Every SOP in MaintIQ carries a version number, a publish history, and a full text diff between versions. This article explains the versioning rules and the workflow for safely rolling back a bad publish.
How versioning works
- Save draft updates the editor copy without changing what your team sees. Multiple drafts can stack between publishes.
- Save & publish increments the version number by one (1.0 → 1.1 → 1.2), timestamps the publish, and records the publishing user.
- Major version bumps (1.x → 2.0) require an explicit confirmation and a brief change summary. Use them when the change is large enough that techs should re-read the SOP before performing the procedure.
See the version history
Open any SOP and click Version history in the right sidebar. You will see every published version with:
- Version number and date.
- The user who published it.
- A short change summary (if provided).
- A Diff button.
Diff two versions
Click Diff on any two versions to see a side-by-side comparison with additions in green and removals in red. The diff is at the line level for readability.
Roll back to a previous version
- From the version history, open the version you want to roll back to.
- Click Restore as draft. The selected version becomes your current Editor content.
- Edit if you need to, then Save & publish. The restored content becomes the new latest version (e.g. 1.7) — the original numbering is preserved in history.
A rollback always creates a new version on top. MaintIQ never overwrites history.
Pinning a version
If a regulator requires a frozen reference, pin the linked task or work order to a specific SOP version. See Linking SOPs to daily tasks for the pinning UI.
Publish carefully
- Always review the live preview before publishing — Markdown surprises (broken tables, missing list bullets) are easier to catch visually than in source.
- Include a one-line change summary on every publish. Three months later it is the only fast way to spot why a procedure changed.
- Bump to a major version when the steps change. Tech UI shows a "Procedure updated — please review" banner on the next major version.
Audit trail
The full publish history is exported in the compliance bundle from Admin → Compliance → Export. The bundle includes every version's Markdown source, the publisher, and the publish timestamp, packed into a single ZIP ready for an auditor.
Tips
- Set a quarterly cadence to review SOPs that haven't been touched in 12 months. Stale procedures are an audit liability.
- Use the diff view in your monthly safety meeting to walk through changes — it doubles as training time.
- Don't republish without changes "to update the date". The history will look noisy and erode trust in change summaries.
FAQ
Can two admins edit the same SOP at once? The editor is single-writer. The second admin sees a banner with the first admin's name and either waits or takes over (taking over saves the first admin's draft).
Can I delete a version? No. Versions are immutable for audit. You can archive the entire SOP, which hides it from the library but preserves the history.
Does an unpublished draft expire? No. Drafts persist indefinitely until you publish or discard them.