An integrated management system (IMS) combines various management systems (e.g. quality, environmental, occupational health and safety, information security, energy and asset management) into a single, overall comprehensive, and harmonised management system.

What does IMS mean in safety?

Integrated management systems (IMS) certification is a holistic approach that combines multiple aspects of an organisation’s performance in order to meet the requirements of several management system standards.

What do you mean by IMS?

An Integrated Management System (IMS) combines all aspects of an organisation’s systems, processes and Standards into one smart system. This merger allows a business to streamline its management, save time and increase efficiency by addressing all elements of the management system as a whole.

A successful IMS cuts the unnecessary hassle and work of multiple management systems. For example, instead of holding audits for each Standard, you will only need to hold one. An IMS allows these processes to be combined so that they simultaneously cover all Standard-specific requirements. Integration is now seamless thanks to the Annex SL high-level structure.

Annex SL-based Standards share a similar structure of 10 clauses, which makes it much easier to see the similarities and shared processes of each Standard.

What is IMS and why it is required?

An Integrated Management System (IMS) integrates all of an organization’s systems and processes into one complete framework, enabling an organization to work as a single unit with unified objectives.

What is IMS requirements?

What is required to ensure effective integrated management systems? – To ensure effective systems, the following functions must be performed:

Risk Assessment- this should address customer perceptions, health & safety risks, environmental concerns & impacts and process failure modes. By having a common approach it will be easier to compare risks occurring in different parts of the business. Norms & Regulations Management – to capture norms and regulations with respect to product specifications, environment and health & safety and their impacts on the business. Continual Improvement Management – this should focus on specific improvement programmes related to quality, health & safety and environment. Stakeholders Awareness – this should address needs of both customers, staff and general public with respect to quality, health & safety and environment

What does IMS mean in public health?

Use of public health emergency operations center (PH-EOC) and adaptation of incident management system (IMS) for efficient inter-sectoral coordination and collaboration for effective control of Dengue fever outbreak in Pakistan – 2019 , July 2021, 105910 Public Health Emergency Operations Center (PH-EOC) and Incident Management System (IMS) provides a platform for inter-sectoral coordination, and collaboration to enhance efficiency of response activities and help in effective control of disease outbreaks.

Dengue fever (DF) is an emerging serious public health threat with a potential to transform into a public health emergency. Pakistan faced a heavy outbreak of Dengue fever (DF) from August to December 2019. National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad activated its Public Health Emergency Operations Center (PH-EOC) with an objective to implement principles and practices of IMS for control of the outbreak.

The challenges during inter-sectoral collaboration for response activities were also identified. PH-EOC was activated on 16th September 2019, and remained operational for next 81 days till 05th December 2019. Incident management structure, incident action plan (IAP), and risk communication plan was developed and executed during this phase.

Daily morning and evening meetings were held during all operational days. Federal and provincial health departments, district health offices (DHO), and government/private hospitals were coordinated for collection of the data pertaining to Dengue confirmed cases and deaths. As of 05th December 2019, a total of 52,877 confirmed Dengue cases were reported from all across Pakistan with maximum cases reported from Rawalpindi and Islamabad collectively i.e.20,988 (40%), followed by Karachi 14,768 (28%), and Peshawar 2,699 (5%), while AJK reported 1,690 (3%).

A total of 92 deaths happened all across Pakistan, out of which 43 (47%) happened in Karachi, 23 (25%) in Rawalpindi, and 22 (24%) in Islamabad. The response was coordinated through NIH based PH-EOC, but was carried out by relevant federal and provincial district health offices, vector surveillance programs, dengue control programs and sanitation departments respectively.

As a part of response plan, vector surveillance, larva source management, and insecticidal spraying i.e. both fogging and indoor residual spraying activities were carried out in hotspots or the areas where confirmed cases were reported. Sanitation departments daily reported the removal of additional 80–100 ton of solid waste from hotspot areas.

Hospitals were coordinated for reporting of isolation of DF patients and provision of quality clinical management for admitted patients. The International Federation for Red Cross/Crescent conducted community awareness, and covered 28,800 households in affected areas of Islamabad.

1. Conversely, the DF outbreak was controlled 02-03 weeks ahead of previous years trends.
2. All the coordinated activities were incorporated in a daily situation report (SitRep) and this was widely distributed among all the stakeholders through emails.
3. Additionally, the data was displayed on the dashboard in PH-EOC.

