Question:
Is it a requirement that a person in an ISO 9001 registered organization who is responsible for fulfilling the duties and requirements of the management representative hold the title of Management Representative, i.e., is it a noncompliance that such person holds a different title, e.g., specifically, Quality Representative?
Response:
I have seen this question come up at other times. Basically, I refer to how we need to understand the word “shall”. “Shall”, when used in the ISO standards, indicates a requirement.
Therefore, when clause 5.5.2 in ISO 9001:2008 says, “Top management shall appoint a member of the organization’s management . . . .”, then it is a requirement. There are good reasons for this. For one, the Management Representative must have the authority to perform those duties necessary for the successful implementation and continuation of a quality management system. Generally, a person in management knows the company’s business and has a working relationship with all the departments.
It is sometimes a practice to give a person a management title but limit their authority to that which is related to the QMS.
I hope this is helpful to you and thank you for sending your question.
Bud Salsbury
ASQ Senior Member, CQT, CQI
Follow Up Question:
Hello,
I appreciate and fully understand your answer, however, I probably did not pose my question adequately. The responsibilities of the MR is clearly assigned to a member of management, and, in fact is the QM, but does not use the title “Management Representative”, but instead uses “Quality Representative”. So, in affect, there is no “MR” in the company. Is this an issue?
Thanks.
Response:
If you wanted to add verbiage to your Quality Manual or one of your documented procedures (i.e. Management Responsibility) which clarifies this you could. However, you do not have to.
The standard says your MR shall be a member of management. The standard does not direct you to make this an official “title”. It just needs to be clear that someone from management fulfills all the responsibilities of the MR. Those responsibilities can be in addition to that individual’s primary function.
It sounds like you are doing OK.
Bud Salsbury
ASQ Senior Member, CQT, CQI
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