Operational planning and control - general
Plain-language summary
Putting the controls from your risk planning into day-to-day operations, and making sure work happens within them.
What the clause is really asking
This is where the plan meets the floor. The clause requires you to plan, implement and control the processes needed to meet OH&S requirements, including setting criteria for safe work, controlling work to those criteria, and keeping the documented information that gives confidence the controls are working. The intent is that hazardous work is actually done the safe way, every time, not just described safely on paper.
What auditors look for
Auditors observe high-risk work being performed and compare it against the safe work procedure, permits and criteria. They check that controls from the risk assessment are actually in place and used, such as guards, permits, isolation and PPE. Adapting work to be safer also means they check coordination with contractors on shared sites.
Typical evidence
Safe work procedures and method statements; permit-to-work records; operational criteria and checklists; evidence of controls in use during observation; coordination arrangements for multi-employer sites.
How to comply — recommendations
Translate each significant control into a clear safe work procedure or permit and make sure operators actually follow it. Set practical criteria for what safe looks like so supervisors can check at a glance. Build the controls into normal operations rather than treating them as extras. Where contractors share your site, coordinate so everyone works to the same controls.
Common nonconformities
Safe work procedures exist but are not followed in practice; high-risk work done without the required permit or isolation; controls from the risk assessment missing on the floor; no criteria for what safe operation looks like; poor coordination of controls on shared sites.
Related clauses
ISO 9001 8.1; ISO 14001 8.1
Qlause provides interpretive guidance only and is not a substitute for the standard. Refer to your licensed copy of the relevant standard for the authoritative text.