Management Representative Requirements and Responsibilities Clarification

5.5.2 Management representative

Top management shall appoint a member of the organization's management who, irrespective of other responsibilities, shall have responsibility and authority that includes:
a) ensuring that processes needed for the quality management system are established, implemented and maintained,
b) reporting to top management on the performance of the quality management system and any need for improvement, and
c) ensuring the promotion of awareness of customer requirements throughout the organization.

NOTE The responsibility of a management representative can include liaison with external parties on matters relating to the quality management system.

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Hello

could you please clarify :

a) if the manager representative needs to be a manager . I read several topics about this but i still dont have a definitive answer on that (i read he needs to be part of management ...but what is the difference with being a manager ? )

b ) If the Management representative asks managers to correct or implement the QMS and they dont do it , does this mean he doesnt have the sufficient authority and he should not be management representative ?

c) Could you please give me practical example of the implementation of 5.5.2c) (ensuring promotion of customer requirement awareness throughout the organisation)

Thanks

Re: Management representative clarification

Sardokar said:

Hello

could you please clarify :

a) if the manager representative needs to be a manager . I read several topics about this but i still dont have a definitive answer on that (i read he needs to be part of management ...but what is the difference with being a manager ? )

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There have been some interesting discussions on this subject in the past, so you might want to do a little searching, starting with the threads listed towards the bottom of the page. In short, "the organization" decides who's a manager, thus it's possible for a person who yesterday wasn't a manager to be one today by dint of being appointed MR.

Sardokar said:

b ) If the Management representative asks managers to correct or implement the QMS and they dont do it , does this mean he doesnt have the sufficient authority and he should not be management representative ?

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No. The MR must have responsibility and authority to report to top management on the workings of the QMS, including, one assumes, the lack of cooperation from other managers.

Sardokar said:

c) Could you please give me practical example of the implementation of 5.5.2c) (ensuring promotion of customer requirement awareness throughout the organisation)

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I've always thought of this requirement as being tied to contract review, wherein customer requirements are communicated to relevant parties before a contract is accepted, and reiterated afterwards in the development stage. The idea is that everyone who needs to play a part in satisfying customer requirements is aware of the requirements and has confirmed that the capability to satisfy the requirements exists.

Re: Management representative clarification

Sardokar said:

b) If the Management representative asks managers to correct or implement the QMS and they dont do it , does this mean he doesn't have the sufficient authority and he should not be management representative ?

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I've seen managers who despite having sufficient authority miserably fail to inspire someone to do the way they are expected to. If one can't make the things happen, one doesn't deserve to be even a manager.

An MR is supposed to execute bigger responsibilities, hence, in some way, his job title should also reflect his position so that s/he can exert sufficient influence as well as authority over the staff.

Re: Management representative clarification

samsung said:

I've seen managers who despite having sufficient authority miserably fail to inspire someone to do the way they are expected to. If one can't make the things happen, one doesn't deserve to be even a manager.

An MR is supposed to execute bigger responsibilities, hence, in some way, his job title should also reflect his position so that s/he can exert sufficient influence as well as authority over the staff.

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The idea should be that the MR is operating under delegation from top management, regardless of job title or, as the standard puts it, "irrespective of other responsibilities." If the MR encounters resistance or lack of cooperation, it falls under 5.5.2b, which means "...reporting to top management on the performance of the quality management system and any need for improvement..."

Re: Management representative clarification

Sardokar said:

Hello

could you please clarify :

a) if the manager representative needs to be a manager . I read several topics about this but i still dont have a definitive answer on that (i read he needs to be part of management ...but what is the difference with being a manager ? )

Click to expand...

I'm not a manager but I am the MR...and I answer directly to top management for all my responsibilities.

Sardokar said:

b ) If the Management representative asks managers to correct or implement the QMS and they dont do it , does this mean he doesnt have the sufficient authority and he should not be management representative ?

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Some of that will depend on the culture of the organization as well as the personalities involved. There are managers I work with who are very cooperative about all things ISO, and others (one of whom is no longer with us) who blatantly refuse to have anything to do with it. Sometimes I wonder if they're trying to get fired... A manager needs to be able to get things done. Usually that means helping other people in the organization understand that this is important! If the culture isn't healthy, it's much more difficult.

Sardokar said:

c) Could you please give me practical example of the implementation of 5.5.2c) (ensuring promotion of customer requirement awareness throughout the organisation)

Thanks

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We've changed work instructions to be much more visual, showing exactly what the customer expects. Daily meetings with all production associates, grouped by work cell types, going over any quality and productivity issues from the last 24 - 48 hours. QA techs attend daily meetings, including the shift-to-shift meeting for all departments. Assigning more operators to CAPA's, and having the Line Leads lead the CAPA's instead of QA doing everything (still working on this one!).

A previous poster (I don't remember who) pointed out contract reviews, which is an excellent point! Also, the entire Product Realization (7.1) and Customer-Related Processes (7.2). Basically figuring out what the customer requirements are and what will be done to meet those requirements.

Hope this helps!
Bekki

Re: Management representative clarification

Jim Wynne said:

The idea should be that the MR is operating under delegation from top management, regardless of job title or, as the standard puts it, "irrespective of other responsibilities." If the MR encounters resistance or lack of cooperation, it falls under 5.5.2b, which means "...reporting to top management on the performance of the quality management system and any need for improvement..."

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Quite correct. An MR can effectively execute much of his responsibilities only when he's under the authority of none other than the Top Management but the role of an MR or when a decision is to be taken as to who should be an MR of the organization, depends much upon what's critical to the organization and how much weight does the 'Q' word carry for the management. If the organization considers 'quality' as a critical success factor, certainly the role of MR would be assigned to a dynamic and influential person (regardless of job title) who can well ensure that quality is not compromised. Ofcourse this person carries bulk of authority from the top management to whom s/he represents to the workforce.

In OP's case, where the MR is struggling to gain staff cooperation, the problem can be traced back to some other factors such as:

-lack of management commitment (management doesn't listen to or care much for QMS except for having a certificate),
-Ambiguity as regard to the actions and decisions this gentleman is responsible for
- MR might not have necessary abilities/ competence/ leadership traits to perform this role nor the organization provides necessary resources or the environment wherein s/he can develop necessary competency to perform the role)
- MR too busy with his/her 'core responsibilities' (again lack of management commitment)

If nothing works and if the organization is really serious about 'quality', they should certainly assign this role to someone else as if it's as critical for the organization as finance/ sales or marketing do.

ISO 9001 5.5.2: "Top management shall appoint a MEMBER OF MANAGEMENT who...",

which to me should mean that the MR is at the manager's level.