This article explains the Set Status outcome within the Workflow Rules (automated rules in Assure that execute an outcome when a record meets defined criteria) feature in Assure (the Evotix health, safety, and risk management platform). The Set Status outcome automatically moves an Incident Record to a specific stage in the Approval Lifecycle (the sequence of statuses a record passes through: In Progress, Submitted, Approved, Archived) based on defined trigger events and filter criteria. This outcome is used to automate the approval or archiving of records without requiring manual action from an Approver or Archiver. This article covers prerequisites, best practice, trigger compatibility, outcome configuration, and the permissions that control which users can be designated as the Approver or Archiver within the rule.
Cross-module note: Workflow Rules currently apply to the Incident Record module only. The Set Status outcome interacts directly with the Approval Workflow and the Organisational Unit structure in Assure.
Prerequisites
Before creating a Workflow Rule with the Set Status outcome, complete the following steps:
- Confirm your permissions first. The Manage Workflow Rules Supervisor Privilege must be set to Allow on the administrator's account before Workflow Rules Management is accessible. Without this privilege, the Settings > System Configuration > Workflow Rules Management navigation option will not appear. To check or update this, navigate to Settings > Organisational Configuration > Supervisor Privileges.
- Define your approval process. Review what the process should look like and identify which records are eligible to be automatically set to Approved or Archived.
- Ensure the Approval System is enabled, including Archiving if required. Both Is Approval Used (at system level and module level) must be active before rules can execute.
- Set your default Approver in Assure (if required). Use the Org Unit Defaults configuration to establish the standard approval path. Workflow Rules then handle automated exceptions.
- Identify which records can bypass manual approval and which require human review. Only automate records where the criteria are clear and objective.
- Communicate any changes to your team so users understand why records are moving through the approval stages automatically.
- Monitor rule execution after go-live via the Workflow Rules Log at Settings > System Configuration > Workflow Rules Log.
Why This Is Useful
Assure's default Approval Workflow requires manual action at each stage - a record must be submitted, then approved, then optionally archived. For some record types, this level of manual oversight is unnecessary and creates administrative overhead.
The Set Status outcome allows administrators to automate specific stages of the approval lifecycle based on objective criteria. Common situations where this is valuable include:
- Low-severity near misses -- Records that do not require formal investigation can be automatically approved as soon as they are created, removing the need for manual approval.
- No-lost-time accidents -- A record can be assigned to an Assignee for investigation. When the Assignee submits the record, a rule can automatically approve it and then a second rule can archive it, completing the lifecycle without further manual steps.
- Streamlining low-risk record types -- Where certain incident categories consistently follow the same approval path, automation reduces processing time and ensures consistency.
- Audit trail without manual effort -- Rules ensure records pass through the correct approval stages automatically, maintaining a compliant audit trail.
The Set Status outcome should complement your existing default workflow setup, not replace it. Use rules to automate the straightforward cases and reserve manual oversight for exceptions.
Best Practice for Setting Up Workflow Rules
Follow these guidelines before and during rule configuration:
- Plan before you build. Think through all scenarios before creating rules in the system.
- Use a standard naming convention. Include the Org Unit, criteria used, and outcome in the rule name and description. Both fields are searchable in the Workflow Rules Management page.
- Set up rules for create and edit triggers if you want rules to apply when criteria are updated during review, not just at the point of record creation.
- Set up rules for submitted and approved triggers if you want rules to apply based on a specific workflow stage transition.
- Consider chaining rules. For example, one rule can auto-approve a record on submission, and a second rule can auto-archive the record once it is approved. Check out this article to set default approvers
Click here to check out other articles related to the Workflow Rules manager.
Steps
Check out this article about how to create a workflow rule for a step by step guide to set up rules.
Step 1: Choose Your Trigger
When configuring the Set Status outcome, select one or more triggers in the When this happens section of the rule. Trigger compatibility differs depending on which status you intend to set:
Triggers compatible with all Set Status outcomes:
- When a record is created -- Workflow Rules are checked as soon as the record is created (by any source except data import). If criteria are met, the outcome executes immediately. This trigger can be combined with the edit trigger.
- When a record is edited -- Workflow Rules are checked when a record is saved. If criteria are met, the outcome executes accordingly. This trigger can be combined with the create trigger.
Triggers with restricted compatibility:
- When a record is submitted -- This trigger can only be used with the Set Status to Approved outcome. It cannot be used with Set Status to Archived.
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When a record is approved -- This trigger can only be used with the Set Status to Archived outcome. It cannot be used with Set Status to Approved.
