Watch the overview
About 3 minutes. A narrated explainer; the same words are below.
Read the video text
- 0:00A survey file has passed its checks. That is not the same as signed off.
- 0:05Signing off is a decision, and it takes more than one person.
- 0:12Think of a cheque that needs two signatures. One person prepares it; someone else looks again.
- 0:21Certification works the same way: the final decision belongs to someone else.
- 0:27In TMH18 Validator, a file moves from Under review to Awaiting review and co-sign, then Awaiting final approval, then Certified.
- 0:39The certificate records who uploaded, who co-signed and who certified.
- 0:44The precise rule: the final certifier must differ from both the uploader and the co-signer.
- 0:50The uploader may co-sign. Only the final certifier must be someone else.
- 0:57First, finish the review. Clear every open error, or record an exception with a written reason.
- 1:02Then choose Send for review and co-sign. While an error is open, it will not go.
- 1:10The co-signer reviews and co-signs. The file then shows Awaiting final approval.
- 1:16That is only the middle step. A co-sign alone issues no certificate.
- 1:21Now a different, authorised person chooses Issue certificate. The system checks for open errors once more.
- 1:29It records the certificate and a SHA 256 fingerprint of the file as stored. A certified file is locked.
- 1:38Hand over the certificate ID together with the matching file.
- 1:41Anyone can look it up on the verify page, with no sign-in.
- 1:45If the file must change, withdraw the certificate and upload the corrected file for a new review.
- 1:52An illustrative example: Amara uploads a file, and Ben co-signs it.
- 1:57Neither can certify it. Chandra, someone else with the certification permission, does.
- 2:04A certificate records a review decision and a fingerprint of the file. It does not prove the measurements are right.
- 2:10The verify page does not check your own copy. A skipped check is not a pass.
- 2:17To recap: clear the errors, get a co-sign, then a different person certifies.
- 2:23Hand over the certificate with the exact file, and check its record when you use it.
- 2:29This was TMH18 Validator.
- 2:32The full guide is at TMH18 dot com, slash articles.
Prepare the file for another person to review
Finish reviewing the findings before requesting a co-sign. Resolve blocking errors or record permitted exceptions with evidence. Confirm that the submission contains the intended file and the appropriate check template.
Give the reviewer enough context to understand the survey and any corrections: the source export, relevant field notes and the reasons for exceptions. Passing automated checks does not replace a review of whether the dataset is suitable for its intended purpose.
Co-sign records the initial review
Use the next action available on the submission to request a co-sign. Available actions depend on the submission state, your organisation and your permissions. If the expected action is missing, ask your organisation administrator to check access before assuming the file is ready.
An authorised reviewer records the co-sign. The submission then moves to pending certification. This is an intermediate approval step; the co-sign alone does not issue the final certificate.
Final certification requires a different person
The final certifier needs the certification permission and must be different from both the uploader and the recorded co-signer. Plan for that separation before starting the handover. Changing a display name or using another browser does not change who performed an earlier action.
At certification, the platform checks the submission state and unresolved errors again. It records the certificate and a SHA-256 hash of the file. The hash identifies the bytes that were certified: changing the file afterwards produces a different hash.
A matching hash shows that a copy matches the certified file. It does not independently prove that measurements are correct, that every standard requirement was checked, or that the dataset is suitable for every engineering use.