All of the core ISO management system standards whether ISO 9001, ISO14001, ISO 45001 or ISO 13485 and so on, have a requirement that the organisation undertake a regular review, what the standards call management review. Our experience is that the degree to which the meeting is completed and the content included can vary wildly – from doing the bare minimum to keep the CB off your back through to an in-depth and valuable exercise to review the effectiveness of the systems in place and to make factually based decisions on how to improve.
Here are 5 key points to make your management review a worthwhile exercise:
- Consider the frequency of meetings carefully. Do not simply assume you have to do it once a year. Leaving key decisions for up to 12 months is a risk and it can be valuable to have more frequent, shorter meetings. It should be noted that you don’t have to cover the full agenda every time. Some of our most successful clients hold a quarterly meeting with a variable agenda, within which are key elements such as status of objectives, corrective actions and results of audits.
- Preparation is key! The meeting is not a time for everyone to interpret graphs and read documents. Ideally, all of the input data and reports is sent to attendees in advance, allowing them time to digest content and come to the meeting ready to comment, question, discuss and make decisions.
- Deal with actions and recommendations made at a review in a timely manner! If nothing has happened since the last review, then this is a symptom of wider resource gaps or even indifference to the aims of the management system. Failure to address actions is also something your certification body will look closely at.
- Ensure attendees know and understand the reason for the review meeting. It is not simply because it says you must have one in the ISO standard! It may be one of the few occasions that key players can get together to discuss the effectiveness of the management system, share ideas and allocate resources. The management system should be reflective on what’s taking place in the business – where else is performance discussed? Repetition should be avoided where covered elsewhere.
- Issue minutes and output from the meeting as quickly as possible. We try and prepare and distribute minutes on the day of the meeting or on the next day if that is not possible. The longer this takes the less likely attendees will be engaged in any follow-up and actions.
At all costs manage preconceptions that the meeting is a ‘necessary evil’, it can be a valuable opportunity to integrate the ISO standard with what’s actually taking place in the organisation. QCS consultants frequently facilitate management review meetings and can provide further help and guidance if required – just get in touch!
All of the above applies to your system, whatever standard, it’s there to support – quality, environment, safety, information security etc. If you have integrated system, then you can include all disciplines in the one meeting. Finally, we’re interested in processes, there is value to be gained in considering safety when reviewing process quality, or environmental impact when understanding quality decisions!
