Management review is the mechanism through which top management fulfills its leadership commitment to the OH&S management system. Clause 9.3 of ISO 45001:2018 requires top management to review the OHSMS at planned intervals to ensure its continuing suitability, adequacy, and effectiveness.
Required Review Inputs
Management review must consider the status of actions from previous reviews, changes in external and internal issues including needs of interested parties and legal requirements, the extent to which the OH&S policy and objectives have been met, OH&S performance information including trends in incidents, nonconformities, monitoring results, compliance evaluation results, audit results, worker consultation and participation, and risks and opportunities.
Additional Required Inputs
- Adequacy of resources for maintaining an effective OHSMS
- Relevant communications with interested parties
- Opportunities for continual improvement
Required Review Outputs
Management review outputs must include decisions related to the continuing suitability, adequacy, and effectiveness of the OHSMS, opportunities for continual improvement, any need for changes to the OHSMS, resource needs, actions needed (if any), opportunities to improve integration with other business processes, and any implications for the strategic direction of the organization.
Best Practices for Management Review
- Prepare a structured agenda covering all required inputs
- Use data visualization (dashboards, trend charts) to make performance data actionable
- Record decisions and action items with assigned owners and due dates
- Conduct reviews at least annually — quarterly reviews are more effective for driving improvement
- Share relevant outcomes with workers through consultation processes
- Use management review as a strategic tool, not just a compliance exercise
- Track completion of actions from previous management reviews
Common Pitfalls
- Conducting superficial reviews that do not lead to meaningful decisions
- Not including all required inputs in the review agenda
- Failing to track and close actions from previous reviews
- Not communicating review outcomes to workers and relevant interested parties
