Industries · Industry and Manufacturing
Contractor control in industrial plants and manufacturing
The technician who comes to the same machine every month is the one whose papers get checked least, because everyone knows them. NAVA verifies their documentation at every entry without anyone having to ask for it, and expires their induction when it’s due.
Requirements are configured by activity type: the system determines what’s required of each person based on the work they’ll perform, not on a general list that’s the same for everyone.
Critical moment in industry and manufacturing
The routine entry of the usual supplier
- Who comes in
- Maintenance suppliers, technical services, turnaround contractors
- Elements under control
- People · vehicles · machinery
- Answer at the gatehouse
- Cleared for entry: yes or no, depending on the area
Context
The supplier who’s been coming in for five years and no one checks again
An industrial plant doesn’t receive crowds: it receives the same people. The refrigeration technician comes every month, the boiler technician every quarter, the electrician whenever there’s a scheduled intervention. Everyone knows them by name.
That’s where control gets relaxed. People you know get let in without being asked for anything, even if their medical exam has expired or they took the induction three years ago.
In NAVA, verification no longer depends on someone asking for it: requirements are assigned by area and trade, validity periods are calculated automatically, and the gatehouse looks people up without friction.
The problem
What makes contractor control hard at a plant
Situations your team will recognize, and what happens today when control depends on a spreadsheet and on the memory of whoever is at the door.
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Familiarity replaces control
The recurring supplier is let in because they’re known, and whoever is at the gate has no way of knowing whether their documentation is still valid.
It’s where verification gets most relaxed, and the one that looks worst when you have to rebuild what happened.
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Many specialized suppliers, each with its own requirements
Refrigeration, boilers, electrical, instrumentation. Each trade requires different technical certifications.
A single list of documents isn’t enough, and it ends up requiring the same from someone who welds and someone who delivers supplies.
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Areas with different requirements within the same plant
Entering the warehouse isn’t the same as entering the process area, and work at height on a line doesn’t require the same as a check in the yard.
The requirement ends up depending on the judgment of whoever authorizes entry, not on the area or the activity.
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Inductions that were done only once
The recurring contractor took the plant induction three years ago, when they first came in. The plant has changed since then, and they never saw it again.
If nothing makes it expire, no one knows whether it’s still valid, and in practice everyone assumes it is.
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The supplier’s equipment and tools
The supplier arrives with their own tools and equipment, which have inspection certificates with their own validity periods.
The technician may be cleared and the equipment they’re going to work with not, and no one checks it at the gate.
Document requirements matrix
The documents your operation requires
The matrix turns your company’s procedure into rules the system applies: which element each document is required for, under which activity, with what validity period, who approves it, and what gets blocked when it expires.
- Entry The person or vehicle can’t enter while the document is expired or rejected.
- Use The equipment or machinery is disabled from operating.
- Contract It affects the continuity of the relationship with the contractor company.
| Document | Applies to | Blocks | Operational note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current enrollment with an ARL (Colombia’s occupational risk insurer), with risk class | People | Entry | It must match the activity performed inside the plant |
| Current enrollment with an EPS (health insurer) and a pension fund | People | Entry | |
| Valid occupational medical exam | People | Entry | |
| Technical certifications by trade | People | Entry | Electrical, refrigeration, welding, confined spaces |
| Work-at-heights certificate | People | Entry | Work more than two meters above floor level |
| Equipment and tool inspection certificate | Machinery | Use | The supplier’s equipment has its own validity period |
| SOAT (Colombia’s mandatory vehicle insurance) and technical-mechanical inspection | Vehicles | Use | |
| Civil liability insurance policy | Company | Contract | |
| Plant induction, with a validity period | People | Entry | The expiration frequency is what forces it to be renewed |
Each requirement is configured once with its validity period, its approver, and its review criteria. Entry override is available as an exception, with a named person responsible and a justification.
How it works
Who does what, from onboarding to the gatehouse
Your team manages the relationship, the third party uploads their information, and NAVA applies the rules throughout the cycle. These are the five stages in industry and manufacturing.
- 01
Your team
Supplier onboarding
The company is associated with the activities it takes part in. The assigned activity is what defines which documents are required of its personnel and its equipment.
- 02
NAVA
Requirement assignment
The matrix applies what that area and that trade require, not a general list. That’s what keeps you from asking for a heights certificate from someone who never goes up, and from not asking for it from someone who does.
- 03
The supplier
Document upload
It uploads the files for its personnel and equipment from its own portal and sees the status of each one. Your team no longer receives loose documents by email.
