Mark Hammar When using AS9100 Rev D to implement your aerospace Quality Management System (QMS), you will find that top management is an integral component of making the QMS work. Since top management are the ones who know the strategic direction of your company, and they want to assign resources so that you can move towards this strategic vision, they will need to keep on top of what is happening with your QMS processes. In any organization, aerospace included, management review is one of the key processes to make this happen.
What is the management review process?
In AS9100, clause 9.3 covers the requirement for management review within the aerospace QMS. The process for management review requires the top management of the organization to routinely review the critical outputs of the QMS in an effort to ensure the resources are applied satisfactorily, and to determine if any critical changes need to be made.
Some of the critical data that top management need to review includes:
- Internal audit – Have audit findings indicated a need for change? Are audits being done on time? Have critical problems or opportunities to improve been identified?
- Opportunities for improvement – Outside of the audit process, have there been opportunities for improvement identified that should be planned for?
- Corrective action – For any process nonconformities, have the corrective actions been addressed? Was any action taken effective, and was the corrective action done in a timely fashion?
- Conformity of processes, products, and services – What product or service nonconformities were found that might indicate recurring or systematic problems? Do changes need to be made to products or services? Are the QMS processes working correctly?
- Customer satisfaction – How well do our customers perceive us to be meeting their needs? This also needs to include an assessment of our on-time delivery performance.
- Adequacy of resources – Do the processes within the QMS have all the resources they need to function properly?
The minimum list of what needs to be reviewed is included in clause 9.3.2 of AS9100, but other items can be added as required by the management team. The outcome of the management review should include action on any opportunities identified to improve the QMS, and any necessary redistribution of resources within the organization.
Why are management reviews required?
Top management needs to ensure that the QMS meets the needs of the company, and, to do so, they need to routinely review what is happening in the QMS. This review is critical to ensure that the resources are properly applied so that the organization can work towards improving customer satisfaction, as well as meeting the needs of all interested parties who have a stake in how the company provides the products and services it delivers.
More than just meeting external needs, the QMS is about improvement of the organization and its processes. As such, top management will create and plan to achieve quality objectives to improve those areas of performance which are key for the success of the company, and which will allow the company to achieve the strategic direction set for the future. This review of the organization’s ability to achieve the quality objectives and, in turn, find the necessary improvement for future needs, is a critical factor in the success of the management review.
To learn more on top management involvement in the QMS, see this relevant article from 9001Academy: To what extent should top management be involved in your QMS?
How do you conduct management review in AS9100?
While not a strict requirement of AS9100, management review meetings are a common method for top management to routinely assess the performance of the QMS. For this style of management review, you would assemble all of the data necessary for top management to review, and then keep track of actions and release minutes of the meeting that document the decisions made. The data review and the minutes can take any form that you find useful for your organization; however, you want to ensure that no critical information is missing from your review. For this reason, many companies use a standard management review package and minutes document for consistent review of the QMS.
However, if management meetings are not the easiest way for you to review the QMS, you can find other methods that meet your needs. The most important thing is for top management to review the critical aspects of the QMS so that they can make decisions on what changes need to be made, if any. Your QMS will take many resources, and you want to make sure that it meets your needs on an ongoing basis. Management review is the tool to make this happen.
To learn more about the management review process and other requirements of of AS9100, see this free white paper: Clause-by-clause explanation of AS9100 Rev D.
