ISO 9001 Management Review Agenda Template

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This editable MS Word template addresses the agenda ‘inputs’ required by ISO 9001 and can be downloaded immediately.  No request form needs to be filled out.  Just click HERE or on the image of the template.

One of the basic requirements of ISO 9001:2008 is that a Formal (documented) Top Management Review of the Quality Management System be held at planned intervals (reference: Section 5.6 of the standard).  It is typical for third party assessors to require a planned interval of: ‘at least once per year’.  

There are specific ‘review inputs’ (topics and accompanying data) that must be addressed during the review in order to comply with the standard… and there are specific ‘review outputs’ (outcomes, including actions) that must be achieved. 

For a list of all records required by ISO 9001:2008, visit the ISO website and take a look at the table at the bottom of ISO/TC 176/SC 2/N525R2, “Introduction and support package: Guidance on the documentation requirements of ISO 9001:2008”  titled: “Annex B: Records Required by ISO 9001:2008”.

While the agenda for the Management Review is clearly prescribed within the ISO 9001 Standard, the formats for the supporting documentation, or effectiveness thereof, are not.  One company I worked with had identified exactly the same critical resource need to support quality outcomes for over five consecutive years … and had not made any effective progress in addressing that need.  Every year, the inadequacy of the Corrective Action System was noted in the minutes of the Management Review.  Every year, the third party assessor had also cited a ‘minor’ finding against the Corrective Action System.  Still, five years in a row, not a single improvement had been made to the Corrective Action System.  This did not prevent the company from maintaining ISO 9001 certification, however, because the minimum requirements of the standard were met.

It may be tempting to pay lip service to a requirement for continual improvement just long enough to pass a third party assessment, but the damage caused by the dishonesty or insincerity of top managers can potentially cause far more damage to an organization than the cost, if any, of diligent, steady, practical, incremental, improvements over time. 

The difficulty of allocating precious few resources to a system that does not seem too badly ‘broken’, especially in a tough economy, is understandable.  In my opinion, however, the cost is not always the issue.  Although pie-in-the-sky promises are often well-intended, the real challenge can be not to bite off more than the organization can chew, so to speak.  Overly ambitious plans for improvement fail as surely as dishonest ones.  Limiting planned improvement efforts to what is practical, instead of what might be possible or what is wished for, can still provide steady improvements that support positive change over time. 

I recommend a conservative approach to addressing resource needs that arise in Management Reviews.  Many organizations hold monthly or quarterly operations reviews.  Why not address the requirements of the ISO 9001 Management Review in meetings that occur more naturally and routinely for your organization?  Make a conscious team effort to manage required Quality Management System resource allocations and actions as part of the normal way you do business.

Whatever the frequency of your Management Reviews might be, the template provided will empower you to assure each required agenda item and outcome is addressed in compliance with the ISO 9001 standard. 

If this particular Management Review Agenda Template doesn’t seem to work well for your specific needs, try using Google to do a search for others.  I got 537 MS Word document hits when I entered this search string:  “iso 9001 management review agenda template filetype:doc”

As always, if you need a particular template, metric, form or advice on any other quality-related matter, feel free to contact me.  I’ll be happy to do what I can to help.