Enterprise Projects - Managing SIS
Enterprise Projects in SLM enables engineering teams to work on Safety Instrumented System (SIS) changes within dedicated project workspaces, without directly affecting the live production database. By separating project activities from production, organisations can safely develop, review and validate engineering changes before they are merged into operational data.
Each Enterprise Project acts as a controlled sandbox where users can modify objects, collaborate with other engineers and complete approval workflows while maintaining the integrity of the production environment. Once all proposed changes have been reviewed and approved, they can be merged back into production using a structured check-in process.
This guide explains how Enterprise Projects in SLM are configured, how project workspaces support collaborative SIS engineering, and how controlled approval workflows help maintain accurate and auditable functional safety data.
What Are Enterprise Projects in SLM?
Enterprise Projects in SLM provide isolated engineering workspaces where modifications can be made safely before being introduced into the production database. Instead of making changes directly to live Safety Lifecycle Manager data, engineers check objects into a project where they can be updated, reviewed and validated independently.
According to the training, an Enterprise Project functions as a designated workspace or sandbox. Once modifications have been completed and verified, users merge the approved changes back into production, ensuring the integrity and stability of the core database throughout the engineering process.
Enterprise Projects are particularly valuable for:
- Managing SIS modification projects.
- Testing engineering changes before deployment.
- Supporting Management of Change (MoC) procedures.
- Allowing multiple engineers to collaborate safely.
- Protecting production data from unapproved changes.
- Maintaining a complete history of proposed modifications.
Where engineering projects involve large-scale data updates, Enterprise Projects work alongside the Data Management Processing Adapters and Data Management Export Adapters, allowing data to be reviewed and validated before production changes are applied.
Why Use Enterprise Projects in SLM?
Engineering teams frequently need to modify Safety Instrumented Functions (SIFs), instruments and related engineering data while operational systems continue to be used by other personnel. Enterprise Projects in SLM provide a structured method for completing this work without disrupting production users or introducing incomplete engineering changes.
Rather than editing production data directly, authorised users work within a dedicated project where every proposed change can be reviewed before implementation. This supports better governance, improves collaboration and reduces the risk of unintended modifications.
Key benefits include:
- Dedicated engineering workspaces.
- Controlled project-based change management.
- Configurable approval workflows.
- Improved collaboration between engineering teams.
- Protection of production SIS data.
- Clear visibility of proposed project changes.
Projects involving Safety Instrumented Functions can also benefit from understanding the wider functional safety context described in the Safety Integrity Levels (SIL) Explained guide.
Setting Up Enterprise Projects in SLM
Creating Enterprise Projects in SLM begins within the Enterprise Projects module, where administrators define the project configuration before engineering work starts. The training demonstrates that each project can be tailored to suit the organisation’s approval processes, user permissions and project governance requirements.
During project creation, administrators configure:
- Project name and description.
- Optional start and end dates.
- Project users and user roles.
- Project administrators.
- Approval users and approval roles.
- Foreground and background project colours.
Optional approval controls can also be enabled for:
- Object check-out.
- Object check-in.
- Object deletion.
Project colours make individual workspaces easy to identify within the project selector, while role-based administration simplifies access management for larger engineering teams. As projects evolve, administrators can update users, approvers and project settings without interrupting ongoing engineering activities.
Checking Objects Out in Enterprise Projects
After an Enterprise Project has been created, authorised users can begin working with production data by checking objects out into the project workspace. This creates a working copy of the selected object, allowing engineering changes to be made without affecting the live production database.
The training demonstrates that users first select the required object while working in the production environment before choosing Check Out Object from the toolbar. They then select the destination Enterprise Project and submit the request. If check-out approval is not enabled, the request is processed immediately as a background task. If approval is required, the request is held until it has been authorised by an approved project user.
Once the background task has completed, the checked-out object becomes available within the selected Enterprise Project, where engineers can safely modify the object and its associated data.
Checking objects out is commonly used when:
- Developing SIS design changes.
- Testing engineering modifications.
- Updating Safety Instrumented Functions.
- Performing collaborative engineering reviews.
- Preparing changes before production deployment.
Working Safely Within an Enterprise Project
After objects have been checked out, engineers can make changes within the Enterprise Project without affecting the production database. All modifications remain isolated inside the project workspace until they have been reviewed and successfully checked back into production.
The training demonstrates several typical engineering activities, including updating Safety Instrumented Function properties, modifying process safety parameters, creating new Input Voting Groups, updating Inputs and removing obsolete objects. Each change is recorded within the project, allowing proposed modifications to be reviewed before implementation.
Working within an isolated project environment provides several advantages:
- Production data remains protected.
- Multiple engineering changes can be grouped together.
- Project teams can collaborate without disrupting operational users.
- Changes can be reviewed before implementation.
- Only approved modifications are merged into production.
Projects involving significant engineering updates can also benefit from using the Data Management Export Adapters to review engineering information before final approval.
By isolating engineering work from production, Enterprise Projects in SLM gives project teams the freedom to develop SIS changes while protecting live operational data.
