Approvals are created for Hold Points and Witness Points, and in some cases for Check Items. This process is commonly referred to as 'raising a Hold Point' or 'requesting a Hold Point release'.
Prior to progressing with the below, you must have created a Checkist - see guide here: Create Checklists - Attach ITP to Lots
Instructions
1. Navigate to a Checklist you'd like to raise a Hold Point from. This can be done by:
- Navigating to the Checklist register (Quality Assurance > Checklists). Click Open to view the Checklist inspections; or
- Navigating to a Lot in the Lot Register, opening its Related Items, then selecting the Checklist.
2. Right-click the inspection item and select Request Approval. Alternatively, select the checkbox beside the inspection item and open the Action on Selection menu from the sidebar.
Note: Approvals are created separately for each inspection item.
3. Populate the below fields:
- Workflow – select the approval workflow, e.g. "Hold Point Workflow - Default". These are setup in the QA Setup menu - see Create Basic Workflows for Approvals
- Days until due - initially populated based on the approval workflow defaults, this indicates when the first response is due, and shows as a date in the Approval register and in the Approval.
- Addressees – the person you are asking to approve the item. By default the list shows only users who can approve. You can also address a Group – see Create Groups and Use Groups (for Addressees).
- CC – copy another person, if applicable.
- Attachments – attach a file from your computer (plus icon), or link a recently uploaded file from the Filestore (chainlink icon).
Unticking Show only users that can approve adds Subscription Administrators who aren't linked to the project, and inactive users who are.
Once populated, you have two options:
- Create Approval - this creates the 'draft' approval, and leaves it sitting in the Approvals regiser with a status of 'Not Started'. Users will chose this path if they want to add further context to the Approval description - in addition to the default information extracted from the inspection description. Once ready to send, jump in to the approval in the Approvals register and click Start Workflow.
- Start & Notify - typical route, this starts your approval and notifies respective parties.
4. If you selected Start & Notify, skip to Step 6.
If you used Create Approval, below is an example of what the 'draft' Approval will look like. Here, you can update the Approval Text and Subject if required.
The approval is created at status Not started. Nothing has been sent yet. Review the wording, and use the Link icon on the right panel to attach any further documents or photos supporting your request.
5. When you're ready to send, click Start Workflow. Confirm the details in the Start Workflow dialog:
- Workflow – the approval's workflow.
- Days until 1st step due – drives the Due Days shown on the approval. Defaults to 1.
- Attachments – anything further to include.
Then choose one of:
- Start Workflow (Preview) – starts the workflow, and shows you the outbound notification before it sends.
- Start Workflow (Send) – starts the workflow and emails the approver immediately.
The status moves to Requested, the Action Date and Due Days populate, and the approver receives an email with a link to sign in and action the request.
6. Back in the Checklist, a question mark is visible in the Approve box, meaning it is pending approval. This will also be visible in the Approvals register.
7. To view the approval again, select the inspection item, click the Notepad icon on the right panel and select View Approval. (Or right-click the inspection item and select the same, or open the Related Items for the line item and. you'll see a link to the Approval)
8. The Action Date appears at the top and an entry is written to the Action Logs at the bottom. Click Close to exit.
Common questions
The Approval Workflow dropdown is empty – why?
Either the Checklist line item is set to 'Check' Item rather than a Hold or Witness Point, or the project has no approval workflows set up yet – see Create Basic Workflows for Approvals.
When the line item isn't setup correctly, this means when you request an approval from that line item, the Approval Workflow dropdown filters for 'Check' approvals.
To fix:
- Fix the current Checklist by clicking Open on the line item, and change Hold Point & Witness Point check to correct type. Save. Then re-raise the approval
- Fix the master ITP so you don't have the issue again. Open Inspection Test Plans, open the ITP, then repeat the above step for the inspection line item. This will apply to all future Checklists created from this ITP
Next steps
Once the request is with your approver:
- Action Inspection Approval Requests (by the Approvers) – what your approver sees and does – worth sending them
- Generate Quick Approval using QR Code – release a Hold Point on the spot when your approver is on site
- Short Circuit an Approval (Revert to Previous Status) – if it's rejected in error or needs re-processing