Over the years we have seen a huge variety of applications for our action tracker - Although it originated in the world of HAZOPS which are typically very high governance with multiple review stages our clients quickly realised that just about anything they wanted to track could be accommodated. We've described a few scenarios here: ( Note - none of them involve a Filofax or sticky notes!)
Actions are everywhere - (for a handy guide to the basics of action tracking check our Tips)
Multiple Uses for Action Tracking in Business
Action tracking is often thought of as a simple way to manage to-do lists. In reality, when used properly, it becomes a powerful tool for improving accountability, visibility and performance across an organisation. From health and safety to operations, projects and governance, action tracking supports the follow-through that turns decisions into results.
In most businesses, actions are created every day. They come out of meetings, audits, inspections, incident investigations, reviews and improvement initiatives. The challenge is rarely identifying actions, it's ensuring they are owned, completed, reviewed and closed properly. This is where structured action tracking makes a real difference. For some more thoughts on why an action tracking system is generally a good thing click here
Action Tracking in Health, Safety and Environment (HSE)
Within Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) management, action tracking is a critical mechanism for ensuring that the outputs of structured risk studies, such as Hazard and Operability Studies (HAZOPs), are translated into effective and sustained risk control. Techniques like HAZOP are designed to systematically identify deviations, hazards and operability issues, but their value depends heavily on how well the resulting actions are managed after the study is complete.
HAZOPs, along with other formal risk reviews and safety studies, typically generate a significant number of recommendations and actions. These may include engineering modifications, procedural changes, additional safeguards, training requirements or further analysis. Without a robust action tracking process, there is a real risk that these actions remain theoretical, recorded in reports but not fully implemented, verified or embedded into operations.
Action tracking provides the structure needed to manage these HAZOP outputs effectively. Each recommendation can be captured as a discrete action, assigned to a responsible owner, prioritised according to risk, and given a realistic timescale for completion. This ensures clarity over who is accountable for addressing each identified issue and helps prevent important actions from being overlooked as operational pressures take precedence.
In complex organisations, HAZOP actions often span multiple disciplines and departments, including engineering, operations, maintenance, safety and management. Action tracking supports coordination across these functions by providing a central view of progress and dependencies. This shared visibility helps teams understand how their actions contribute to overall risk reduction and allows delays or barriers to be identified and addressed early.
Verification is another critical aspect supported by action tracking. Completing an action does not necessarily mean that risk has been adequately reduced. Effective action tracking includes verification and review, confirming that changes have been implemented as intended and that they are effective in practice. This is particularly important for HAZOP recommendations, where assumptions made during the study need to be tested against real operating conditions.
Action tracking also supports learning and continuous improvement across the HSE landscape. By analysing trends in actions such as recurring deviation types, frequently delayed actions or common control weaknesses, organisations can identify systemic issues rather than treating each study in isolation. This insight can inform future design decisions, operating procedures and the focus of subsequent risk studies.
Beyond HAZOPs, the same principles apply to other structured HSE activities, including audits, incident investigations, management of change and safety reviews. In each case, action tracking acts as the connective tissue that links hazard identification and analysis to tangible improvements in how work is planned and executed.
In this context, action tracking is not simply an administrative follow-up to HAZOPs and other studies. It is an essential part of ensuring that the time, expertise and effort invested in these processes result in meaningful, long-term risk reduction. When embedded properly, action tracking using a reliable and secure tool helps ensure that HSE studies drive real change rather than becoming static documents on a shelf.
Incident Investigations and Corrective Actions
Incident investigations are a core component of effective HSE management, providing organisations with insight into what went wrong, why it happened and how similar events can be prevented in the future. As with other structured HSE processes, the real value of an investigation lies in how effectively corrective and preventive actions are implemented, verified and sustained over time.
Investigations into incidents and near misses typically generate a range of actions, including procedural changes, engineering improvements, additional training and organisational controls. Action tracking provides the structure needed to manage these outcomes by ensuring that actions are clearly defined, assigned to responsible owners and prioritised according to risk and potential consequence.
Effective action tracking also supports proportionality in corrective actions. Not all findings require the same level of response, and a structured approach helps organisations focus on actions that address root causes rather than superficial fixes. This reduces the likelihood of repeated incidents and improves the overall quality of investigation outcomes.
Verification is a critical part of closing corrective actions. In many cases, this includes the ability to attach supporting evidence such as photographs, inspection records, updated procedures or training documentation to action records. Linking this evidence directly to the action helps confirm that controls have been implemented as intended and provides a clear audit trail for review.
Action tracking further supports organisational learning by maintaining a central record of corrective actions and their outcomes. Reviewing trends across investigations can highlight recurring issues, common control failures or systemic weaknesses that need to be addressed at a broader level.
