Use the applicable standard
ISO 9001:2015 addresses documented information in clause 7.5. ISO’s public guidance explains that organizations determine the information needed for their quality management system and may use different media. Refer to the applicable standard and your own quality requirements when defining controls. This article is a practical implementation aid.
Identify the current instructions
Use a stable procedure identifier, a clear title, version information, and an accountable owner. Test whether someone doing the work can find the current instructions without asking the author. In SOPFlow, check the published reader view as well as the draft.
Record the review decision
Define who reviews suitability and who approves publication. Record decisions against the actual version with useful change notes. Assess whether related training needs updating. A saved status records a workflow action; it does not establish technical correctness by itself.
Manage access and distributed copies
Check who can edit, approve, read, and share. Define how printed or exported copies are identified and replaced when outdated. Updating an application page does not automatically change a PDF someone already downloaded.
Define retention for your obligations
Document which records you need, how long to retain them, who can retrieve them, and how disposal is authorized. Base these choices on your quality system, contracts, and applicable obligations. Do not infer a universal retention period from a software default.
Test the evidence trail
Choose a procedure and trace its owner, published version, approval, and a training session or completed run. SOPFlow’s review, version, training, and execution features can support this exercise. Certification depends on the quality system and its implementation; installing SOPFlow does not confer ISO certification or guarantee an audit result.
Official sources
A practical control-to-evidence checklist
Use this checklist to discuss your document-control process with the person responsible for your quality system. It is an implementation example, not a substitute for the applicable standard or a certification assessment.
| Control question | Example evidence to inspect |
|---|---|
| Can a worker identify the applicable instruction? | A current procedure ID, revision, scope and effective date, reachable from the team’s normal starting point. |
| Who reviewed the change? | A dated review decision from an authorized reviewer, with the change note and resolved questions. |
| What happened to the earlier version? | Preserved historical context and a clear distinction between superseded instructions and current work. |
| Are records accessible to the right people? | An actual access check and the organization’s retention and retrieval rules; a role label alone is insufficient. |
Before using the example
- Trace one procedure from draft through review to a completed example record. Note missing links between the records.
- Have the responsible quality professional assess the controls against your scope, applicable requirements and contractual obligations.
Continue with a related task
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