Document Management Software

Document management software (sometimes called document control software) is a tool that helps organisations securely store, manage, and track important documents. By keeping files in one centralised digital location, it allows for faster retrieval, ensures version control, supports compliance, and reduces reliance on paper.

This approach is far more efficient than managing health and safety documents on paper, across online folders – or a mix of both.

Document management software is used to simplify and streamline how organisations handle their documents.

Every organisation has countless policies, procedures, and files – from safety protocols to operational guidelines. A document management system provides a centralised location to securely store and retrieve these documents. It helps organisations stay organised and ensures employees can quickly access the most up-to-date versions of files.

In the context of managing health and safety, effective document management software can help support compliance and promote a safer workplace. It can be used to store important health and safety policies, procedures, and safe systems of work in one controlled location -helping teams reduce reliance on paper, lower physical storage costs, and improve overall organisational efficiency.

The best document management software for health and safety compliance in UK workplaces is one that makes it easy to store, control, find, and prove you’re following the right processes, without documents living in scattered folders, email threads, or filing cabinets.

At a minimum, effective document management software should provide a centralised, secure location for key health and safety documents (e.g., policies, procedures, risk assessments, training records, inspections, and audits). This helps you maintain and demonstrate compliance with widely used management system standards such as ISO 45001, ISO 14001, and ISO 9001 – especially when you need to show version history, approvals, and evidence during reviews or audits.

Key features to look for include:

• Cloud access: secure, remote access to the latest documents from any location – ideal for multi-site teams and mobile workforces.
• Document control: clear versioning, approvals, review dates, and audit trails to manage updates to policies and risk assessments.
• GDPR compliance: robust security, permissions, and secure hosting – important because health and safety records can include sensitive personal or medical data.

Notify is an affordable, cloud-based document management platform available in the UK (and supporting customers worldwide). With Notify, you can keep health and safety policies, incident reports, risk assessments, audits and inspections, safety data, and supporting documents all in one place – so teams always work from the latest information, and you have a clearer compliance trail. Book a demo to see how Notify can streamline document control for your organisation.

Important features of effective document management software go well beyond basic storage and retrieval. The right system helps you control information, reduce risk, and keep teams working from the latest version – especially when documents are critical to safety, quality, or compliance.

Here are the core features to look for:

• Search and indexing: Quickly find the right document using keywords and filters, so information doesn’t get lost as your library grows.
• Role-based access control: Restrict sensitive documents so only authorised individuals can view, edit, or approve them, with permissions tailored by role, team, or site.
• Scalable architecture: A platform that can grow with your organisation – supporting more users, sites, and documents without slowing down or becoming difficult to manage.
• Audit trails: A complete log of actions (uploads, edits, approvals, access, and downloads) to support transparency, accountability, and compliance requirements.
• Cloud-based access with offline functionality: Secure, mobile-friendly access from any location or device, with the ability to view, upload, and edit documents even when there’s no signal (then sync later).
• Digital signatures and approvals: Streamline sign-off workflows so policies, procedures, and forms can be approved quickly, with clear ownership and status tracking.
• Notifications and alerts: Automatic prompts for updates, review dates, new assignments, and document changes, helping people stay aligned and reducing the risk of outdated information being used.

When these features work together, document management becomes a practical day-to-day tool, not just a digital filing cabinet.

Using document management for health and safety compliance helps you shift from reactive admin to a more proactive, preventative approach by making it easier to control critical information and prove what you’ve done.

Key benefits include:

• Stronger audit readiness (including ISO 45001): Document control is a core part of effective OH&S management systems. A document management system helps you maintain auditable evidence that your processes are defined, followed, and reviewed, supporting compliance with ISO 45001 and wider management system expectations.
• The right records when you need them: During an audit, investigation, or review, you can quickly produce essential documentation, like the latest risk assessment, inspection records, training evidence, or previous incident reports, without searching for ages through scattered folders and emails.
• Controlled approvals and version management: A good system provides a clear workflow for approving, reviewing, and updating safety documents, so teams always use the most current version, reducing errors, rework, and risk caused by outdated policies or forms.
• Standardisation across sites and teams: Centralised templates and controlled documents help drive a consistent approach to safety management across an organisation, even with multiple locations or contractors.
• Improved security and confidentiality: Safety records can include sensitive personal information. Document management supports secure storage, access permissions, and controls so only authorised personnel can view confidential files.
• Better accessibility for frontline teams: Cloud and mobile access make it easier for people to find what they need quickly, wherever they are, supporting faster decisions, safer work, and better day-to-day compliance.
• Lower costs and less admin: Digital document control can reduce reliance on printing, physical storage, and manual filing, saving time and costs while improving traceability.

Choosing the right health and safety document management software starts with matching the platform to your real workflows – not just what looks good on a feature list.

Here’s a practical way to evaluate your options:

• Assess the functionality you actually need: Prioritise core capabilities such as cloud-based access, secure storage, fast search and filtering, document control, digital sign-off/approvals, and notifications/alerts for updates, reviews, and assignments. This helps ensure people can always find and use the latest documents (and you can evidence control during audits).
• Evaluate user experience and engagement: Even the best system fails if people don’t use it. Look for a platform that’s simple and intuitive for frontline teams and managers alike. Ask: Is it easy to upload and find documents? Does it work well on mobile? Is support available when teams need help?
• Check scalability for future growth: Choose software that can scale as your organisation grows, supporting more users, more sites, more document types, and evolving compliance requirements without becoming difficult to manage.
• Request demos and test real workflows: Always book demos and go in prepared. Bring examples like: approving a policy update, finding the latest risk assessment, assigning a review date, capturing sign-off, or pulling evidence for an audit. Ask vendors to show you these flows end-to-end, including reporting and audit trails.

If you’d like a step-by-step framework for making the right decision, check out our free digital course on purchasing health and safety software.

You can find document management software that supports ISO certification by looking for platforms designed to control ‘documented information’ and provide clear, auditable evidence of how your management system operates in practice, particularly for standards like ISO 45001, ISO 9001, and ISO 14001.

Notify’s health and safety software suite, including its document management module, supports ISO-aligned ways of working by providing the controls and evidence auditors expect, including:

• Version control: Ensure people always access the latest approved policy or procedure.
• Audit trails: Log document changes, access, and activity with timestamps.
• Electronic signatures: Capture approvals and sign-off digitally.
• Controlled workflows: Manage review cycles, approvals, and updates consistently.
• Access control: Restrict sensitive content to authorised roles.
• Read-and-understood tracking: Evidence that key updates have been communicated and acknowledged.

How this maps to common ISO expectations

ISO 45001 requires ‘documented information’ to be controlled. Notify helps by keeping the current approved version accessible to the workforce, while maintaining a clear version history for audit purposes.

ISO audits often look for evidence of action when issues occur. Notify supports this through action tracking, logging follow-ups and remedial steps with a timestamped audit trail.

ISO standards emphasise evidence-based decision-making. Notify’s real-time dashboards help demonstrate that you’re monitoring trends and using data to take informed action.

With Notify, teams can maintain a living safety management system – not a static paper one – by keeping policies, risk assessments, incidents, actions, audits, inspections, and supporting documents connected in one place. If you’d like to see how it works in your workflows, book a demo today.

Important note: Software can support compliance, but it doesn’t grant certification. To receive an ISO certificate, you still need a formal audit by an accredited certification body. If you are looking for ISO training, we partner with iqms Learning, who deliver CQI and IRCA-accredited courses.