DWC key terms

Any person, group, or organization that affects, is affected by, or has an interest in the work, including customers, regulators, operators, and the community. Their needs and influence shape requirements, approvals, and communication planning.

The framework of authority, accountability, decision rights, and oversight applied to a program. It defines who approves changes, who accepts risk, and how performance is monitored against agreed objectives.

A tangible or intangible output that must be produced and handed over to complete a scope element, such as a report, structure, or software release. Deliverables are typically subject to defined acceptance criteria.

The combination of training, qualification, experience, and demonstrated performance that authorizes a person to carry out a defined task unsupervised. It is verified before assignment and reassessed periodically.

A written statement that defines the boundaries of a project or task: what will be delivered, what is excluded, and the conditions under which the work is performed. It anchors planning, pricing, and acceptance.

A hierarchical decomposition of the total scope into smaller, manageable components that can be estimated, scheduled, assigned, and controlled. The lowest levels describe work in enough detail for a responsible person to execute it.

A table linking each requirement to its source and to the design elements, tests, and deliverables that satisfy it. It supports impact analysis when changes occur and demonstrates coverage during verification and audit.

Predefined, objective conditions that a deliverable must meet to be accepted by the customer or authorized approver. They are agreed before work begins and used as the pass-or-fail basis during inspection and sign-off.

An approved, frozen version of scope, schedule, cost, or technical configuration used as the reference against which actual performance and proposed changes are measured. Altering a baseline requires formal authorization.

A living log of identified risks, each recorded with its cause, potential effect, likelihood, severity, owner, and planned response. It is reviewed at defined intervals and updated as conditions change.

Verification confirms an item was built correctly against its specified requirements; validation confirms it meets the intended use and user needs. Both must be evidenced with objective, recorded results.

A significant point in time marking completion of a defined portion of work or a key decision. It has no duration and consumes no effort, and is used to track progress and trigger approvals or payments.

A written, approved instruction describing how a routine task is performed step by step, including responsibilities, controls, and records produced. It promotes consistent results and forms the basis for training and audit.

A formal process for evaluating, approving, documenting, and communicating changes to equipment, processes, materials, or procedures before implementation, so that safety, quality, and regulatory impacts are assessed in advance.

The discipline of identifying, controlling, and auditing the physical and functional characteristics of items and their documentation throughout life. It ensures the approved version is the one actually built, installed, and maintained.

A quantifiable measure selected to show how well a process or objective is performing against a target. Effective indicators are specific, tied to a baseline, and reviewed at a defined frequency.

Documented insights from completed or in-flight work about what succeeded, what failed, and what should change next time. They deliver value only when stored where others can find them and acted upon.

A structured process of identifying hazards or uncertainties, then rating each by likelihood and severity to prioritize controls. The result determines whether risk is acceptable or must be reduced before work proceeds.

A source or situation with the potential to cause harm to people, property, or the environment. Hazards are identified before work starts and reassessed whenever conditions, equipment, or tasks change.

A task-level method that breaks a job into steps, identifies the hazards at each step, and defines the controls and safe procedure to follow. It is used to brief workers immediately before the task begins.

A ranked order of risk-reduction measures, from most to least effective: elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, and personal protective equipment. It guides selection so reliance on PPE is the last resort.

Clothing, helmets, gloves, respirators, hearing protection, and similar gear worn to reduce a worker's exposure to hazards. It protects the individual wearer but does not remove the hazard from the workplace.

A formal written authorization allowing a specific high-risk task to proceed under stated conditions, controls, and time limits. It verifies isolations, competencies, and safeguards, and is formally closed out on completion.

A procedure for isolating hazardous energy sources and applying locks and tags so equipment cannot be started or energized while people work on it. Only the person who applied a lock removes it.

An unplanned event that caused no injury or damage but had the potential to do so. Reporting and investigating near misses exposes failed controls before a serious incident occurs.

A structured examination of an unwanted event to establish what happened, why barriers failed, and what actions will prevent recurrence. Evidence, statements, and records are gathered promptly, before conditions change.

A documented set of roles, alarm and evacuation arrangements, communication routes, and recovery steps for foreseeable emergencies. It is drilled, reviewed after each exercise, and revised so response is automatic under pressure.

Meeting the obligations imposed by laws, regulations, permits, licences, and binding codes applicable to the work. Compliance is demonstrated through records, inspections, notifications, and reports to the authority.

The controlled process for creating, reviewing, approving, distributing, revising, and retiring documents so that only current, authorized versions are available at the point of use.

The planned, systematic activities that create confidence quality requirements will be met. It is process-focused and preventive, carried out before and during work rather than only at final inspection.

The inspection, measurement, and testing activities performed on outputs to determine whether they conform to specified requirements. Results are recorded, and nonconforming items are segregated and dispositioned.

A document specifying what will be inspected or tested, by whom, at which stage, by which method or standard, and what record results. It defines hold and witness points where work cannot proceed without approval.

A documented condition in which a product, process, or service does not meet a specified requirement. It triggers identification, segregation, disposition, and, where warranted, corrective action to prevent recurrence.

A structured response that eliminates the cause of an existing nonconformity (corrective) or a potential one (preventive). Each action carries an owner, a due date, and a verification of effectiveness.

A systematic method for tracing a problem back to the underlying process or system conditions that allowed it to occur, rather than stopping at the immediate or human error. Findings drive corrective action.

The comparison of an instrument's readings against a reference standard of known accuracy, with results and any adjustment documented. It establishes that measurements used for acceptance decisions can be trusted.

A defined schedule stating which records must be kept, for how long, in what form, and under whose custody, based on legal, contractual, and operational needs. It governs destruction as well as preservation.

An independent, systematic examination of activities and records against specified criteria such as standards, regulations, or internal procedures. Findings are graded, reported to management, and tracked to closure.