Link Evidence to a Standard

Linked evidence connects operational records to standard requirements so compliance health is tracked automatically. Requirements can use open evidence slots that let you choose the evidence type when you link it, or fixed slots that expect a specific type set in advance. Open the Linked Evidence page to see all linked records for your site, then add or manage links from each requirement.

View linked evidence across your site

Go to the Linked Evidence page to see every operational record currently linked to requirements on your site. When you link documents, schedules, or other operational records to standard requirements, shared evidence records appear here with health and usage counts.

The page shows two sections: Needs Attention and Healthy.

If nothing is linked yet, you will see No Linked Evidence Yet. Operational records used as evidence across adopted standards are evaluated once for health and that status is shared by every linked requirement. Expand a row to see which requirements use it.

Link evidence to a requirement

To add a new evidence link, open the standard and requirement you want to update, then go to the Evidence section. You will see Required Evidence and Supplementary Evidence (optional links that do not affect compliance scoring).

Some requirements use open evidence slots, which means you choose the evidence type when you link it rather than the requirement fixing the type ahead of time. This makes the add-evidence flow more flexible and searchable.

Click Add Evidence to open the evidence type picker.
Use the search field labeled Search evidence types… if you know the type you want. If nothing matches, the picker shows No evidence types match your search.
Choose the evidence from the catalog groups. The picker is organized into Operational Links, Site Evidence, and Recommended (when applicable).
Select the appropriate evidence type from the list:
- Operational Links
  - Link a published document
  - Link a document distribution
  - Link a form distribution
  - Link a risk assessment distribution
  - Link preventive or inspection work
  - Link a published, current risk assessment
- Site Evidence
  - Upload a file or reference an attachment on a record
  - Record a written confirmation for this requirement only
Complete the form that appears. The exact fields depend on the type you selected. For example, distribution links require a Minimum Acknowledgment Rate (%) between 0 and 100.
Submit the form to create the link.

Link a distribution policy or form distribution

When a requirement needs proof that staff have acknowledged a recurring policy or form, you can link it directly to an existing distribution policy or form distribution from the requirement’s Evidence section. The evidence linking form includes a dedicated distribution policy selector so you can pick the right policy, plus a threshold field to define the minimum acknowledgment rate expected.

From the requirement’s Evidence section, click Add Evidence and choose Distribution Policy or Form Distribution from the evidence type picker.
In the distribution policy selector, search for the policy you want. The selector is labeled Search Policies and shows Recurring distribution policy items. If no policies are available, it shows No recurring distribution policies found.
Pick the policy or form distribution. The selector shows None selected until you choose one, then updates to 1 policy selected (or {n} policies selected if multiple).
Enter the Minimum Acknowledgment Rate (%) between 0 and 100. This is the minimum share of assigned recipients who must acknowledge the distribution for the evidence link to be considered healthy. If the current rate falls below this threshold, the requirement shows a gap labeled Distribution acknowledgment rate is below the required threshold.
Save the link and review the status badge on the linked evidence. The badge reflects whether the acknowledgment rate meets the threshold and whether the distribution is still active.

To create the underlying distribution or policy, see Creating Distributions.

Recommended and allowed evidence types

The picker shows evidence types under two guidance categories:

Recommended — types the standard suggests for this requirement. These are the best match for the obligation and will typically produce the strongest compliance signal.
Allowed — types the standard accepts but does not prefer. These can be used when the recommended type is not available or when your site uses an alternative approach.

Some requirements may restrict the picker to a smaller set of allowed types. If a type is not available, it means the requirement does not accept that kind of evidence.

Review interval rules

When you link evidence that carries its own review schedule, the system compares the evidence review interval against the requirement’s attestation interval. Document and risk assessment links may ask for an explanation if the source review interval is looser than the requirement slot requires.

Attestation intervals are set in the standard definition (for example, every three months, six months, or one year). The linked evidence must be reviewed at least as often as the requirement expects, or the requirement will show a compliance gap. For more detail on how attestation intervals are configured, see Configure Standard Requirements.

Inaccessible linked items

If you lose access to the underlying record after it is linked, the label changes to indicate the restriction:

Linked document (no access)
Linked distribution policy (no access)
Linked work schedule (no access)
Linked risk assessment (no access)
Linked file (no access)
Linked evidence (no access)

Where evidence links appear

Evidence links are loaded in the requirement tree indicators, so you can see which requirements have evidence and which are missing links while you browse standards. In the requirement detail view, the Evidence section also shows warnings when required slots are not fully linked or when linked evidence has review issues.

Permissions

Only Managers and Admins for the Standards module can link or unlink evidence. If you do not have access, the page shows You do not have permission to view linked evidence. Please contact your administrator.

To review all linked evidence for your site and see which requirements each record supports, see View site evidence and linked requirements.