· 3 min read
What does "four-eyes verification" mean and why does Buildiante require it?
Two real places Buildiante enforces it server-side — punch list verification and BOQ approval — and why self-certification isn't allowed.
“Four-eyes” is a common controls term for a simple rule: the person who checks or approves a piece of work can't be the same person who did it. One pair of eyes did the work; a second, different pair has to sign off on it. Buildiante enforces this rule in three real places today — not as a suggestion in the interface, but as a check the server makes regardless of what the interface allows you to click.
Punch list verification
Whoever marks a punch list item “resolved” cannot also be the one who marks it “verified.” If you resolved an item yourself, the “Verify” button is disabled, with the reason shown right next to it: “You resolved this — someone else must verify it.” If that check were somehow bypassed, the server itself rejects the request with the same rule, in its own words: “The person who verifies a punch list item must be a different person than the one who resolved it.” See managing punch list items.
BOQ approval
The same principle applies to approving a BOQ: whoever created the BOQ document can't also be the one who approves it when it moves from “in review” to “approved.” A second qualified person has to make that call. See the BOQ approval lifecycle.
Quality NCR verification
Closing a quality non-conformance follows the same rule: whoever recorded the corrective action on an NCR can't also be the one who verifies it. If you recorded it yourself, the “Verify” button is disabled until someone else does it. See logging and closing an NCR.
Why this matters more than it might seem
Self-certification — the same person building something and signing off that it's correct — is exactly the gap that makes a dispute go badly: “he said it was fixed” isn't the same as an independent second confirmation. Four-eyes verification, combined with an audit trail on every status change, means a completed punch list item or an approved BOQ carries two names and two timestamps, not one person's word.
It's also worth being precise about what this rule does not check: it's not about whether you have the right role — you might have every permission needed to verify punch list items in general. It's specifically about whether you're the right role and a different person than whoever did the original work, for this specific item.
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