Companies looking to establish or further develop an Integrated Management System (IMS) often face similar questions:

• What are the reasons for undertaking an integration project, and what improvements can it bring? What challenges can be expected during implementation?
• What management systems do other companies currently use, and which of these systems are they integrating? What are the future trends in management systems?
• How can an IMS be structurally embedded? Who implements it? How can the integration be supported? How is an IMS documented?

Until now, these questions could only be answered to a limited extent based on empirical evidence, as there was a lack of current and comprehensive data on the implementation status of IMS in the DACH region.

To close this research gap, the integrated management systems team (TIMS) at the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences, with support from TÜV Rheinland, Quality Austria, and the Swiss Association for Quality and Management Systems (SQS), conducted a broad-based survey as well as supplementary focus group workshops.

Between 2023 and 2025, the results were evaluated both quantitatively and qualitatively and presented in numerous academic and practical formats. These included, among others, the SQS Auditor Day, networking events organized by the German Society for Quality (DGQ), publications in the journal “Quality, Management Systems, Sustainability” (QZ), at the Association for Safety, Health, and Environmental Protection at Work (VDSI), and on the SQS blog.

The broad interest demonstrates that the study addresses a previously existing information gap. Consequently, the results have not only been discussed in various professional circles but have also been incorporated into the development of new continuing education programs. In collaboration with SQS, a seminar on integrated management systems was developed; this seminar has been successfully offered in Switzerland for some time and will also be available in the future as a TIMS continuing education course through DIN Media.

The publication of the study’s results as a DIN white paper by DIN Media represents special recognition of its technical relevance. This makes the findings accessible through an established and professionally recognized publication channel. The white paper is available free of charge to all companies and organizations that operate, implement, or plan to implement an IMS, as well as to universities, consulting firms, and other supporting entities.

Anyone interested in learning more about how the study came about, which findings particularly surprised the research team, and what the key findings of the study are can find further insights in the interview with the study leaders at DIN Media.

Since requirements, framework conditions, and future topics in the field of management systems are constantly evolving, the DACH study is scheduled to be conducted again in five years at the latest.

Results like these are made possible above all through teamwork. I would therefore like to extend special thanks to my colleague Stefanie Kast for the methodological conception of the questionnaire design, for the careful evaluation of the results, for the many professionally enriching discussions, and for her significant contribution to the preparation of the final report, which was ultimately published as a DIN white paper. In addition to Stefanie Kast, I would like to thank my colleague and long-time sparring partner on IMS topics, Markus Will, for jointly conducting the relevant webinars and for our collaboration on publishing the study results in a wide variety of formats.