ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 management systems: Integration, costs and benefits for construction companies

Abstract

Integrated Management Systems (IMS) that combined ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 into a single management system were introduced in the construction industry in recent years. These strived to improve an organization's quality, environmental and occupational health and safety aspects. The common platform and differences between ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems, ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems and OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Systems were discussed. This study examines the costs and benefits of implementing IMS and whether construction firms experience significant improvement upon IMS certification. This was conducted through survey and interviews of 30 construction companies in Singapore. The costs and benefits arising from IMS were identified. It was found that larger firms reaped more benefits and incurred lesser costs but the difference was not significantly great. Most of the companies also believed that the benefits of IMS outweighed its costs. The study also revealed that most of the companies strived for IMS certification voluntarily. Only a small number of them strived for IMS because of regulatory requirements that compelled them to do so.