What an integrated management system is
An integrated management system is a single set of management arrangements that meets the requirements of more than one standard. ISO 45001 and ISO 14001 are both written to ISO’s common high-level structure for management system standards, with the same main clauses and much shared terminology, so they integrate naturally.
Integration does not mean merging everything into one document. It means running shared processes once, and keeping the subject-specific parts distinct and properly done.
The advantages
- Shared management system architecture, so people learn one way of working
- Reduced duplication of procedures, records and meetings
- Coordinated document control across both disciplines
- Common management review arrangements, giving top management one complete picture
- An integrated internal audit programme that audits processes once against both standards
- A consistent approach to risk, using the same methods for assessing and prioritising
- Improved organisational oversight of compliance obligations and performance
- Coordinated objectives and improvement activity
What stays distinct
- Hazard identification and OH&S risk assessment are different from identifying environmental aspects and impacts, and each needs its own method and expertise.
- Consultation and participation of workers is specific to ISO 45001 and must remain genuine.
- Legal requirements differ by subject, even when they are held in one register and evaluated the same way.
- Emergency scenarios differ, from injuries and fires to spills and pollution incidents.
How integration works in practice
- Map what you have. Review existing systems, certificates, documents and the people who run them.
- Identify shared processes. Typically policy, roles, document control, competence, communication, internal audit, management review and corrective action.
- Design a common framework. Agree how the shared processes will work for both standards.
- Build the subject-specific processes. OH&S risk assessment and worker consultation, environmental aspects and compliance obligations.
- Align objectives and planning, so health and safety and environmental objectives are planned and reviewed together.
- Run an integrated internal audit. Audit processes once against both standards.
- Hold a combined management review covering both disciplines.
- Prepare for certification. Your certification body decides whether to audit the standards together or separately. International accreditation rules (IAF MD 11) set out how certification bodies audit integrated systems, including when audit time can be adjusted.
Common starting points
- Certified to ISO 14001, adding ISO 45001
The system structure already exists. The work centres on OH&S hazard identification and risk assessment, legal requirements, operational controls and worker consultation, built into your existing processes.
- Certified to ISO 45001, adding ISO 14001
The work centres on environmental aspects and impacts, compliance obligations, environmental controls and emergency preparedness, using your existing system framework.
- Implementing both together
Designing one framework from the start avoids building two systems and merging them later.
Our consultancy covers ISO 45001 and ISO 14001. If you already operate an ISO 9001 quality management system, the health and safety and environmental elements can be built into its existing structure, while quality-specific requirements remain with your quality lead.
Integration consultancy is not certification
We help you design and run the integrated system. Certification is carried out by an independent, accredited certification body, which certifies each standard against its own requirements. We are not a certification body and do not issue certificates.
Optional software support
Some clients use Featherstone Safety Hub, our separate health and safety software, to keep parts of their management system running between audits. Its features include a document register with version control, corrective action tracking, inspection and incident records and training records, and the Professional plan adds an environmental aspect register and legal compliance log.
It is entirely optional. Using it does not make a management system conform to ISO 45001 or ISO 14001 on its own, and the software itself is not ISO certified.
We are based in Oxfordshire and support London organisations remotely and on site by arrangement. We do not have a London office.
Why Featherstone Safety
Featherstone Safety Ltd is an independent UK occupational health and safety consultancy providing ISO management system consultancy and implementation support. Thomas Featherstone holds the NEBOSH International General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety and IOSH Managing Safely, is a Technical Member of IOSH (TechIOSH), and has eight years in safety-critical work.
- Systems that match the work. We build processes around how your organisation actually operates, so they survive contact with an auditor and with day-to-day pressure.
- Independent of certification. We are not a certification body, we do not issue certificates and we have no commercial tie to any certification body.
- Practical site experience. Recent work includes on-site health and safety advisory and observation support during the delivery and installation of a 300 tonne super grid transformer. That was health and safety advisory work, not ISO consultancy, and it is not an endorsement of our ISO services.
Read more about Thomas Featherstone or see our case studies.
Frequently asked questions
Can ISO 45001 and ISO 14001 be integrated?
Yes. Both follow ISO’s common high-level structure, so shared processes such as policy, document control, competence, internal audit, management review and corrective action can be run once for both standards, while OH&S risks and environmental aspects are still assessed in their own right.
Can an existing ISO 14001 system be integrated with ISO 45001?
Yes, and it is a common route. The existing framework is extended with OH&S hazard identification and risk assessment, health and safety legal requirements, operational controls and worker consultation and participation.
Do we receive one certificate or two?
That depends on the certification body. Each standard is certified against its own requirements; some bodies issue separate certificates and some issue a combined certificate listing both standards.
Does integration reduce certification audit time?
It can. Accredited certification bodies follow international rules (IAF MD 11) for auditing integrated management systems, which allow audit time to be adjusted where the system is genuinely integrated. The certification body makes that decision.
Do we have to integrate our systems?
No. Organisations can run ISO 45001 and ISO 14001 as separate systems. Integration is usually more efficient where the same people manage both, but it is a choice.