The data dashboard at PH-EOC served as an information management hub that visually mapped, tracked, analyzed, and displayed clusters of DF cases and hotspots. Accordingly, SitRep substantiated as the main reporting tool to monitor response activities initiated by rapid response teams at the national and subnational level.

• The inter-sectoral coordinating efforts made among concerned line departments resulted in a timely response leading to effective handling of a national public health threat.
• The information distilled from this experience was that the early and judicious activation of PH-EOC with adaptation of IMS under decision making leadership resulted in a well-managed and prompt response executed by different departments/stakeholders, and effective control of the outbreak before its transformation into a public health event/emergency of national or international concern.

Public health emergencies including infectious diseases outbreaks are situations with a potential to overpower the routine response capacities of a community to control it (Khan et al., 2018a; Nelson et al., 2007). Public health emergencies can span over a variable period with an unprecedented volume, magnitude, and scale (Quinn et al., 2018).

• The disastrous impact of a public emergency varies with the level of preparedness of all relevant stakeholders and resilience of the society.
• The public health emergency preparedness (PHEP) is not only limited to prevention, mitigation and recovery activities but also includes the ability of a system to quickly respond to the emergency and timely execution of the tasks (Rose et al., 2017).

The preparedness and response for any public health emergency is a collaborative effort of government organizations, private institutions, non-governmental agencies, business entities, and active community members (Moore et al., 2007; ; McCabe et al., 2010).

1. The PHEP plan is built upon existing public health systems, and is integrated with routine public health functions, whereas Incidence Management System (IMS) is always an integral part of preparedness (Nelson et al., 2007).
2. IMS provides a common platform for inter-sectoral coordination to perform emergency response and control activities regardless of scale/scope of the emergency or its predicted impact (Quinn et al., 2018).

An emergency operations center (EOC) is a physical location for the coordination of information and resources to support incident management activities. Research and experience has shown that timely implementation of PH-EOC provide an essential platform for the effective management of public health emergencies, and can help avoid common failings such as lack of clear leadership leading to delayed decision making, mismanagement of resources and poor coordination.

• Inter-sectoral and intra-sectoral collaboration through PH-EOC among partners is the key to successful implementation of the disease control strategy.
• PH-EOC is a more coordinated approach than the individual and independent efforts of different sectors or departments, and provides a platform for partners to resolve cross and intra-agency issues and to share best practices while reducing duplication of efforts.

Networking through operational PHEOC also helps to leverage the strengths of partners and to synergize their efforts, thereby enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of actions for disease prevention and control. An Incident Management system (IMS) is an emergency management structure, and set of protocols that provides an approach to guiding government agencies, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, and other actors to work in a coordinated manner primarily to respond to, and mitigate the effects of all types of public health emergencies.

1. In developed countries, IMS has become a standard model for response, and control of public health emergencies with the explicit and defined role of Incident manager (Burkle et al., 2007).
2. In Pakistan, use of PH-EOC and implementation of IMS structure under unified command, and inter-sectoral coordination is not a common practice to control infectious disease outbreaks or any other prevailing public health emergency.

Nevertheless, one of the most common threats to human health, and economy are diseases spread by vectors; the most common of which are Dengue fever (DF), Zika, Malaria, Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever and Japanese Encephalitis (Danasekaran et al., 2014).

1. These vector borne diseases consequently exert a heavy burden on the health sector, and slow down human development, which is evident from the fact that high burden of vector borne diseases is faced mainly by under developed countries (Gubler, 1998; Reyes et al., 2019).
2. DF outbreaks are serious public threats with a potential to transform into public health emergencies.

DF is a mosquito-borne viral disease that has rapidly spread in all regions of WHO in recent years (WHO, 2020). One modeling estimate suggests that nearly 390 million people get DF virus infection every year, and out of these 96 million cases are noticeable clinically, while 70% of these cases occur in Asia (Bhatt et al., 2013).

DF virus is transmitted by female mosquitoes mainly of the species Aedes aegypti, and to a lesser extent, Aedes albopictus. These mosquitoes are also vectoring the chikungunya, yellow fever and Zika viruses. DF is caused by a virus of the Flaviviridae family, and there are four distinct but closely related serotypes of the virus; DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3 and DENV-4(WHO, 2020).

The disease burden status of DF changed significantly in Europe and American region, and now they are also facing regular DF outbreaks (Medlock et al., 2018; Butter worth et al., 2017). For the last 30 years, Pakistan is endemic for Dengue fever (Rana et al., 2020; Haqqi et al., 2021).

