The Management Review Connection to ISO 9001

A leading indicator in business is communication. The more effectively employers and employees work as a team, the better their mutual chances of success. One effective mechanism of business communications, the Management Review (MR), brings together key company personnel to 1) share information critical to assessing company status, 2) examine long-term company strategies and near-term objectives, and 3) decide on actions to implement strategies and meet objectives. The MR, while often tied directly to the ISO 9001 Quality Standard, can also be developed as an independent event.

ISO 9001 is a widely-accepted Quality Assurance model from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) designed to reduce waste and variation in product characteristics and process parameters. ISO 9001 brings the discipline of regular audits of processes and business assessments to bear on continual improvement of customer satisfaction and employee morale. ISO 9001 certification helps to maintain that discipline and may result in increased recognition by customers and teammates. Since ISO is currently implementing the new 9001:2015 Standard, now is a good time for companies to consider that implementation. On the other hand, since no quality management approach is right for all, it is important for any company to carefully evaluate the relevance before entering into the ISO-9001 certification process.

Regular (annual or semi-annual) MRs are an ISO 9001 requirement. There are at least two reasons for this: first, constructed and executed properly (as judged by an outside auditor), they help companies uncover much of the information required by the standard; and second, they provide an opportunity to ensure that ISO 9001 processes and benefits are understood and practiced throughout the company. The latter point is judged sufficiently important that most ISO 9001 auditors will interview company employees at random when they visit the company site for the initial audit or a renewal; they want to know if ISO 9001 policies and guidelines have been adopted by the entire company or by just the CEO and his Quality Representative.

MRs need not be tied to ISO 9001. However, for companies uncertain of the value of ISO 9001, an MR represents a low-risk entry into the heart of the standard prior to the assumption of the additional cost and risk associated with certification. Moreover, whether or not it is the precursor to certification, an independent MR can benefit from incorporating some or all of the widely-accepted features required by ISO 9001.

Random thoughts about ISO 9001 per se: for a company interested in becoming ISO-9001-compliant from top-to-bottom, there is much to be gained from the process; by contrast, if the purpose is to have a certificate to “hang on the wall,” the cost may exceed the benefit.