Workflow Engine
Documentation.
Reliatic's Workflow Engine orchestrates complex industrial processes with built-in state machines, approval gates, and governance enforcement. Every workflow transition is validated, audited, and enforced to ensure compliance and data integrity.
01. Workflow Engine Overview
The Workflow Engine is the backbone of Reliatic's governance framework. It ensures that all business processes—from asset creation to risk acceptance—follow predefined paths with mandatory checkpoints and approvals.
State Machines
Enforce valid state transitions for actions, inspections, FMEA, and decisions with rules-based validation.
Approval Gates
Multi-level approval workflows with role-based authorization and signature verification.
Atomic Transactions
All workflow operations are transactional—either fully complete or fully roll back.
Time-Locked Deadlines
Automatic state changes based on time triggers (e.g., overdue inspections become 'stale').
Core Principles
- Deterministic: Same input always produces same output—no hidden side effects
- Auditable: Every transition logged with timestamp, actor ID, justification, and context
- Enforceable: Invalid transitions rejected at runtime—no manual override
- Reversible: All actions support undo/rollback with full audit trail
02. State Machines
Reliatic implements finite state machines (FSMs) for all major entities. Each state transition is explicitly defined, validated, and enforced to prevent invalid workflows.
Action State Machine
FMEA State Machine
Inspection State Machine
// TypeScript State Machine Example enforceTransition( currentState: "proposed", targetState: "in_progress", allowedTransitions: ACTION_TRANSITIONS ); // Result: REJECTED // Error: "Invalid transition: proposed → in_progress" // Reason: Must be approved before starting work
03. Approval Gates
Approval gates are mandatory checkpoints in workflows that require explicit authorization from designated roles before proceeding.
Gate Triggered
When a workflow reaches an approval gate (e.g., action submitted for approval), the system creates an approval request.
Notification Sent
Designated approvers receive email and in-app notifications with a link to the approval request.
Approver Reviews
Approver views the request details, context, and supporting documents. They can approve, reject, or request changes.
Decision Recorded
Approval or rejection is logged with timestamp, approver ID, justification, and optional signature token.
Workflow Continues
If approved, workflow advances to next state. If rejected, workflow returns to previous state with feedback.
Approval Gate Types
Single Approver
Requires approval from one designated person (e.g., direct manager).
Multi-Level
Requires sequential approvals from multiple roles (e.g., engineer → supervisor → manager).
Parallel Approval
Requires concurrent approval from multiple stakeholders (e.g., operations AND safety).
Automatic
Auto-approval based on predefined criteria (e.g., low-risk actions below threshold).
04. Action Workflows
Action workflows manage corrective, preventive, and governance actions from creation through completion.
Action Lifecycle
Action created but not yet submitted. Owner can edit freely.
Action submitted for approval. Triggers notification to approver.
Manager approves action. Now ready to start work.
Work actively being performed. Owner can log updates and progress.
Work finished. Verification gate checks if linked risk event is resolved.
05. Inspection Workflows
Schedule Inspection
System auto-generates inspection schedule based on asset criticality, API 510/570 intervals, or RBI results.
Pre-Inspection Planning
Inspector reviews asset history, previous findings, and recommended NDE methods.
Execute Inspection
Field inspection performed. Results (thickness readings, photos, defects) entered into mobile or web interface.
Review Findings
Engineering reviews inspection data. If critical defects found, workflow triggers immediate escalation.
Update Risk Model
Inspection results can be used to update PoF calculations in the RBI engine.
Schedule Next Inspection
System calculates next inspection date based on updated risk profile and regulatory requirements.
06. FMEA Workflows
Scheduled FMEA Review Cycle
FMEA is valid and current. Next review scheduled.
30 days before review date: email sent to FMEA owner.
Owner starts review. Can update S, O, D ratings and justification.
System creates immutable version snapshot with timestamp.
Review completed. Next review date auto-calculated (+12 months).
07. Best Practices
Always Provide Justification
Every state transition requires a justification note. Provide clear context for future auditors and reviewers.
Use Atomic Operations
Don't manually update multiple related records. Use workflow functions that handle all updates transactionally.
Respect Approval Gates
Never bypass approval gates even for urgent items. Use expedited approval process with documented justification.
Monitor Overdue Workflows
Use the Governance Inbox dashboard to track overdue actions, inspections, and reviews. Set up escalation rules.
Review State Machine Logs
Periodically audit the activity log to identify workflow bottlenecks or invalid transition attempts.
Configure Role-Based Access
Ensure that only authorized users can approve critical workflows. Use RBAC to enforce separation of duties.