First ever case was documented in 1982 from Punjab province of Pakistan (Wasay et al., 2008). DF cases were also recorded in 1994, 1995, and 1997 with most cases being recorded from Karachi. In 2006, DF cases were reported from north of Pakistan, and approximately 5800 cases were reported from across the country (Chan et al., 1995; Zubair et al., 2016).

The largest outbreak of DF was reported in 2011 in Lahore with 22,562 cases and 363 deaths (Khan et al., 2018b). Another sizable outbreak was observed in Peshawar during 2017 in which 24,807 cases and 69 deaths occurred (Khan et al., 2019). The number of dengue cases spiked up in recent years.

According to Ministry of National Health Services Regulation & Cordination (MoNHSRC), Government of Pakistan DF cases reported in 2017 were 22,934, in 2018 were 3204, in 2019 were 53,498, and in 2020 were 6016. Dengue has a distinct epidemiological patterns, and indeed not only has an alarming impact on human health but also carries grave implications on the global and national economies.

On 31st August 2019, print media reported about 200 Dengue fever (DF) suspected cases in Karachi, while on 2nd September 2019, another report was published in print media about increased number of DF cases in Peshawar i.e.1200 cases in 25 days (Yusufzai, 2019).

In response to these reports, Field Epidemiology & Disease Surveillance Division (FEDSD) of National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad collected surveillance data of DF from its provincial Disease Surveillance and Response Units On 16th September 2019, the disease data situation was analyzed again, and an increase in trend of DF cases throughout the country was observed.

To cater this situation objectives framed were that; the basis of disease surveillance data would be broadened, data would be analyzed on daily basis to uncover real time DF situations in the country, and effective linkages with provinces would be developed to mitigate the situation through efficient inter-sectoral coordination and collaboration with As of 05th December 2019, a total of 52,877 confirmed DF cases were reported from all across Pakistan.

The maximum number of cases i.e.20,988 (40%) were reported from Rawalpindi and Islamabad collectively followed by Karachi 14,768 (28%) and Peshawar 2699 (5%), while AJK reported only 1690 (3%). The other areas with reported cases were Lahore, Sargodha, Gujranwala, Gujrat & Faisalabad in Punjab; Swat, Swabi, Mansehra, Haripur, Mardan, Lower Dir & DI Khan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; Hyderabad in In order to know the active hotspots, confirmed cases were plotted in district-wise manner.

It was revealed from mapping of the cases that there were four host spot districts contributing approximately 75–80% of cases on daily basis which were Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and Karachi (Figure-4). The cases were concentrated in these 04 districts throughout the outbreak period.

1. The hot spots within Islamabad were Sectors G-6 & G-7, Bara Kahu, Tarlai, Sohan, Koral, and Rawat.
2. In Rawalpindi Blood samples were collected from hotspots, and analyzed for DF virus (DENV) serotypes.
3. From Rawalpindi 117 samples were received out of which 109 (93%) were serotyped as DENV-2 while 08 (7%) were found to be DENV-1.

From Islamabad, 75 samples were collected out of which 51 (72%) were DENV-2 and 23 (28%) were DENV-1, while one sample was found to be positive for both DENV-1 and DENV-2 as a concurrent strain. Inter-sectoral coordination was carried out on the basis of daily national situation of DF cases reported by different health departments involved in surveillance and response activities.

The departments involved were Dengue Control & Operations Cell in Ministry of National Health Services Regulation & Coordination (MoNHSR&C), Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Federal General Polyclinic Hospital, Federal General Hospital, District Health Office (DHO) Islamabad, district administrations, In last week of November 2019, results of surveillance data analysis revealed that daily cases decrease was 95 to 99% from their peak in all hotspot areas, except in Karachi where decrease in the peak cases observed was 70%, while other areas were showing continuous downward trend.

These results clearly showed that the outbreak was controlled across the country. This decrease in cases, and control of the outbreak was approximately 2–3 weeks earlier as compared to previous years trend, and this It was the first time in the history of NIH, Pakistan that PH-EOC was activated in response to any disease incidence or outbreak, and its operations were carried out as per principles and practices of incident management system (IMS).

