce company management systems.
This logic applies to virtually every management system, whether they are focused on sustainability, quality and energy or information security. They are all the same in terms of their primary functions: plan activities, carry out, evaluate metrics and then continuously improve. This is why there are a lot of similar tools on the market.
It’s not practical to run multiple systems simultaneously because management systems are used in every aspect of a business and typically have a cross-functional focus. The idea of creating a management system that is not compatible with the one you already have for quality management for example, can result in unnecessary burdens for employees and does not make much sense from an ISO perspective too. This is why it is becoming increasingly important to use a management system application that brings together several existing and new systems under a single umbrella.