What We Mean by Governed Workflow (Not Chat AI)
January 2026 · Mor Baban
Most AI tools for inspections are chat interfaces or PDF summarizers. You upload photos, ask questions, get suggestions—but there's no structure, no validation, and no audit trail.
SeaGoat is different. It's a governed workflow engine, not a chat interface.
What That Means
Evidence becomes structured records. Photos and documents don't just sit in folders—they become evidence objects with IDs, timestamps, and lineage. When you attach a photo to a finding, that binding is permanent and traceable.
Validation gates enforce quality. You can't mark an item "Poor condition" without evidence. You can't create a "Repair" action without a corresponding cost entry. The system blocks outputs when required fields are missing.
Human review is mandatory. AI suggests findings based on evidence analysis. Humans approve, edit, or override. Overrides are logged with rationale. Nothing ships without explicit human approval.
Outputs are reproducible. Reports can be regenerated from saved workflow state to verify consistency. Every cost estimate traces back to its source finding. Every finding traces back to its source evidence.
Why This Matters
In liability-heavy workflows (construction due diligence, industrial operations), decisions need to hold up under scrutiny. Chat AI can't provide that. You need:
- —Clear chains from evidence to conclusion
- —Validation that prevents incomplete data from shipping
- —Audit trails showing who approved what and when
- —Reproducible outputs that can be verified
That's governed workflow. Evidence → validation → review → outputs. With structure, not just suggestions.