It was opted as a standardized approach to command, control, and coordinate emergency response activities for control of DF outbreak by providing a common hierarchy within which responders from multiple agencies were effectively organized. After action reviews The outcomes achieved by activation of PH-EOC through incident management system (IMS) during DF outbreak explicitly exhibited a need to further utilize this standardized mechanism for effective control, and response towards other diseases outbreaks as well.

This system depends on efficient coordination, collaboration, and communication models among different departments, and organizations with a clear command & control chain. There is a need to develop and implement a policy framework so that Literature is published from different countries regarding use of IMS for large scale disasters (Buck et al., 2006; Moynihan, 2009), and infectious disease emergencies (Adams et al., 2010; Olu et al., 2016; Shuaib et al., 2017).

• However, no report is previously published from Pakistan at national or international level regarding use of IMS for control of any disease outbreak.
• Pakistan is experiencing DF cases since long, and first report of DF cases was published in 1982 (Wasay et al., 2008), The successful control of DF outbreak by activation of PH-EOC at NIH through adaptation of IMS as a standardized approach for the management and coordination of emergency response provided a common hierarchy for response staff during DF outbreak.

The outcomes demonstrated that the health system of Pakistan is not that fragile, and has developed a capacity to respond to any infectious disease outbreak or public health threat. By opting IMS, planning was more effective, response was well Not applicable.

Not applicable. Not applicable. AI, RMS, and MWM conceptualized the study. JAA, MAK and MWM supervised the investigations of the study, and managed the resources. TRR, NA, RB, WW, MAT, and MAQ carried out data curation, and formal analysis. MWM and HA wrote the original draft. AI and RMS reviewed the original draft.

MWM, TRR, MAK and HA contributed in reviewing and editing of the subseqent revisions received from the journal. All the authors approved the final version of manuscript. The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest or financial disclosure about this publication.

The authors are thankful to Dr. Massab Umair, Dr. Moeen Iqbal, Dr. Shafiq-ur-Rehman, Dr. Amna Ali, Nazia Hassan Khakwani, Sana Abbassi, Alya Jabeen, Nazish Badar, Nadia Nisar, Ahmed Ali, and all other colleagues of Field Epidemiology & Disease Surveillance Division and Public Laboratories Division of National Institute of Health, Islamabad for their moral and official support for completion of this study.

The authors are also thankful to all the staff of provincial health departments for their

Y.C. Chan et al. A. Khan et al. A. Ali et al. Ali Abdullah et al. E.H. Adams et al. D.A. Buck et al. M.K. Butterworth et al. F.M. Burkle et al. S. Bhatt et al. R. Danasekaran et al.

J.M. dlock et al. T.M. Fiorito et al. D.J. Gabler A. Haqqi et al. Y. Khan et al. J. Khan et al.

Mosquito-borne diseases, particularly dengue and chikungunya have become global threats, infecting millions of people worldwide, including developing countries of Southeast Asia and Latin America. Bangladesh, like many other developing countries, is experiencing frequent dengue outbreaks. This article, therefore, critically discussed the current status of dengue disease, vector control approaches, and the need for Wolbachia -mediated intervention in Bangladesh and other dengue-endemic developing countries. In this narrative review study, relevant literature was searched from major databases and search engines such as PubMed, BanglaJol, World Health Organization (WHO)/European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and Google Scholar. Considering the selection criteria, our search strategies finally involved 55 related literature for further investigation. Findings showed that current vector control strategies could not render protection for an extended period, and the disease burden of arboviruses is increasing. The impoverished outbreak preparedness, urbanization, climate change, and less efficacy of existing control methods have made people susceptible to vector-borne diseases. Hence, Wolbachia, a naturally occurring endosymbiont of many mosquito species that can potentially limit virus transmission through several host genetic alterations, would be a potential alternative for dengue prevention. We also critically discussed the challenges and prospects of Wolbachia -based dengue control in developing countries. The evidence supporting the efficacy and safety of this intervention and its mechanism have also been elucidated. Empirical evidence suggests that this introgression method could be an eco-friendly and long-lasting dengue control method. This review would help the policymakers and health experts devise a scheme of Wolbachia -based dengue control that can control mosquito-borne diseases, particularly dengue in Bangladesh and other developing countries.

