Quality management and environmental health and safety (EHS) have traditionally existed as siloed processes and roles in most organizations. It’s easy to see why, given the forces that have shaped quality and safety during their history.

Modern quality management was born from the post-World War II era of increased competition during a rapidly growing global economy. Alternatively, EHS management grew out of the labor movement and high-profile environmental disasters during the past several decades.

However, recent years have seen a shift away from the siloed management of these functions. Today, many manufacturers have started integrating EHS and quality, usually by placing them under a combined leadership role.

So what’s driving the shift, and what are the potential benefits for companies that integrate EHS and quality systems? Here we examine this approach and how the quality management system (QMS) fits into it.

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