Management system guidance
9.0 Performance Evaluation
ISO Navigator Pro™ is a free tool that provides practical, expert guidance for businesses wishing to interpret and better implement the requirements of ISO 9001:2026, ISO 14001:2026 and ISO 45001:2018.
Our range of ISO templates cover the requirements of ISO 9001:2026, ISO 14001:2026 and ISO 45001:2018, and offer an easy way to implement your next management system.
9.3 Management review
ISO 45001 clause 9.3 requires top management to review the OH&S management system at planned intervals to ensure that it remains suitable, adequate and effective. Management review is where the information gathered through monitoring, compliance evaluation, audits, incident investigation and worker consultation comes together so that top management can make decisions about the direction of the OH&S management system.
Suitability, adequacy and effectiveness
Annex A of ISO 45001 explains these terms:
- Suitability – how well the OH&S management system fits the organization, its operations, its culture and its business systems;
- Adequacy – whether the OH&S management system is implemented appropriately;
- Effectiveness – whether the OH&S management system is achieving its intended outcomes.
Management review inputs
The review must consider:
- The status of actions from previous management reviews;
- Changes in external and internal issues relevant to the OH&S management system (see 4.1), including changes in the needs and expectations of interested parties (4.2), legal requirements and other requirements (6.1.3), and risks and opportunities (6.1) – since Amendment 1:2024, this should include whether climate change remains a relevant issue;
- How far the OH&S policy and OH&S objectives have been achieved;
- Information on OH&S performance, including trends in:
- Whether resources are adequate to maintain an effective OH&S management system (7.1);
- Relevant communications with interested parties;
- Opportunities for continual improvement.
These topics do not all have to be covered at a single meeting. Your organization can decide when and how each topic is addressed – for example, incident and inspection trends might be reviewed monthly at a senior management meeting, while the OH&S policy and context are reviewed annually. Every time top management formally reviews and reacts to OH&S performance, it can form part of the management review process, provided it is planned and recorded.
Management review outputs
The outputs must include decisions on:
- Whether the OH&S management system remains suitable, adequate and effective in delivering its intended outcomes;
- Opportunities for continual improvement;
- Changes needed to the OH&S management system, if any;
- The resources required;
- Any actions required;
- Ways to improve how the OH&S management system is integrated with other business processes;
- What the review means for the organization's strategic direction.
Who should take part?
Management review is a top management responsibility and should be chaired by a member of top management (see 5.1). Other attendees might include line managers, the OH&S manager or adviser, internal auditors and, where they exist, workers' representatives or safety committee members. Prepare and circulate the input information in advance so that the meeting can concentrate on evaluation and decisions rather than reporting.
Communicating the outputs
Top management must share the relevant management review outputs with workers and with any workers' representatives (see 7.4). This might be through team briefings, the safety committee, noticeboards or the intranet. Telling workers what was decided, and why, reinforces their participation and demonstrates leadership commitment.
Documented information
Retain documented information as evidence of the results of management reviews – typically minutes or a report that show the inputs considered, the decisions made and the actions assigned, with owners and target dates.
You should seek and record evidence that top management reviews the OH&S management system at planned intervals; that all of the required inputs have been considered over the review cycle; that outputs include decisions on suitability, adequacy and effectiveness, improvement, changes, resources, actions, integration and strategic direction; that relevant outputs have been communicated to workers and their representatives; and that documented information of the results is retained.
More information on PDCA
Planning
Context
Planning
Support
Doing
Support
Operations
Checking
Monitoring, measurement, analysis and evaluation
Acting
Improvement
Want to know more?
- Read our customer's feedback
- Client list - who's using our templates?
- How the templates are formatted and download examples
- Why we use turtle diagrams and process maps
- What's the difference between a process and a procedure?
- About documented information
SSL certification
A certificate guarantees the information your internet browser is receiving now originates from the expected domain - https://www.iso9001help.co.uk. It guarantees that when you make a purchase, sensitive data is encrypted and sent to the right place, and not to a malicious third-party.
Free PDCA guidance
ISO Navigator™ is our FREE online training tool that shows you how to apply the principles of PDCA to your operations. We also offer many helpful templates that get you on the road to documenting your management system, please visit the download page.