Clause 9.3 of ISO 9001: Management Review

There are many good reasons why Management Reviews are much discussed and written about in quality management system (QMS) circles: they are absolutely key to the success of the ISO 9001 standard.

They’re where you step back, take stock, analyse data, ask questions, listen, and then move forward. And not just once a year either, but often and with as many of your team involved as possible. Oh yes, I’m a big fan of this clause.

But just in case you’re still not convinced, here are some blogs and webinars about Management Reviews that I’ve created over the past couple of years:

management-review

Clause 9.3.1 Review the QMS at planned intervals

You need to do this so that you can ensure the system is:

Suitable,
Adequate,
Effective,
and in alignment with the strategic direction of the company

The canny amongst you may have noticed that the clause doesn’t include the word “meeting”.

Management Reviews don’t have to be meetings. You could run reports to give to management. Perhaps use software options like skype, slack and so on.

At Mango, we like to have a meeting once a month and because we’re small, all staff are invited. This meeting is very useful as a teaching and coaching exercise for the less experienced staff members to learn.

Because we sell QMS software (Mango) the less experienced staff get to really understand what a QMS is - what better way for them to see how a QMS operates than for them to be part of the Management Review process?

Clause 9.3.2 Inputs to the Management Review

These inputs are a handy way to create an agenda for the Management Review meeting. Although they are listed in an odd order, you can rearrange them into a logical order to suit your operation so that all areas are covered.

The agenda items include:

Actions from previous management reviews;
Review the external and internal issues from the Context;
Customer satisfaction and feedback;
Review quality objectives have been met;
Review process performance and conformity of products and services;
Check nonconformities and corrective actions;
Review audit results;
Review suppliers;
Check you have enough resources;
Review risk (and opportunities) register;
Review improvements.

Check out this webinar I did a while back for some great tips on how to run your Management Review: How to Get More Value Out of Your Management Reviews

For example here at Mango here is our monthly Management Review agenda:

From the Board – General, Business Planning
Sales, Partners - Roadmap, ICT infrastructure
People, Health and Safety, Environment – Accidents, Hazards, Emergency Plans, Training
Team Resources - Team development, Travel / Holidays
System and Processes – Policies, Objectives, Procedures
Processes – Audits
Events
OFI - Issues and Opportunities
Risk Management – Risk Register
Resources - Any resources required
General / Departments activities – Marketing, Sales, Support, Development, Partners

Clause 9.3.3 Output from the Review

This should include any decisions made and list the actions that relate to opportunities for improvement. It should also include any changes to be made to the QMS, any additional resources, as well contain the minutes of the meeting plus any additional information like reports and data.

At Mango we minute each meeting and signoff and attach the minutes in Mango. Too easy!

Takeaways

Here are some useful takeaways to help you achieve clause 9.3:

Decide whether to have a meeting or just run a bunch of reports through the Management Team
Create an agenda that meets all the requirements of the standard
Conduct management reviews at a frequency so you can see progress on the QMS
Minute the meetings and record evidence of QMS progress