Step 2: Set Your Filter Criteria
Define the conditions a record must meet before the rule executes. In the Criteria section of the rule:
1. Select the Org Unit the rule will apply to. Only records created or edited in this unit will be affected by the rule.
2. Tick Include Child Organisational Units if the rule should cascade down to child Org Units within the selected structure.
3. Configure the Filter to define the specific record conditions (for example, Incident Severity equals Low or Incident Type equals Near Miss). Filters created within a rule are only visible within that rule and cannot be accessed via the module filters.
Note: Date and time criteria within rule filters are restricted to empty and not empty. Picklist criteria are restricted to equal to, not equal to, empty, and not empty.
Step 3: Configure the Set Status Outcome
Once your trigger and filter criteria are set, select Set Status in the Outcome section and configure the status you wish to apply:
Option A: Set Status to Approved
Use this option to automatically move a record to the Approved status.
1. In the Outcome section, select Set Status.
2. Select Status Approved.
3. Select how the Approver (the user displayed as having approved the record) should be assigned. Choose one of the following:
- Set Approver to Default Approver -- The Approver displayed will be the default Approver configured in the Organisational Unit settings.
- Set Approver to Record Editor / Creator -- Depending on whether the trigger is create or edit, the user who created or edited the record will be displayed as the Approver.
- Set Approver to Select User -- Select a specific named user to be displayed as the Approver of the record.
Note: Only users with the Approve role permission for the module and the relevant Org Unit appear in the Select User list. If Include Child Organisational Units is ticked, the user must have access to all units in scope. See the Permissions section below for details.
4. Click Save. The rule appears in the Workflow Rules Management list with a status of Enabled and begins executing immediately when matching criteria are met.
Option B: Set Status to Archived
Use this option to automatically move a record to the Archived status.
1. In the Outcome section, select Set Status.
2. Select Status Archived.
3. Select how the Archiver (the user displayed as having archived the record) should be assigned. Choose one of the following:
- Set Archiver to Record Editor / Creator -- Depending on whether the trigger is create, edit, or approved, the user who last interacted with the record will be displayed as the Archiver.
- Set Archiver to Select User -- Select a specific named user to be displayed as the Archiver of the record.
Note: Only users with the Archive role permission for the module and the relevant Org Unit appear in the Select User list. If Include Child Organisational Units is ticked, the user must have access to all units in scope. See the Permissions section below for details.
4. Click Save. The rule appears in the Workflow Rules Management list with a status of Enabled and begins executing immediately when matching criteria are met.
Permissions: Which Users Can Appear in the Approver and Archiver Lists
Approver
For a user to appear in the Approver selection list within a Workflow Rule, both of the following must be true:
- The user holds the Approve role permission for the module the rule applies to.
- The user has access to the Org Unit specified in the rule. If Include Child Organisational Units is ticked, the user must have access to every unit included in the rule scope.
Archiver
For a user to appear in the Archiver selection list within a Workflow Rule, both of the following must be true:
- The user holds the Archive role permission for the module the rule applies to.
- The user has access to the Org Unit specified in the rule. If Include Child Organisational Units is ticked, the user must have access to every unit included in the rule scope.
AI Metadata
- Product Area: Workflow Rules Management, Incident Record, Approval Workflow, Organisational Configuration
- User Role: Assure System Administrator (requires the Manage Workflow Rules Supervisor Privilege)
- Tags: Workflow Rules, Set Status, Approved, Archived, Record Rule, Incident Record, Approval Lifecycle, Permissions, Org Unit, Approver, Archiver, Automation, Approval Workflow
- Version / Region: All Assure versions; all regions. Workflow Rules currently apply to the Incident Record module only.
- Important Synonyms: Set Status = Set Approval Stage = auto-approve = auto-archive; Record Rule = Workflow Rule for Records; Set Approver to Default Approver = Org Unit default approver; Archiver = user who archives the record; Workflow Rules Management = Workflow Rules Manager
- Suggested Embedding Keywords: set status workflow rule, auto approve incident record, auto archive record Assure, workflow rule approved status, workflow rule archived status, automatically approve record Assure, set status approved workflow rule, set status archived workflow rule, who can be approver workflow rule, who can be archiver workflow rule, Assure approval automation, Assure archiving automation
- Relevant Modules and Cross-Module Implications: This article is scoped to the Workflow Rules Management area in Assure and applies exclusively to the Incident Record module (the only module currently supported for Record Rules). The Set Status outcome directly interacts with the Approval Workflow and Role Permissions (the Approve and Archive permissions control user eligibility for the Approver and Archiver selection lists respectively). When chaining rules (for example, auto-approve on submission and then auto-archive on approval), each rule must be configured independently with the correct trigger for the intended outcome. The Override settings for the Approval Workflow are configured in Settings > Module Setup > Incident Record.