Traditionally, efficacy of Praziquantel (PZQ) is monitored using Parasitological Cure Rates and Egg Reduction Rates applying Kato Katz (KK) technique. This parasitological technique has a number of limitations. Recently, the Point-of-Care Circulating Cathodic Antigen (POC-CCA) rapid test which is a highly sensitive technique, has emerged as a promising candidate to be used for evaluating the efficacy of PZQ. A prospective longitudinal study was conducted among 399 school children aged 7–17 years on Ijinga Island, north-western Tanzania. At baseline and three weeks after treatment, stool and urine samples were collected from participating school children and screened for S. mansoni infection using the KK technique as well as POC-CCA test. All S. mansoni infected children at baseline were treated with 40mg/kg of PZQ and followed up after three weeks. At baseline, the overall prevalence of S. mansoni infection was 56.6% (95%CI: 51.7–61.4) and 99.7% (95%CI: 98.2–99.9) (considering trace as positive) using KK technique and POC-CCA test, respectively. Three weeks after treatment, the prevalence of S. mansoni was 0.92% using the KK technique and 97.7% when applying the POC-CCA test. The parasitological cure rates based on KK technique and POC-CCA were 99.1% (95%CI: 97.5–99.8) and 2.3% (95%CI: 1.2–4.5). Egg Reduction Rate was 99.1%. Based on WHO guidelines using the KK technique, at three weeks point, the efficacy of PZQ is satisfactory. However, the assessment of the efficacy of PZQ using POC-CCA tests needs further evaluation. Plasmodium relictum is the most common generalist avian malaria parasite, which was reported in over 300 bird species of different orders, particularly often in passerines. This malaria infection is often severe in non-accustomed avian hosts. Currently, five distinct cytochrome b gene lineages have been assigned to P. relictum, with the lineages pSGS1 and pGRW04 being the most common. Based on molecular screenings, the transmission of these two parasite lineages might occur in sympatry, particularly often in sub-Saharan Africa, but they also have been reported to have different areas of transmission globally, with the lineages pSGS1 and pGRW04 being of low (if at all) transmission in huge regions of Americas and Europe, respectively. It remains unclear why these lineages are more often reported in some geographical areas, even though their susceptible vertebrate hosts and vectors are present globally. Co-infections of malaria parasites and other haemosporidians belonging to different species and subgenera are prevalent and even predominate in many bird populations, however, PCR-based protocols using commonly used primers often do not read such co-infections. Because information about the sensitivity of these protocols to read co-infections of the lineages pSGS1 and pGRW04 is absent, this study aimed to unravel this issue experimentally. Blood samples of birds experimentally infected with the single parasite lineages pSGS1 and pGRW04 were used to prepare various combinations of mixes, which were tested by two PCR-based protocols, which have been often used in current avian malaria research. Single infections of the same lineages were used as controls. Careful examination of the sequence electropherograms showed the presence of clear double peaks on polymorphic sites, indicating co-infections. This experiment shows that the broadly used PCR-based protocols can readily distinguish co-infections of these parasite lineages. In other words, the available information about patterns of the geographical distribution of the P. relictum lineages pSGS1 and pGRW04 likely mirrors the existing epidemiological situation but is not a result of the bias due to preferable DNA amplification of one of these lineages during their possible co-infections. This calls for further ecological research aiming determination of factors associated with the transmission of the lineages pSGS1 and pGRW04 in different regions of the globe. Ehrlichia spp. are important tick-borne pathogens of animals in Brazil, and Ehrlichia canis is the most prevalent species infecting dogs. Moreover, Ehrlichia minasensis has also recently been identified as a novel ehrlichial agent that infects cattle in Brazil. The objective of this study was to determine whether dogs could be infected by E. minasensis, To investigate this possibility, sera (n = 429) collected from dogs in the Pantanal region were retrospectively analyzed for the presence of antibodies against E. canis and E. minasensis. Canine sera were screened by two isolates of E. canis in indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and the majority (n = 298; 69.4%) had antibodies with endpoint titers ranging from 80 to 327,680. In order to further confirm E. canis -specific antibodies, IFA positive sera were analyzed by ELISA using E. canis -specific peptides (i.e. TRP19 and TRP36 US/BR/CR), which detected E. canis antibodies in 80.2% (239/298) of the dog sera. Fifty-nine (13.7%) samples had detectable antibodies to E. canis by IFA but were negative by E. canis peptide ELISA. These sera were then tested by E. minasensis IFA (Cuiaba strain) as antigen and 67.8% (40/59) were positive (titers ranging from 80 to 20,480). Eleven sera had antibody titers against E. minasensis at least two-fold higher than observed for E. canis and suggests that these dogs were previously infected with E. minasensis. The results of the present study suggest that multiple ehrlichial agents infect dogs in Brazil, which highlights the need to consider different Ehrlichia spp. in Brazilian dogs, particularly in areas where dogs are frequently exposed to multiple tick species. This investigation is the first to provide serologic evidence of E. minasensis infection in dogs from Brazil. This paper presents a deterministic model for dengue virus transmission. The model is parameterized using data from the 2017 dengue outbreak in Pakistan. We estimated the basic reproduction number ( R 0 ) without any interventions for the 2017 dengue outbreak in Peshawar district of Pakistan as R 0 ≈ 2.64, the distribution of the reproduction number lies in the range R 0 ∈ (with a mean R 0 ≈ 2.64 ). Optimal control theory is then applied to investigate the optimal strategy for curtailing the spread of the disease using two time-dependent control variables determined from sensitivity analysis. These control variables are insecticide use and vaccination. The results show that the two controls avert the same number of infections in the district regardless of the weights on the costs this is due to the reciprocal relationship between the cost of insecticide use and vaccination. A strong reciprocal relationship exists between the use of insecticide and vaccination; as the cost of insecticide increases the use of vaccination increases. The use of insecticide on the other hand slightly increases when vaccination level decreases due to increase in cost. Infection of the liver fluke, Opisthorchis viverrini (OV) is an important public health problem in northeast Thailand and adjacent countries, where people have a habit of eating raw or undercooked fish. A community case-control study was carried out with 8,936 participants from 89 villages, in Khon Kaen province, Thailand. There were 3,359 OV-infected participants all of whom underwent ultrasonography of upper abdomen for the evaluation of hepatobiliary morbidity. The participants with advanced periductal fibrosis (APF) by ultrasound (n = 785) were invited to undergo annual follow-up ultrasonography for five years after praziquantel treatment. The sonographer was blinded with respect to status of OV infection at each visit. The study findings revealed variability in the study population profile of the hepatobiliary morbidities before and after praziquantel treatment over the follow up interval. At the end of the study, 32 (30.8%) out of 104 participants showed no relapse of APF whereas, by contrast, 39 (37.5%) participants showed relapse or persistent APF since the outset of the study (≥ two consecutive visits). The APF in most follow-up visits was significantly associated with male sex, with intrahepatic duct stones, with the width of the gallbladder “pre” minus “post” fatty meal, and with the ratio of left lobe of the liver to aorta. Five cases of suspected cholangiocarcinoma were observed over the five years of follow-up. This long-term ultrasound follow-up study demonstrates a significant incidence of persistent APF in over one-third of opisthorchiasis cases after praziquantel treatment, findings that support the prospect of ongoing cholangiocarcinogenesis long after successful elimination of liver fluke infection among the population.

