Contractor clearance, the prerequisites for the intervention, the evidence of the work and the decision of whoever receives it, all held in one case file — through to a recorded outcome, formal acceptance or reasoned rejection, confirmed by the authorized owner or by the system of record for that milestone, whichever was agreed for the job. The handback of the asset to operations is recorded separately where it applies.
01 · The problem
Work on an asset rarely stalls for lack of goodwill. It stalls because a contractor certificate expired last week, because someone on the crew does not hold the qualification that type of work requires, because the asset was never released in the window agreed with operations, because a permit another system has to issue is still outstanding, or because no one designated who will accept the work once it is finished.
Several tools support the job, each handling one part well: a Microsoft Excel sheet with the document matrix for each contractor, Microsoft SharePoint folders holding the certificates, an EAM/CMMS with the work order and the asset history, and Power BI reporting on open jobs. What none of them shows is which requirement is holding the job up today, who has to clear it, and on what evidence the work was accepted.
The case file for the intervention does exist. It is simply split across the party that contracts the work, the party that operates the asset and the party that carries it out.
02 · The solution
Every intervention is managed in a single case file through an agreed sequence: clearing the contractor and checking that its documentation is current, preparing the job on a specific asset, pulling together the prerequisites and the permits issued by the systems that own them, carrying out the work with evidence, review by whoever receives it, and a recorded outcome: formal acceptance or reasoned rejection. The handback of the asset to operations is recorded separately where it applies.
What ties those steps together is already defined in the Operational Graph: every job hangs off the asset or facility it touches, the service that may be affected, the contract covering it, the documentation its work category calls for, and the owner who can accept it. BPMflow supports the case file day to day — cases, prerequisites, deadlines, scoped contractor participation and evidence — working from those same definitions rather than from a standalone diagram.
When the work alters the design, the procedure or the operating conditions of the facility, industrial change follows a path of its own: Oil & Gas Industrial MOC. Setting the contractor up as a supplier — registration, categories, contractual documentation and changes to the relationship — belongs to Supplier Onboarding and Changes.
03 · Capabilities
Jobs sit in a single queue, with the asset, the contractor, the outstanding requirement, the agreed window and the receiving owner all in plain view. Within the authorized context, Max answers questions about the case file: which requirement is missing, what evidence is on record and who the next owner is.
Gathers the documentation each work category and legal entity requires, and tracks expiry dates so a certificate does not lapse midway through a scheduled job.
Ties the job to the asset or facility, the window agreed with operations, the service that may be affected and the owners who need to be informed.
Brings together what must be in place before work starts: workers holding the qualifications and authorizations the job requires, job-specific documentation, and the permits issued by the systems that own them, recorded as inputs to the case file.
Records who carried out the work, what was done, when, which parts or materials were declared as used, and which verifications were documented. The contractor takes part with scoped access to its own job.
Every finding carries an owner, a deadline and a criterion for clearing it. Work returned for rework is checked again against that criterion before the finding is closed.
Records the decision of the receiving owner — formal acceptance or reasoned rejection — any conditions left open and, where it applies, the handback of the asset to operations, with the case file retained for contract administration and for the next intervention.
04 · Roles
Prepares the intervention and coordinates it with operations.
What they see
Jobs by asset, contractor, agreed window and outstanding requirement, with whatever is still missing to start.
What they do
Builds the case file, agrees the window with operations and records that the prerequisites are in place so the job can move ahead; issuing the permit stays with the system that owns it.
Keeps each contractor’s clearance current.
What they see
Each contractor’s valid and soon-to-expire documentation, by work category, legal entity and contract.
What they do
Clears, restricts or suspends a contractor’s participation on the strength of its documentation and the terms of the contract.
Receives the work and decides whether to accept it.
What they see
The work performed, the evidence provided and the findings still open on the asset in their care.
What they do
Accepts, returns the work for rework, or rejects it on stated grounds, and confirms the handback of the asset to operations.
Performs the work and supplies its evidence.
What they see
Its assigned jobs, the requirements it has to complete and the findings it has to clear, in its own case file.
What they do
Updates its documentation, documents the work and attaches evidence, and responds to the findings raised.
05 · Implementation
Implementation starts from the work as it runs today: one intervention type and a limited group of contractors are enough to begin, with no architecture project up front.
1 · Agree on the outcome
Which interventions are in scope, what documentation each work category requires, which authorizations must be on record before work starts, and who decides — formal acceptance or reasoned rejection.
2 · Capture the operating context and connect sources
Takes the asset and the work order from the EAM/CMMS, the contract and the contractor categories from contract administration, and integrates with the organization’s authorized document repository when that is the source of record for certificates.
3 · Test the path and adopt it
The workflow is tested on interventions from the current period; requirements, deadlines and acceptance criteria are then refined based on the test results, and day-to-day operation stays with the client’s own team.
06 · Typical scenarios
Several legal entities, assets spread across sites, contractors with documentation about to expire, and jobs that depend on an operating window: situations that come up regularly in maintenance plans and planned shutdowns.
An intervention closes when the receiving owner has accepted the work or rejected it on stated grounds, there is evidence of what was done, and that outcome is confirmed by the same owner or recorded by the agreed system of record. Handback of the asset to operations is tracked as a milestone of its own. The practical way in is one specific work type and a limited group of contractors.
Contractors, Assets and Interventions is an EAFlow cross-industry solution on the Operational Graph, supported by BPMflow’s automation capabilities. The EAM/CMMS remains the system of record for the asset and the work order, the work-permit system remains responsible for issuing the permit, and operational control stays with its own systems: what they produce is recorded as input and evidence in the case file. When the work alters the design or the operating conditions of the facility, industrial change follows a path of its own.
