Sign-off, release & amendments

A report moves through four phases, shown as steps at the top of the Report tab. The flow separates drafting, which any contributor can do, from sign-off, which needs an admin with the Sign Off Reports capability. A report can't be released without an authorized approval.

DRAFT ──Submit for review──▶ UNDER REVIEW ──Approve──▶ SIGNED OFF ──Close (release)──▶ RELEASED
  ▲                               │                        │                              │
  ├──────── Return to draft ──────┘                        │                              │
  ├──────────────────────── Reopen ────────────────────────┘                              │
  └──────────────────────────────────── Reopen (reason required) ─────────────────────────┘

Phase	Meaning	Next step
Draft	Being written. Findings and wording can be changed.	A contributor clicks Submit for review.
Under review	Awaiting sign-off. The report document is frozen and locked for editing.	An admin clicks Approve, or anyone who can edit clicks Return to draft.
Signed off	Approved, but not yet released.	An admin clicks Close (release), or Reopen to return it to Draft.
Released	A signed version exists and can be downloaded.	An admin can Reopen it to issue an amendment.

Who can do what

Action	Capability
Submit for review, Return to draft	Manage Cases (contributors and admins)
Approve, Reopen, Close (release)	Sign Off Reports (admins only)

Buttons you can't use aren't shown. Viewers see a read-only note instead.

Review and approval

1. The contributor finishes the report and clicks Submit for review. The report moves to Under review, and its document is frozen: the findings, classifications, wording, and letterhead are fixed as they stand.

2. The admin reviews the report, using Preview to read the full document. Also check, in the sample drawer, that the workflow and caller versions match the lab's validated configuration. See Pipeline & caller versions.

3. The admin either:

   • clicks Approve to sign off the report, or

   • clicks Return to draft to send it back for more work.

Because the document is frozen at submission, what the admin reviews is exactly what will be released; later reclassifications, template edits, or branding changes don't alter it. If the report changes phase while the admin is reviewing it (for example, someone returns it to draft), the approval is refused and the admin is asked to review the updated report. Returning a report to draft or reopening it discards the frozen document, and it's frozen again on the next submission.

Releasing

From Signed off, the admin clicks Close (release). Workbench completes the approved document with the release date, the signer's name, the date and time signed, and the version, then releases it as an immutable signed version in PDF, HTML, and JSON.

The first release is Version 1. A released version never changes. Later changes to classifications, templates, or branding don't affect it.

Downloading a released report

Once a report is released, click Download on the Report tab and choose PDF, HTML, or JSON. Downloads are the exact files frozen at release.

Reports can't be downloaded before they're first released. To see a report before release, use Preview.

Amendments

To change a report after it's been released, an admin reopens it:

1. Click Reopen.

2. Enter the Reason for reopening a released report. The reason is printed on the amended report.

3. Click Confirm reopen.

The report returns to Draft as the next amendment. While the amendment is in progress, a banner shows which version was last released, with a button to download it. Edit the report, then submit, approve, and release it as before. Each release after the first is labelled with its version number: the first amendment is Amendment 2 (superseding version 1), the next Amendment 3, and so on. Only the most recent released version can be downloaded.

Reopening a report that is Signed off but not yet released doesn't need a reason and doesn't create an amendment. It returns the report to Draft.

Activity

Click Activity on the Report tab to see the report's audit trail, newest first. Each entry records the action, who performed it and when, and, for reopened reports, the reason. Entries include:

• Draft created

• Submitted for review

• Returned to draft

• Approved & signed off

• Report reopened

• Report closed (released)

Report templates and report branding keep their own activity history. See Report templates and Report branding.