Is it possible:
a) to have a division manager run the management review for his division at his own site with participation from all his direct reports (who work in many geographic sites), rather than
b) have each site designate a person to run management reviews locally at that site in addition to the central management review?

The division manager's direct reports each has responsibilities at multiple sites. Each site has part of the team for several different departments. In this case, I think the most logical way to consolidate and manage information is to have the direct reports present the information on their area of responsibility at a central review run under the direction of the division manager. Because of the matrixed nature of our organization, this seems more logical than trying to run separate management reviews at each site (with pieces of several departments participating in the local reviews).

I would appreciate feedback on whether the approach I outline above is allowed by ISO 9001:2000.

The standard is pretty flexible on the format of a management review. It can be comprised of daily, weekly, monthly or yearly meetings or at a local/division level. Ultimately, an auditor will look at the effectiveness of the management review for the local site being audited. This will be harder to do (not impossible) if the division review is the only review.

I am in a similar situation as the one that you describe. Our MR is comprised of monthly reviews of metrics and corrective actions at the local level. Once a year, one of these monthly meetings is expanded to address all remaining items required by the standard. The division holds a higher level review twice a year that reviews items that affect the division as a whole, major local issues such as resource needs, or centralized quality system issues. This has worked very well for us and has easily passed audits.

I once asked the Director of a major certification company if a management review was necessary at every location of a multi-sited company.

His answer was that local Management Reviews were not mandatory but the system will be weakened if they are not conducted locally.

As a consultant, I always suggest local management reviews.

As an auditor, I have found that nearly all (99.9%) the mult-sited companies that I have audited (approximately 1000 in 15 different countries) have local as well as National / Global Management Reviews.

If someone asks why a local review is necessary, I usually reply that a local Management Review is not necessary. However, how does Executive Management in another city, country or continent know what the status of the quality system is at the local level if no local reviews are conducted? If the answer is that the local manager / director / CEO will inform top management during the Global Management Review, I will ask how the local manager knows what his department managers think of the QMS. The point is, you have to have local feedback before you can pass good information higher.

Perhaps it is best to remember the purpose of the management review - To evaluate the effectiveness of the Quality System. So long as you have done that, the auditor should be satisfied. The real question is - Has your organization benefited from the Management Review?

Thanks for the responses. It sounds like the standard is pretty flexible, with the bottom line being that an auditor will expect to see evidence of the effectiveness of the management review.