RAMS Workflow & Approval

RAMS Workflow & Approval

Every RAMS document in NexusRMS follows a structured lifecycle that ensures proper review, approval, and briefing before any work commences on site. The workflow enforces accountability through a three-person chain — author, reviewer, and approver — with full audit trails at every stage.

Document Lifecycle

RAMS documents progress through five statuses in a fixed sequence:

1. Draft — initial creation and editing phase; the author compiles hazards, controls, and method statements
2. Under Review — submitted for formal review; the assigned reviewer examines all content
3. Approved — reviewer has signed off; PDF generation triggered automatically
4. Briefed — all crew have been briefed via completed toolbox talks with full sign-off
5. Archived — document moved to long-term storage after project completion

Submit for Review

Before submission, the document must contain at least one identified hazard. The author assigns a reviewer and submits the document, which fires the DocumentSubmittedForReview event. The reviewer receives a notification with a direct link to the document.

Review Stage

The designated reviewer examines the document in full — hazards, risk ratings, control measures, method statements, and emergency procedures. Two outcomes are available:

• Approve — the reviewer confirms the document meets standards
• Request Changes — the reviewer returns the document to draft status with comments

Approve Document

Upon approval, NexusRMS fires the DocumentApproved event and triggers an asynchronous PDF generation job. The approved PDF is stored with version tracking, ensuring a permanent record of the approved content at that point in time.

Request Changes

When a reviewer requests changes, the document returns to draft status with a new revision number. The DocumentRejected event fires, and the reviewer's comments are recorded against the revision. The author addresses feedback and resubmits when ready.

Mark as Briefed

Only approved documents can be marked as briefed. This status is triggered automatically when all associated toolbox talks have been completed with every assigned crew member signed off. Manual override is not permitted — the system enforces complete crew acknowledgement.

Create Revision

Creating a revision replicates the entire document, increments the revision number, and records the full revision history within the document data. The new revision resets to draft status with a clean approval chain, preserving the previous version for audit purposes.

Three-Person Workflow

Role	Field	Responsibility
Author	created_by	Drafts the RAMS document and compiles all hazard assessments
Reviewer	reviewed_by	Examines content, requests changes or approves
Approver	approved_by	Final sign-off with digital signature

Each role records a timestamp when their action is completed, creating a verifiable approval timeline.

Multi-Stage Approval

The RamsApproval model supports up to three approval levels for organisations requiring additional oversight:

• Level 1 — standard reviewer approval
• Level 2 — senior manager or safety officer sign-off
• Level 3 — director or client approval (where contractually required)

Each level can be marked as mandatory or optional. Delegation allows an approver to assign their authority to a colleague, and escalation automatically elevates overdue approvals to the next level.

Approval Criteria Checklist

Each approval level includes a JSON checklist of criteria. The reviewer marks each criterion as met or unmet, and the system calculates a progress percentage. All mandatory criteria must be met before approval can proceed.

Overdue Detection

Reviews that remain unactioned for more than 48 hours are automatically flagged as overdue. The system sends reminder notifications to the assigned reviewer and alerts their line manager if the delay persists beyond 72 hours.

Digital Signatures

Approvers provide a digital signature captured via a canvas-based signature pad. The signature URL is stored on the approval record and embedded in the generated PDF for verification.

Duplicate to Project

Approved RAMS documents can be duplicated to another project, carrying across all hazards, control measures, method statements, and emergency procedures. The duplicated document starts as a new draft with its own approval chain.

PDF Generation

PDFs are auto-generated upon approval via an asynchronous job. Each version is stored permanently, ensuring that the approved content is preserved even if the document is later revised. Version tracking links each PDF to its specific revision number.