: Use of public health emergency operations center (PH-EOC) and adaptation of incident management system (IMS) for efficient inter-sectoral coordination and collaboration for effective control of Dengue fever outbreak in Pakistan – 2019

What is IMS emergency management?

The Incident Management System (IMS) is a standardized approach to emergency management. It provides guidance on how personnel, facilities, equipment, procedures, and communications may be coordinated within a common organizational structure.

What is an example of IMS?

The IP Multimedia Subsystem or IP Multimedia Core Network Subsystem ( IMS ) is a standardised architectural framework for delivering IP multimedia services. Historically, mobile phones have provided voice call services over a circuit-switched -style network, rather than strictly over an IP packet-switched network.

1. Alternative methods of delivering voice ( VoIP ) or other multimedia services have become available on smartphones, but they have not become standardized across the industry.
2. IMS is an architectural framework that provides such standardization.
3. IMS was originally designed by the wireless standards body 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), as a part of the vision for evolving mobile networks beyond GSM,

Its original formulation (3GPP Rel-5) represented an approach for delivering Internet services over GPRS, This vision was later updated by 3GPP, 3GPP2 and ETSI TISPAN by requiring support of networks other than GPRS, such as Wireless LAN, CDMA2000 and fixed lines.

IMS uses IETF protocols wherever possible, e.g., the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). According to the 3GPP, IMS is not intended to standardize applications, but rather to aid the access of multimedia and voice applications from wireless and wireline terminals, i.e., to create a form of fixed-mobile convergence (FMC).

This is done by having a horizontal control layer that isolates the access network from the service layer, From a logical architecture perspective, services need not have their own control functions, as the control layer is a common horizontal layer.

