Clause 7.5.1: General
The OH&S management system contains the documented information the standard requires, plus whatever documented information the organization decides it needs for the system to be effective.
What clause 7.5.1 asks
The OH&S management system contains the documented information the standard requires, plus whatever documented information the organization decides it needs for the system to be effective. How much is needed can vary with the size of the organization and the kind of activities, processes, products and services it has, with the need to show that legal and other requirements are met, with how complex its processes are, and with how competent its workers are.
Documented information is whatever the system needs to run and to prove it ran. The clause lets the organization decide the extent, but not the legal record-keeping duties.
Draft 7.5.1 General, from clause 7.5.1. The public draft contents keep the clause. The harmonized structure wording is expected to be adopted, without a described change of substance.
Evidence for clause 7.5.1
An auditor will compare the master list with the records that legal duties require, such as exposure and health surveillance records.
- Documented informationMaster list of OH&S system documents and records
- Documented informationMapping of documented information to standard clauses and legal requirements
- Documented informationJustification for the extent of documentation chosen
Where clause 7.5.1 commonly fails
- Only mandatory records identified
- Legal record-keeping (exposure monitoring, statutory inspections) not mapped
What to do about clause 7.5.1 before the revision
Build a master list that maps each document and record to a clause and a legal duty. Add retention periods. Remove documents that no longer serve a process, and say why each remaining one exists.
What the record shows for clause 7.5.1
An auditor working on clause 7.5.1 will start with Master list of OH&S system documents and records. The failure this record sees most often is Only mandatory records identified. Both are carried into the kit as row 23, with an owner field and a dated action.
Read across from clause 7.5.1
Read the next clause in the group, or open the full index. The revision map shows the draft structure.
Source for clause 7.5.1: ISO 45001:2018, clause 7.5.1, retrieved 18 October 2026. The draft note rests on the public DIS contents and the two named summaries; the requirement, evidence and gaps are written from the held clause record. Every source.