Qualification Hierarchies & Equivalence Groups

In construction, qualifications are rarely one-to-one. A worker holding an Advanced Rigging ticket is fully qualified to perform Basic Rigging work, and an operator holding an Open Mobile Crane license can drive smaller 20-tonne or 60-tonne cranes. Similarly, workers moving across state borders may carry different state-specific licenses that your safety team recognizes as identical.

Assignar Pay provides two relationship models to handle these real-world scenarios: Hierarchies (Coverage) and Equivalence Groups.

Qualification Hierarchies (Directed Coverage)

A hierarchy defines a tiered relationship where holding a higher-tier qualification automatically satisfies lower-tier requirements.

┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
│       Top-Tier: 40T Mobile Crane     │
└──────────────────────────────────────┘
                   │
                   ▼ (Directly covers)
┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
│          30T Mobile Crane            │
└──────────────────────────────────────┘
                   │
                   ▼ (Inherited coverage)
┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
│          20T Mobile Crane            │
└──────────────────────────────────────┘

In this example:

• A worker holds 40T Mobile Crane.
• A job role requires 20T Mobile Crane.
• The compliance engine traverses the hierarchy path: 40T Mobile Crane → 30T Mobile Crane → 20T Mobile Crane.
• The worker's checklist marks the requirement as satisfied, displaying Covers: 20T Mobile Crane with an Inherited route badge.

Add coverage to a qualification

1. Open Compliance → Competencies and select the Hierarchies tab.
2. Click Add Coverage (or click Edit next to an existing top-tier qualification).
3. Select the top-tier qualification that satisfies other qualifications.
4. Check the box next to each lower qualification that this qualification covers.
5. Click Preview Changes. The Relationship Impact Dialog displays an impact summary showing:
   • Newly established direct and inherited coverage links.
   • Any affected role requirements and worker holdings that will benefit from the new coverage.
6. Click Confirm & Apply.

Multi-tier (inherited) coverage

Coverage is transitive. If Qualification A directly covers Qualification B, and Qualification B directly covers Qualification C, holding Qualification A automatically satisfies both B and C.

On the Hierarchies tab, badges make the hierarchy structure clear:

• Directly covers — indicates an explicit parent-to-child link.
• Level {level} (inherited) — indicates a multi-tier link resolved through one or more intermediate qualifications.
• Covered by {count} higher tiers — indicates that multiple higher qualifications feed into this lower tier.

Equivalence Groups (Interchangeable Tickets)

An Equivalence Group bundles two or more qualifications that are recognized as interchangeable.

Common examples include:

• State-specific general induction cards (e.g. SafeWork NSW White Card, WorkSafe VIC Construction Induction, and WorkSafe QLD White Card).
• Interstate high-risk work licenses issued under harmonized safety legislation.
• Equivalent first aid certifications from different registered training organizations (RTOs).

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                      Equivalence Group                      │
│                                                             │
│   ┌─────────────────────┐         ┌─────────────────────┐   │
│   │ SafeWork NSW Card   │    ≈    │  WorkSafe VIC Card  │   │
│   └─────────────────────┘         └─────────────────────┘   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

When qualifications belong to the same equivalence group:

• A role requirement requesting any one of those qualifications can be satisfied by a worker holding any member of the group.
• On the worker's checklist, the match displays an Equivalent route badge with Equivalent to: {name}.

Create an equivalence group

1. Open Compliance → Competencies and select the Equivalence Groups tab.
2. Click New Equivalence Group.
3. Search for and select two or more qualifications that you want to recognize as interchangeable.
4. Click Preview Changes to review the impact preview.
5. Click Confirm & Apply.

Add or remove qualifications from a group

To add another qualification to an existing group:

1. Find the group on the Equivalence Groups tab.
2. Click Add Equivalent Qualification.
3. Select the qualification and confirm.

To remove a qualification from an equivalence group:

1. Find the qualification within the group card.
2. Click Remove next to its name.
3. Review the impact preview (confirming any lost coverage) and apply the change.

Relationship Impact Previews & Safety Guards

Modifying qualification relationships can affect dozens of active roles and worker compliance statuses. Assignar Pay includes safety checks before any change is saved:

1. Cycle detection

Coverage hierarchies must be strictly acyclic (directed). If Qualification A covers Qualification B, the system will block any attempt to make Qualification B cover Qualification A, preventing circular loops.

2. Requirement threshold conflict

Role requirements allow setting threshold rules (such as "Workers must hold at least 2 of these 3 tickets"). In both role configuration and compliance evaluation, all qualifications within an equivalence group count as one distinct qualification group (preventing alias inflation).

If you attempt to merge two qualifications into an equivalence group, but an existing role requirement references both qualifications with a threshold requiring two distinct tickets:

• The Relationship Impact Dialog halts the operation.
• It displays a Requirement Threshold Conflict alert: "Merging these qualifications would reduce the number of distinct qualifications below the minimum required for an existing role requirement."
• You must adjust the role requirement threshold before the qualifications can be merged into an equivalence group.

3. Concurrency protection

If another administrator updates qualification relationships while you have the editor open, the system detects the revision change and prompts you to reload before applying edits, preventing accidental overwrites.