- 04
Your team or the NAVA back office
Validation and induction
The reviewer approves against criteria, rejects with a comment, or leaves it pending. The person takes the plant induction, with its video and its assessment, and gets the certificate with the configured validity period.
- 05
Gatehouse
Routine entry
At the gate, the lookup is by ID number, license plate, serial number, or QR code. The usual supplier gets in just as fast, with the difference that now the system has verified.
Scenario
The usual supplier
The refrigeration technician arrives on a Tuesday, like every month. The gatehouse looks up their ID number, and the answer is not cleared for entry: the plant induction expired three weeks ago.
Their enrollments are up to date and their electrical certification is valid until 2027. The only thing expired is what no one was watching, and it’s exactly what the plant configured as restrictive. The person takes the induction from their phone, passes the assessment, and is cleared, without calling anyone.
- Company
- Refrigeration technical services
- Enrollments
- ARL, EPS, and pension valid
- Electrical certification
- Valid until March 2027
- Work site
- Process area
Results
What changes when verification no longer depends on who’s at the gate
Four concrete changes to day-to-day work in industry and manufacturing. You can see each one in detail on the page of the solution that carries it out.
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The familiar supplier is verified without friction
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The induction comes up for renewal on its own
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Each activity has its own requirements
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The supplier’s equipment is controlled separately
The platform
Which solutions are involved in this industry
NAVA is three solutions on the same platform. This is the role each one plays in an operation like yours.
Document requirements matrix by activity and by trade, plant induction with a validity period, control of the supplier’s equipment, and entry lookups.
See NAVA 360 →
Training over WhatsApp for your own plant staff, with two-minute micro-lessons, an assessment in the chat, and a PDF certificate.
See NAVA Skills →
Auditors, clients, and sales visits: self-registration through a link or QR code, host pre-approval, and visitor induction.
See NAVA ID →All three share one platform and database and are contracted separately. At plants, the NAVA 360 induction with a validity period is often the first reason to buy.
Regulatory framework
Applicable regulations and how they translate into documents
NAVA doesn’t interpret the regulations: it manages the documents your plant uses to show it has complied with them, with a responsible person and a date on every decision.
| Framework | What it requires | How it shows up in the document requirements matrix |
|---|---|---|
| Decree 1072 of 2015 | The hiring company’s obligations under its OHS (occupational health and safety) management system (SG-SST) toward third parties who enter its operation | ARL, EPS, and pension enrollments, medical exams, and plant induction |
| Resolution 0312 of 2019 | Minimum SG-SST standards by size and risk class | Requirements differentiated by activity type |
| Resolution 4272 of 2021 | Minimum safety requirements for work at heights, more than two meters above floor level | Work-at-heights certificate as an entry-restrictive document |
| ARL requirements by industrial risk class | Requirements tied to the economic activity and its risk class | Configured as your own requirements, with their validity period and their approver |
Frequently asked questions
Questions about third-party control in Industry and Manufacturing
Our maintenance contractors are always the same ones. Is it worth it?
That’s where it adds the most. The familiar supplier gets let in without a check, and their documentation expires just like anyone else’s. The gatehouse looks them up and the system answers, without anyone having to ask for papers from someone who’s been coming for five years.
Can we require something different depending on the work the person will perform?
Yes. Requirements are configured by activity type: someone doing hot work and someone making a warehouse delivery don’t need to submit the same documents, and the system determines which ones apply. What doesn’t change the requirements is the area or the work site.
Can the induction expire on its own?
Yes. It’s configured with a validity period and as restrictive: when it expires, the person is no longer cleared until they take it again and pass the assessment.
What about the tools and equipment the supplier brings?
They’re elements with their own document requirements matrix. Their inspection certificate has its own validity period, and when it expires, the equipment is disabled from operating even if the person is cleared.
Can we require different certifications by trade?
Yes. Requirements are assigned by activity, so the electrical technician is asked for what applies to their work and the refrigeration technician for what applies to theirs, even if they belong to the same company.
Who reviews the documents?
On the Basic plan, your company’s team reviews them. On the Plus plan, the NAVA back office reviews them within 24 hours at most, using the criteria your company configured. See plans and pricing.
Does NAVA need a different setup for each industry?
The document requirements matrix is configured with your company’s requirements, and those requirements change from one industry to the next. The system is the same: what you configure are the documents, validity periods, approvers, and which document blocks what.
Demo
See NAVA with your plant’s requirements
We set up your work sites, your suppliers’ trades, and the induction with the validity period your operation needs. You leave with a written price proposal.
- Colombian software
- 30-day trial
- OHS validation available
- Support in Spanish