In this way, action tracking ensures that incident investigations lead to meaningful and lasting improvement rather than becoming isolated exercises. By connecting findings, actions and verification, organisations strengthen their ability to learn from incidents and prevent recurrence across the wider HSE management system.
Audits, Inspections and Compliance Activities
Audits, inspections and other compliance activities are designed to verify that controls are in place, procedures are being followed and regulatory or internal requirements are being met. These activities frequently generate findings and recommendations, many of which require follow-up actions to address gaps, non-conformances or opportunities for improvement.
Action tracking plays a central role in ensuring that these findings lead to effective outcomes. By capturing audit and inspection actions in a structured way, organisations can assign clear ownership, set appropriate timescales and monitor progress through to completion. This helps prevent issues identified during audits from remaining unresolved or reappearing in subsequent reviews.
In regulated or high-risk environments, it is also important that actions arising from audits and inspections are auditable in their own right. Being able to see when an action was created, who updated it, what changes were made and when it was closed provides confidence that issues have been managed properly. This level of traceability supports both internal governance and external scrutiny, without the need to piece together information from multiple documents or email chains.
Maintaining a clear history of actions and their status also makes it easier to demonstrate compliance during regulatory inspections or certification audits. Rather than relying on narrative explanations or extensive supporting paperwork, organisations can show a concise, chronological record of how findings were addressed and verified.
Action tracking further supports consistency across audit cycles. When previous findings and actions are easily accessible, auditors and managers can quickly identify recurring issues, assess whether corrective actions have been effective and focus attention on areas of persistent risk. This improves the quality of audits and reduces the administrative burden associated with repeated compliance activities.
Action tracking helps audits and inspections function as part of a continuous improvement process rather than isolated events. By making actions visible, traceable and easy to review, organisations strengthen their ability to demonstrate compliance, manage risk and maintain confidence in their HSE management systems.
Project and Programme Management
Action tracking is widely used in project and programme management to support planning, coordination and delivery, and its value extends well beyond traditional HSE activities. Projects and programmes routinely generate actions through meetings, design reviews, risk workshops, stage gates and assurance processes, many of which cut across technical, operational, commercial and safety disciplines.
In this context, action tracking provides a structured way to manage commitments, dependencies and decisions as work progresses. By assigning clear ownership, setting realistic deadlines and maintaining visibility of status, action tracking helps project teams maintain momentum and reduces the risk of key tasks being overlooked as priorities shift.
Action tracking also supports effective governance at programme level. Senior stakeholders require confidence that actions arising from reviews, audits and decision forums are being progressed and closed. Having a clear, auditable view of actions allows leaders to understand where delivery risks exist, where resources may be constrained and where intervention is required, without relying on fragmented reports or informal updates.
Importantly, action tracking enables coordination across multiple workstreams. Projects often involve contributions from engineering, procurement, operations, contractors and support functions. A centralised approach to tracking actions helps align these groups, manage interfaces and reduce the risk of miscommunication or duplicated effort.
While action tracking is frequently associated with safety and compliance, its principles apply equally to quality management, change delivery, operational readiness and business improvement initiatives. When used consistently, it provides a common framework for managing actions regardless of their origin, supporting both project execution and broader organisational objectives.
In this setting, action tracking acts as a practical bridge between planning and delivery. It helps ensure that decisions made during project and programme activities are translated into completed actions, supporting successful outcomes across a wide range of business functions, not just HSE.
Leadership Oversight and Governance
Action tracking plays an important role in leadership oversight and governance by providing senior managers with clear, reliable insight into how risks, issues and improvement activities are being managed across the organisation. Leaders are not involved in the detail of every action, but they are accountable for ensuring that important issues are identified, prioritised and addressed effectively.
Dashboards and key performance indicators (KPIs) derived from action tracking data allow leaders to see, at a glance, where attention is needed. This might include visibility of overdue actions, high-risk actions, recurring themes or areas where progress is consistently slow. By presenting this information visually, dashboards support informed decision-making without requiring leaders to review large volumes of detailed documentation.
Action tracking also supports governance by providing a consistent basis for reporting across different functions and activities. Whether actions arise from HSE processes, audits, projects or business improvement initiatives, a common tracking framework allows leadership teams to compare performance, identify systemic issues and assess whether controls are being implemented as intended.
Integration with wider reporting and business intelligence tools further strengthens this oversight. When action tracking data can be linked to platforms such as Power BI or other reporting systems, organisations can combine action status with operational, safety or performance data. This creates a richer picture of risk and performance, enabling trends to be analysed over time and correlations to be explored without manual data manipulation.
From a governance perspective, having a clear, auditable record of actions also supports assurance. Leaders can demonstrate that issues are being managed through defined processes, with clear ownership and escalation where required. This transparency builds confidence internally and supports external scrutiny from regulators, auditors or stakeholders.
