The Management Representative

ISO 9001 section 5.5.2 states: "Top management shall appoint a member of the organization's management" [to oversee the quality management system(QMS)].  The responsibilities of the 'management representative' are:

• Assuring that the QMS is developed and the processes of the QMS are maintained
• Reporting to management on the performance of the QMS
• Promotion of awareness of customer requirements

In moderate and large sized organizations, this person is typically the individual responsible for the quality function, but this is not necessarily the case.  In smaller organizations , there may be no formal quality organization.  In this case any member of management who is prepared to take on the  responsibilities above can assume the position.  It is common for the selected individual to interface with customers and suppliers on quality matters.

For the management representative to be successful, he or she must have the support of top management, and must understand the ISO 9001 standard.  There are instances where decisions must be made about the acceptability of product.   Sometimes the correct decision is unpopular for cost or other reasons.  The management representative must be supported when difficult issues arise, and must be willing to make the right decision.

To implement the standard, it is common for the management representative to form a team.  A quality team should include one or more members of the following groups:

• Manufacturing
• Purchasing
• Engineering
• Sales

Other groups such as accounting, inventory management, and warehousing may also be possible contributors.

If the management representative is not a quality professional, he or she should receive training in ISO 9001, and have access to a quality assurance consultant.  The elements of the standard only cover 14 or so pages, but the wording is pithy.  An experienced quality professional will understand the wording and its interpretation in the context of business practice, but the representative inexperienced in quality will likely gloss over key points in the standard.

For assistance or more information visit www.rosehillsystems.com.