Checking Objects Back into Production
Once engineering work has been completed, authorised users can begin the check-in process. During check-in, Safety Lifecycle Manager compares the project version with the production version and presents a detailed summary of every proposed modification before the changes are committed.
The training shows that users can review modified fields, newly created objects, deleted objects and updated relationships before confirming the check-in request. This comparison provides confidence that only the intended changes will be merged into production.
The check-in review includes changes such as:
- Modified object properties.
- Updated engineering parameters.
- Newly created objects.
- Deleted objects.
- Relationship changes.
After the request has been submitted, SLM creates a background task to process the check-in. Once complete, the project objects are removed from the project workspace and the approved changes become part of the production database.
This controlled check-in process is one of the main reasons Enterprise Projects in SLM is valuable for managing complex SIS modifications.
Reviewing Proposed Changes
Enterprise Projects provides a detailed comparison of proposed modifications before they are merged into production. Rather than simply indicating that an object has changed, the comparison identifies the original production value alongside the proposed project value, making it easier for reviewers to validate engineering updates.
This review process helps engineering teams:
- Confirm every intended modification.
- Identify unexpected changes before approval.
- Validate engineering calculations.
- Review additions and deletions.
- Support formal Management of Change procedures.
By reviewing proposed changes before check-in, organisations reduce the risk of introducing incorrect or incomplete engineering information into the live SIS database while maintaining a complete audit trail of project activities.
Understanding Background Tasks
Throughout the Enterprise Project workflow, Safety Lifecycle Manager processes major activities as background tasks. Object check-out, check-in, approvals and other project operations are queued for processing, allowing users to continue working while the requested action completes.
The training demonstrates that background tasks provide status information throughout the workflow, allowing administrators to confirm when an operation has completed successfully before continuing with additional engineering activities. This approach improves system responsiveness while providing clear visibility of project progress.
Approval Workflows in Enterprise Projects
Enterprise Projects supports configurable approval workflows that help organisations control how engineering changes are introduced into production. Rather than allowing every modification to proceed automatically, administrators can require approvals before objects are checked out, checked back into production or deleted within a project.
Approval requirements are configured within the project settings and can be enabled independently for check-out, check-in and deletion activities. Once enabled, requests remain in a pending state until they have been reviewed by an authorised project approver.
This approval process provides an additional level of governance for engineering projects by ensuring that significant modifications are reviewed before they affect production data.
Approval workflows can be applied to:
- Object check-out requests.
- Object check-in requests.
- Object deletion requests.
- Engineering review activities.
- Management of Change procedures.
Managing Check-Out, Check-In and Delete Approvals
When approval workflows are enabled, authorised approvers review pending requests within the Enterprise Projects module before deciding whether to approve or reject them.
For a check-out request, the approver reviews the submitted object before allowing it to enter the project workspace. Once approved, the object is copied into the Enterprise Project and becomes available for engineering work.
Deletion requests follow a similar process. Instead of immediately removing an object from the project, the deletion remains pending until an authorised approver confirms the action. This helps prevent accidental removal of important engineering information.
During the check-in process, approvers review every proposed modification before merging changes into production. They can compare the original production values against the project values, ensuring that only validated engineering changes become part of the live database.
This structured approval workflow strengthens project governance while supporting compliance with internal engineering procedures and Management of Change practices.
Configurable approvals allow Enterprise Projects in SLM to support both simple engineering changes and more formal Management of Change workflows.
Importing SIS Data into Enterprise Projects
Enterprise Projects also supports controlled import activities. Rather than importing engineering data directly into production, administrators can import new Safety Instrumented System information into a project workspace where it can be reviewed before implementation.
The training demonstrates the use of the Smart Import Adapter to import SIFs, Input Groups, Input Voting Groups and related engineering data into an Enterprise Project. After selecting the project scope, users choose the import file, enable relational data where required and queue the import task.
Where relational data is included, Safety Lifecycle Manager completes the import in multiple stages, allowing users to review the proposed changes before finalising the import. Once complete, the imported engineering data is available within the Enterprise Project for further validation before being checked into production.
For organisations performing larger migration or administration activities, this workflow complements the Data Management Processing Adapters and Data Management Export Adapters, providing a complete process for importing, reviewing and managing engineering information.
Importing data into Enterprise Projects in SLM allows new SIS information to be validated before it is introduced into the production environment.
Enterprise Projects in SLM Best Practices
Using Enterprise Projects effectively helps engineering teams maintain a controlled and auditable approach to SIS modifications. By combining isolated project workspaces with configurable approval workflows, organisations can reduce the risks associated with modifying live production data.
Recommended best practices include:
- Create separate projects for major engineering activities.
- Assign project administrators and approvers before work begins.
- Enable approval workflows for production-critical systems.
- Review all proposed changes before check-in.
- Validate imported engineering data inside the project workspace.
- Use background task status to confirm successful processing.
- Maintain project records as part of the engineering audit trail.
Following these practices helps maintain data integrity while providing a repeatable workflow for collaborative functional safety engineering throughout the Safety Lifecycle Manager environment.
Related Resources
Authoritative External Reference
For additional guidance on managing safety instrumented systems throughout their lifecycle, see the IEC 61511-1 Functional Safety standard.
