A Management Representative is the person appointed by an organisation’s top management who, irrespective of other responsibilities, has the responsibility and authority that includes:
- Ensuring that processes needed for the management system are established, implemented and maintained,
- Reporting to top management on the performance of the management system and any need for improvement, and
- Ensuring the promotion of awareness of customer requirements throughout the organisation.
On a regular basis the Management Representative can expect to oversee and facilitate activities which include but are not limited to:
- Management Review Meetings – these meetings have a set agenda and are usually conducted on a quarterly, biannual, or annual basis that includes reviewing the overall performance of the management system and deciding on improvements that will be made.
- Internal Audits – at the beginning of a management system implementation an Internal Audit Schedule will be established for the following twelve months. Internal Audits will be conducted in accordance with the schedule, these audits involve reviewing records from management system activities to ensure that they are being created in accordance with the system procedures.
- Objectives and Targets – at the beginning of a management system implementation, organisation specific objectives and targets will be established which are measurable and consistent with the management system policy. These objectives and targets are typically reviewed and adjusted at the Management Review Meetings.
- Management Plans – once objectives and targets have been established Management Plans are developed for each objective to outline the activities that will be undertaken to meet the specific target that has been established.
- Employee Inductions – inductions are vital to raising awareness of the management system and also ensuring that system procedures are followed.
- Training & Competency – maintaining a register that includes the details of the training & competency requirement for all employees including qualifications, licences, and internal training courses.
- Accrediting Suppliers – maintaining a register of suppliers that have been evaluated against the organisations purchasing criteria that is aligned with the management system objectives and targets.
- Non-conformances – managing the process of reporting non-conformances that have been identified during the conduct of the organisations processes. Once non-conformances have been identified, corrective and preventative actions will be implemented and appropriate records kept.
- Reviewing and Updating Documentation – based on feedback from staff and Management Review meetings, amendments will be made to the management system documentation.
The activities listed above are specific to the requirements of the ISO Management System standards and are generally allocated to a member of the management team such as the Operations Manager.