How to Prepare a Management Review

By following this guide, you will assemble the data sources needed for a management review, structure the review agenda, document decisions, and record follow-up actions for regulatory traceability.

Who should read this: Accountable executives, safety managers, and directors of safety who lead or contribute to management reviews.Prerequisites: Safety manager or accountable executive role. The organization should have at least one quarter of safety data to support a meaningful review.

Regulatory Basis

Regulation	Requirement
14 CFR 5.25	Management review — the accountable executive must ensure the SMS is reviewed at planned intervals to ensure its continuing suitability, adequacy, and effectiveness.
14 CFR 5.27	Safety policy review and update.
14 CFR 5.71	Safety performance monitoring and measurement.
14 CFR 5.73	Safety performance assessment.
14 CFR 5.75	Continuous improvement.
AC 120-92D	Advisory guidance on management review scope and frequency.

Review Frequency

Type	Frequency	Scope
Quarterly review	Every 3 months	Operational safety performance, SPI trends, open investigations and CPAs, reporting culture metrics.
Annual review	Once per year	Comprehensive SMS assessment including policy review, resource adequacy, organizational changes, and strategic safety objectives.

Many organizations align their quarterly review with the safety committee meeting schedule. The annual review is typically conducted in Q4 or Q1 to inform the next year’s safety objectives.

Gather Data Sources

Before the review meeting, assemble data from the following sources in PlaneConnection.

Structure the Review Agenda

A structured agenda ensures all required topics are covered. Use this template:

Agenda Item	Source	Time
1. Previous review action items	Prior meeting minutes	10 min
2. Safety performance indicators	SPIs dashboard	15 min
3. Safety reporting trends	Reports summary	10 min
4. Investigation outcomes	Investigations summary	15 min
5. CPA status and effectiveness	CPAs summary	10 min
6. Hazard register review	Hazard register	10 min
7. Compliance status	Compliance dashboard	10 min
8. Safety culture assessment	Culture surveys, Just Culture stats	10 min
9. Resource adequacy	Staffing, training, budget	10 min
10. Decisions and action items	Meeting discussion	15 min

For annual reviews, add agenda items for safety policy review (14 CFR 5.27), organizational change impact assessment, strategic safety objectives for the next year, and SMS adequacy assessment.

Decision Frameworks

Management reviews should produce documented decisions. Use these frameworks to structure decision-making:

Safety Performance Decisions

SPI Trend	Decision Framework
All SPIs within targets	Affirm current controls. Consider raising targets for continuous improvement.
One or more SPIs in alert zone	Assign investigation or root cause analysis. Set a timeline for corrective action.
SPIs breaching targets	Determine if immediate operational changes are needed. Create CPAs with high priority.

Resource Decisions

Finding	Decision Framework
Investigation backlog growing	Assess investigator capacity. Consider additional training or staffing.
CPA overdue rate increasing	Review assignment distribution. Adjust due dates or reassign actions.
Reporting rate declining	Evaluate potential barriers to reporting. Consider safety promotion activities.

Policy Decisions (Annual Review)

Assessment	Decision Framework
Safety objectives met	Set new objectives for the next period. Document achievements.
Safety objectives not met	Analyze root causes. Adjust objectives or allocate additional resources.
Organizational changes occurred	Evaluate impact on SMS. Initiate Management of Change (MoC) if not already done.

Document the Review

Management review records are a common target during FAA surveillance visits. Ensure reviews are conducted at planned intervals with documented agendas, attendees, data reviewed, decisions made, and follow-up actions assigned.

Track Compliance

How compliance data feeds into management reviews.

Configure SPIs

Setting up the safety performance indicators reviewed in management reviews.

Export Compliance Evidence

Generate evidence packages that support management review findings.

The Four Pillars

How management reviews connect to SMS pillar requirements.

Last modified on April 11, 2026

How to Export Compliance Evidence Use the ASAP Program

Safety Management

Flight Operations

FBO Management

Maintenance

Customer Portal

Administration

Regulatory Basis

Review Frequency

Gather Data Sources

Structure the Review Agenda

Decision Frameworks

Safety Performance Decisions

Resource Decisions

Policy Decisions (Annual Review)

Document the Review

Track Compliance

Configure SPIs

Export Compliance Evidence

The Four Pillars

​Regulatory Basis

​Review Frequency

​Gather Data Sources

​Structure the Review Agenda

​Decision Frameworks

​Safety Performance Decisions

​Resource Decisions

​Policy Decisions (Annual Review)

​Document the Review

​Related

Track Compliance

Configure SPIs

Export Compliance Evidence

The Four Pillars

Regulatory Basis

Review Frequency

Gather Data Sources

Structure the Review Agenda

Decision Frameworks

Safety Performance Decisions

Resource Decisions

Policy Decisions (Annual Review)

Document the Review

Related