However, in implementation this does not necessarily map into greater reduced cost and complexity. Alternative and overlapping technologies for access and provisioning of services across wired and wireless networks include combinations of Generic Access Network, softswitches and “naked” SIP. Since it is becoming increasingly easier to access content and contacts using mechanisms outside the control of traditional wireless/fixed operators, the interest of IMS is being challenged.

Examples of global standards based on IMS are MMTel which is the basis for Voice over LTE ( VoLTE ), Wi-Fi Calling (VoWIFI), Video over LTE (ViLTE), SMS/MMS over WiFi and LTE, USSD over LTE, and Rich Communication Services (RCS), which is also known as joyn or Advanced Messaging, and now RCS is operator’s implementation.

What are the objectives of IMS?

IMS Objectives – IT Horizons The integrated management system objective of IT Horizons is as follow:

To continually prevent loss of information assets and ensure their safety and security To achieve 90% customer Satisfaction index in each service delivery undertaken To achieve 100% protection of customer information To obtain 0% infractions in compliance with statutory, regulatory, and applicable requirements To ensure the continual preservation and availability of Information data in its possession To continually improve the Integrated Management System, ISO 9001:2015 QMS and the ISO 27001:2013 ISMS To implement solutions and offer services that continually meet and exceed our customers’ expectations to help them meet their corporate goals and objectives

The Management of IT Horizons is fully committed to the implementation of these Objectives. These Objectives have been communicated to all employees and interested stakeholders as required and shall be revised annually in case of any changes in the Integrated Management System. : IMS Objectives – IT Horizons

What are the five major functions of IMS?

3.2 IMS functions – Ontario’s IMS is interoperable and closely aligned with other incident management systems around the world, including NIMS 3.0 (United States). At the site, Ontario’s IMS is fully interoperable with the Incident Command System ( ICS ) used by other communities and organizations.

Why is IMS important to a company?

An Integrated Management System (or “IMS”) can benefit your organization through increased efficiency and effectiveness, and cost reductions while minimizing the disruption caused by several external audits. It also shows your commitment to increased performance, employee and customer satisfaction, and continuous improvement.

1. With an integrated management system, your management systems work together, with each function aligned behind a single goal: improving the performance of the entire organization.
2. Instead of silos, you have a coordinated effort which is greater than the sum of its parts and is not only more efficient but more effective.

An integrated system provides a clear, uniform image of your entire organization, how they impact each other, and the associated risks. Efficiency is gained from less duplication, and it becomes easier to adopt new systems in the future.1. Improving Performance Integrated management systems will have a positive impact on specific management system components and outcomes such as improvements in quality, safety, risk, and productivity.2.

Eliminating Redundancies One of the top benefits of implementing multiple management system standards is being able to align the standards to find common or single management system components. These may include policies, objectives, processes or resources. For example, you may be able to have a single procedure for training, document control, management reviews, internal audits or improvements.

When you implement more than one standard at a time you are able to find these similarities which can save your organization a great amount of time, and in return money.3. Accountability When you integrate multiple management systems at a time and establish cohesive objectives, processes, and resources, with the alignment of the systems you will see improvement in accountability.4.

Establishing Consistency When you use an integrated approach, your organization can create better consistency of the management systems. When you create consistency, the system will become less complex and therefore is easier understood. Consistency will create an improved focus on achieving a common set of objectives that are important to the organization.5.

Reducing Bureaucracy Reducing bureaucracy stems from eliminating redundancy. Oftentimes when multiple management standards are implemented and not integrated, dilemmas can arise by the inability to streamline decisions because of the layers of hierarchy.

1. When the management systems are integrated, your organization can take a systematic approach.
2. The processes can better accommodate changes.
3. When changes and decisions are easily made, this will reduce bureaucracy.
4. For an effective approach, establishing process owners with a cross-functional team can be greatly beneficial.

These teams take on responsibility and accountability in an effective approach to breaking down barriers to decision making and deployment. You may also want to consider a SHEQ Manager who can be called upon to support and respond to all ISO based issues.6.

• Cost Reduction Integrated Management Systems allows your organization to conduct integrated audits and assessments, as well as optimize processes and resources.
• When you can integrate these systems it can help reduce the time it takes to do certain activities, eliminate the amount of time interrupted and therefore reduce costs.7.

