Integrated management systems based on risk assessment: Methodology development and case studies

Abstract

The implementation of management systems in organizations is often based on a “blind” meeting of requirements set by the selected standard, while these requirements are not in direct relation to the risks of the organizations. Therefore, it often happens that the established management system is not operational or is not aligned with the context and real needs of the organization. This paper presents general model for the design of an integrated management system based on risk assessment of organization’s processes. The model was based on the primary hypothesis that a process that has a higher risk should be described in more detail in order to be adequately realized. The presented Model was tested on three diverse companies which had already implemented management systems according to international standards. Comparing the existing with the projected documentation in three companies, it was concluded that the number, scope and structure of documented information were optimized for successful risk management, which lowers the overall costs and enables efficient management of the company. The paper provides scientific approach and methodology for designing the integrated management system in any organization, using existing risks as universal integrating factor. © 2020 CPE, University of Maribor. All rights reserved.