When a Management of Change (MOC) is initiated, one of the first and most critical activities is gathering and organizing the documents and data associated with the change. This often includes P&IDs, datasheets, specifications, vendor manuals, control narratives, photos, calculations, procedures, and cost estimates—an extensive and evolving set of materials that becomes increasingly difficult to manage without management of change solutions and applications designed to centralize records and maintain traceability throughout the review process.
At this early stage, none of the information is “final.” It’s a Work in Process (WIP) — living documents that evolve with feedback, redlines, and approvals. Yet despite its fluidity, this content is foundational: decisions will be made from it, reviews will be based on it, and ultimately, it becomes part of the historical record of the facility.
So, here’s the question that every MOC team faces: Where does this WIP information go?
The WIP Dilemma: Organize or Fragment?
All too often, MOC-related documents are scattered across email threads, personal drives, or temporary folders with little oversight. This leads to several key issues:
- No version control — people work off outdated or conflicting information.
- No revision tracking — changes are made without context or review history.
- No audit trail — you can’t demonstrate compliance or decisions during an incident or review.
- No continuity — critical information may disappear once a project closes or an employee leaves.
The result is fragmentation — and fragmentation in process safety management is a recipe for failure.
What an MOC Platform Should Do
A robust MOC platform must do more than track approvals or assign actions. It must also:
- Provide a structured digital location for WIP documentation from the outset of the MOC.
- Support sharing, versioning, and redlining for collaboration.
- Ensure that all WIP content is retained as part of the MOC history — not lost when the change is implemented.
- Integrate with production document libraries to manage the transition from draft to approved.
In short, managing WIP documents effectively isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s a core requirement for managing change with integrity and accountability.
FACILEX®: MOC with Built-In WIP Control
The FACILEX® MOC solution tackles this challenge head-on with a comprehensive WIP folder structure built into each MOC project. It offers:
- Seamless document storage and retrieval
- Secure version and revision tracking
- Full lifecycle visibility of all supporting materials
- Configurable workflows for document editing, approval, and finalization
By embedding WIP management into the MOC process, FACILEX® ensures that your project team can collaborate effectively — and your facility maintains a trusted, traceable record of every change.
Because in process safety, it’s not just about what you change — it’s about what you keep track of while you do.