Optimize Processes and Resources When viewing standard requirements, do not consider them an added load or task to the organization, rather remember that they are a way to implement expectations from customers, interested parties and the organization, and create a smooth and effective process.

Resources can be optimized because they become focused on process implementation and adding value rather than additional system maintenance.8. Reducing Maintenance Maintenance refers to the ongoing compliance checks and ensuring that you are upholding the management system standard requirements. When you have an integrated management system you can maintain the requirements concurrently, streamlining the process and allowing the organization to focus on improvements rather than maintaining multiple systems when that is unnecessary.9.

Integrated Audits When you start with an integrated management system, you can then have integrated audits. There are many great benefits to having integrated audits if you are interested in learning more read: Integrated ISO Management System Audits 10.

What is the process of IMS?

The IMS™ system definition process describes the system resources (databases, applications, devices, terminals, and links) to IMS when you first install IMS, you apply maintenance to your IMS system, or definition changes are required. IMS system definition at a high-level view comprises several supertasks.

What is a IMS manual?

What is an IMS manual? – The IMS manual is a top tier document that provides an overview and general understanding of the management system and the policies that reflect the goals of the business. The IMS manual specifically describes how the management system has been developed in alignment to an organization’s products, services, processes and activities, and the internal and external issues; and the risks and opportunities within the context of your organization.

Who is the founder of IMS?

Founded in Mumbai in 1977 by Prof.N.R. Rane, IMS Learning Resources is India’s first test preparation institute for the CAT and other management entrance examinations.

What are the three and IMS guiding principles?

To achieve these priorities, incident management personnel use NIMS components in accordance with three NIMS guiding principles: Flexibility. Standardization. Unity of Effort.

What is EPC and IMS?

👔 Project Manager at LTTS 🚀 | 🤝 Empowering Community with 5G Learning 📚 | 🔍 Exploring 6G 🌐 | 🎉 20K+ Followers 🌟 – Published Feb 8, 2016 IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) is a standalone system which resides out of the LTE network and connected to PDN Gateway through SGi interface.

EPC basically contains three functional elements. The first one is Mobility Management Entity (MME). MME is the single most control point in the EPC and responsible for most of the control plane functions. The second in the list of node is Serving Gateway (S-GW). All IP packets in uplink and downlink flow through S-GW.

S-GW is also responsible for handling handovers. The last in the list is P-GW or PDN Gateway. P-GW allocates IP addresses to UEs and also provides interfaces towards internet and IMS. Below is a simple network architecture diagram which demonstrate how IMS is connected to EPC (Evolved Packet Core).

What does an IMS manager do?

Integrated management system manager Get to know this occupation Other denominations IMS (Integrated Management System) Manager Description This professional plans, manages and controls all the management procedures related to quality management, the management of the environmental impact or in the field of safety in the workplace.

Implement and monitor the organisation’s Integrated Quality, Environmental and Safety System.Prepare a proposal of objectives and goals in Quality, Environmental and Safety, a programme to achieve these and the corresponding documentation (instruction manuals, general and specific procedures, work instructions, formats and records), among others.Periodically report incidents to General Management on the status and improvement of the Integrated Management System.Establish and manage the application of quality, environmental and safety standards in all of the production processes, and report incidents to production managers.Receive the manufacturing plan, with details of the raw materials, materials to be used, parameters to control (e.g., the temperature at which the process should be carried out, quality, environmental conditions), inspections and documentation to produce. Identify Non-conformities throughout the manufacturing process: from the sourcing of raw materials to the delivery of products.Carry out internal Quality, Environmental and Safety audits and monitor the effectiveness of the corrective and/or preventive actions proposed.Manage the Maintenance and Calibration Plan for production equipment.Fill in records generated by the Integrated Management System (relating to staff training, equipment maintenance and calibration, waste management, non-conformities and corrective/preventive action, etc.).Review the records of the results of process parameter controls and inspections as laid out in the work plan for each article.Correctly manage waste (cleaning of equipment and machinery, intermediate by-products).

: Integrated management system manager

What are IMS documents?

The IMS manual documents management system of organization demonstrates the capability of organization to continuously provide products and services that address customer requirements and to satisfy legal requirements and improve environmental impact.

Why is IMS certification required?

An IMS provides comprehensive transparency and clear control of all processes and procedures. Transparent, documented processes enjoy a high level of acceptance among employees and support everyday work. An IMS ensures that you will achieve your objectives and that your company develops and improves continually.

Jack Gloop