Action tracking underpins effective leadership oversight by translating operational detail into meaningful management information. Through dashboards, KPIs and integrated reporting, it enables leaders to focus on what matters most, intervene where necessary and maintain confidence that risks and improvement actions are being managed in a controlled and transparent way across the organisation.
Information Security
Action tracking systems often hold sensitive operational, safety, and compliance-related information, making information security a critical consideration across all use cases. Effective action tracking requires clear control over who can create, view, update, approve, and close actions, particularly in multi-disciplinary or multi-organisation environments. Role-based access control, segregation of duties, and full audit trails help ensure accountability while preventing unauthorised access or changes. From a governance perspective, secure action tracking supports regulatory compliance, internal assurance, and defensible decision-making by providing confidence that actions are managed transparently, consistently, and in line with organisational responsibilities. Click Here to learn more about how Pisys protect their customers' vital data.
Collaboration Across Teams and Organisations
Effective action tracking supports collaboration across teams and organisations by providing a shared view of what needs to be done, who is responsible and how progress is being made. In many operational environments, actions do not sit neatly within a single team or function. Instead, they often involve multiple disciplines, departments or external organisations working together to address complex issues.
This need for collaboration is particularly pronounced where multiple companies are involved, such as contractors, suppliers, joint venture partners or clients. In these situations, actions may need to be coordinated across organisational boundaries while still maintaining appropriate levels of control and accountability. A structured approach to action tracking helps ensure that responsibilities are clear and that dependencies between parties are understood.
At the same time, not all information should be visible to everyone. Confidentiality, commercial sensitivity and data protection requirements mean that access to action information must be controlled carefully. The ability to define who can view, update or verify specific actions allows organisations to collaborate effectively without exposing sensitive information unnecessarily.
Controlled access also supports trust between organisations. When each party can see the actions relevant to their role, without being overwhelmed by unrelated or confidential data, collaboration becomes more focused and productive. This reduces misunderstandings, supports clearer communication and helps prevent delays caused by uncertainty or duplication of effort.
Within internal teams, the same principles apply. Clear visibility of shared actions helps break down silos between departments and encourages a more coordinated approach to problem-solving. At the same time, role-based access ensures that individuals see the level of detail appropriate to their responsibilities, supporting both efficiency and governance.
Action tracking enables collaboration while maintaining control. By balancing shared visibility with appropriate access restrictions, organisations can support effective teamwork across complex, multi-company environments without compromising confidentiality, accountability or compliance.
Authentication and Access in Multi-Organisation Environments
In environments where multiple organisations are involved, managing user access becomes more complex than in single-company systems. Different organisations often use different identity providers, authentication standards and IT policies, which can make a one-size-fits-all approach impractical. This is particularly relevant where contractors, suppliers or joint venture partners need controlled access to shared systems.
Single sign-on (SSO) is widely used within organisations to simplify access and improve security, but it does not always work effectively across multiple domains. External companies may not share the same identity management infrastructure, may use different authentication technologies, or may be unable to grant trust to external systems. As a result, relying solely on SSO can create barriers to collaboration or lead to workarounds that weaken security.
A practical system must therefore support multiple authentication methods alongside appropriate access controls. This may include a combination of internal SSO for employees, secure username and password access for external users, and additional verification measures where required. The key is to ensure that all users can access the system in a controlled and auditable way, regardless of their organisation’s internal IT setup.
Authentication should also be closely linked to role-based access controls. Users should only be able to see and act on the information relevant to their role, responsibilities and organisation. This helps protect confidential data while still enabling effective collaboration across company boundaries.
From a governance perspective, the ability to manage authentication and access flexibly supports both security and accountability. Clear records of who accessed the system, when changes were made and under which credentials provide assurance that actions are being carried out by authorised individuals. This is particularly important in regulated environments or where contractual responsibilities must be clearly demonstrated.
By accommodating different authentication approaches and aligning them with controlled access, systems can support collaboration across complex organisational landscapes without compromising security, confidentiality or operational efficiency.
More information about how Pisys handles customer data can be found here.
From Task Lists to Organisational Insight
When action tracking is managed digitally and consistently, it becomes more than a list of tasks. Over time, it generates data that can be analysed to identify trends, recurring issues and systemic weaknesses.
Organisations can see where actions are frequently delayed, which types of issues generate the most follow-up work, and where processes may need improvement. This insight supports proactive management rather than reactive firefighting.
Action tracking has many uses across a business, but its true value lies in consistency and discipline. When actions are clearly defined, owned, tracked and verified, organisations improve execution, reduce risk and strengthen accountability.
Whether supporting HSE management, operational control, project delivery or governance, action tracking helps ensure that decisions lead to outcomes, not just intentions.
