The implementation of integrated management systems in construction, together with cost and time controls, is recognised as an effective tool to optimise the resources to implement and maintain environmental, quality and occupational safety and health systems. The objective is to promote the improvement of the quality of the constructed facility (a building, a bridge, a road), to reduce the environmental pollution and to reduce the occupational accidents and professional diseases. Societal demands (environment), client's demands (quality, including cost and time constraints) and workers’ demands (occupational safety and health), as well as legislative requirements, are the primary forces leading the industry to a better quality of life for all parties.

To achieve this objective on a construction project there is a need to act, beginning at the inception, design and planning phase of the project through its execution and utilisation/exploitation phases. Owners and company managers play a strong role in this objective. They should define the policy for each project, considering and prioritising their concerns, not only on cost and time as traditionally, but also taking into account the environmental, quality and occupational safety and health issues. They should also give the authority and power to those who are assigned by them (or acting on their behalf) the responsibility to implement and maintain their policy, and allocate the human and material resources that are needed to carry out the policy.

The practical implementation of any policy is mainly a problem of organisation and responsibility - the two "columns" of any management system. In this paper, an approach to implementing an integrated management system in relevant construction projects based on ISO 9001:2000 is presented and discussed taking into the standards ISO 14001:1996 (environment) and ISO 10006:2003 (quality management in projects), as well as the ILO/OSH 2001 guide for the implementation of safety and health management systems.

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