Management systems need the commitment of leadership to succeed. The AS 9100 Rev D standard in its framework asks leadership to assess the strategic risks to the organization and then to implement a management system. The system has built in controls and resources to address the identified risks. As a closure to this plan put in place the AS 9100 Rev D standard asks management to review the suitability, adequacy and effectiveness of a system via the management review. This article discusses the process for conduct of an effective review that will enable and drive continual improvement.
The management review is leadership’s opportunity to understand what is working per plan and where changes to the plan may be needed. It is not required for all senior leadership to be in one room at the same time for conduct of the review. The interval for these reviews is also not defined in the standard. The AS 9100 Rev D standard asks organizations to conduct the review at planned intervals. These planned intervals should be sufficient for them to assess the continued suitability, adequacy and effectiveness of the system. Therefore, QMII recommends that in the initial stages of the system the planned interval be every three months as also should the internal audit cycle (perhaps more frequently for internal audits). As the system matures QMII recommends that the management reviews be conducted at least once every six months.
AS 9100 Rev D in clause 9.3.2 lists a number of items that need to be covered in the management review. These may be considered as an agenda for the audit. Topics that must be discussed and brought to the attention of the leadership. In preparation for the review the responsible person should collect inputs from all process owners and managers to present at the meeting. The agenda should be distributed at least two to three weeks prior the meeting to allow adequate time for collection of inputs. The inputs as collected can then be presented to the senior leadership (as defined by the organization) at the review.
As important as it is to collect and present the data to management, so it is also to receive decisions and actions on the inputs presented. The outputs include decisions on the resources requested/needed, on the opportunities for improvement identified (which are the top priorities for first action?), changes to the system that may need raising of CARs, and action on any risks identified in the system. While per clause 7.4 of AS 9100 Rev D management can decide on what to communicate with whom QMII recommends communicating the relevant aspects of the review outputs to those who need to know so they can use them to improve the system. The outputs of the review feed as inputs for continual improvement in AS9100 Rev D clause 10.1.
