What the term means
Older standards treated "procedures" (how something is done) and "records" (evidence it was done) separately. The modern harmonised structure gathers both under documented information. The reason is practical: a checklist on a tablet is instruction and record at the same time.
What control means
- Currency: the version in force is identifiable and the old one is withdrawn.
- Availability: whoever needs the information can reach it where and when they need it.
- Protection: it is not lost, not altered without authority, and stays legible.
- Retention and disposal: how long it is kept and what happens afterwards is decided.
A common mistake
Equating document control with keeping a document list. A list does not say which version is on the wall. If a photocopy of a three-year-old instruction hangs on site, the system is uncontrolled whatever the list says.
Over-documentation
The standard measures need, not volume: as much documented information as the system's effectiveness requires. An organisation that writes a procedure for every task builds a library nobody reads, and an unread procedure changes no behaviour on site.
Retention periods
Retention is rarely arbitrary; for most records it comes from law. Disposing of a record early produces the same result at an audit as never having kept it.