An employee needs a procedure for a specific machine. The knowledge workflow finds documents within their access permissions and answers with references they can check.
Use the current asset-specific checklist and record it against the work order.
Rev 4 · Section 6.2
EX-MNT-004Maintenance standardMaintenanceRefer open exceptions to the responsible engineer. Incomplete is not complete.
Rev 2 · Section 3.1EX-POL-009Release policyEquipment releaseRestart approval remains with authorised personnel after the required review.
Rev 3 · Section 2.4The question at work
Engineering teams work across years of SOPs, manuals and maintenance records. Finding a document is only part of the task: the employee needs the current revision for the machine in front of them.
A familiar title or a colleague's memory isn't enough to establish that a procedure applies. The answer needs to point back to the controlled document.
What inspection procedure should be completed before restarting this machine after scheduled maintenance?
Completed inspection and release records. The actual machine state is not known.
Use the asset-specific procedure and release process before any restart.
The evidence beside the answer
Match the question to the applicable documents, check the employee's permissions and keep each answer linked to its source. Revisions and section references make the answer easier to verify.
Release status remains unconfirmed.
Each answer stays linked to a document, revision and section.
Match the current asset-specific checklist to the maintenance work order.
EX-SOP-017 / Rev 4 / Section 6.2“Use the current asset-specific inspection checklist. Record the inspection against the relevant maintenance work order before release review.”
Open exceptions go to the responsible engineer. Incomplete records cannot confirm completed work.
EX-MNT-004 / Rev 2 / Section 3.1“Refer open exceptions to the responsible engineer. An incomplete inspection record must not be represented as completed work.”
Restart requires authorised review and approval. This answer grants neither.
EX-POL-009 / Rev 3 / Section 2.4“Restart approval remains with authorised personnel after review of the applicable inspection and handover records.”
Machine state, inspection completion and release approval remain unknown. Release rules follow the asset, task and organisation's policies.
Knowledge system design
Decide which documents the system can use and where answers should appear. Set rules for outdated or conflicting instructions, including when to refer a question to its document owner.
| System layer | How AI helps | Configuration |
|---|---|---|
| Context | Match the question to the asset, activity and employee's role. | The details needed to identify the job and who is asking. |
| Knowledge | Find the relevant documents and revisions within the employee's permissions. | Source collections, document freshness and access permissions. |
| Uncertainty | State when documents are missing, conflict or do not support an answer. | Evidence thresholds, fallback behaviour and exception routing. |
| Workflow delivery | Provide answers with citations in search, chat or connected tools. | Destination systems, response formats and optional escalation rules. |
Inside your organisation
Choose one area of work and the documents its owners trust. Keep access tied to employee identity and the permissions those documents already have.
Find the relevant revision and include its reference in the tools employees use. Say when the documents cannot answer the question.
Make the right document easier to find when someone needs it.
Beyond this case study
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