The Lodestone Control System Standard.

Every model has the same nine-tab spine.

Nine tabs, always in this order, always named this way. Seven are visible, two are hidden. Learn one model and you have learned all 46. An auditor who opens one knows where to look.

00_COVER

Visible

Title, owner, version, confidentiality and contents.

01_INPUT

Visible

The only editable surface. Validated cells, declared units, governed dropdowns.

02_MODEL

Visible

Calculation layer, locked, with an audit column written in plain words.

03_OUTPUT

Visible

The dashboard or Control Room. Gridlines and headings hidden.

04_DICT

Visible

Data dictionary: every field, its type, unit, source and owner.

05_QA

Visible, governance

Check, method, expected, actual, RAG. This is the release gate.

06_CHANGELOG

Visible, governance

Semantic version history with reviewer sign-off against each bump.

98_LISTS

Hidden

Dropdown source lists, so validation cannot drift.

99_CFG

Hidden

Config constants, thresholds and brand hex values.

The output tab follows a fixed order, top to bottom

Header and filters
KPI band
Primary chart or insight
Secondary chart and issue register
Timestamp, owner, next action

The example Control Room on the home page follows this order band for band. It is the same layout you get in the workbook.

A formula cell and a passing KPI must never look the same.

The old input-blue, formula-green, output-yellow convention collided with the status colours. This scheme separates the two jobs and ships as named cell styles, so it can’t drift into hand-picked fills.

12,480

LA Input #D6E4FA

Unlocked. The only cells a client may type into.

12,480

LA Link #DDF0F2

Pulled from another tab. Locked.

12,480

LA Formula #FFFFFF

Calculated and locked. White, so the model reads as a document, not a heatmap.

12,480

LA Output #FDF0D5

Bold. The figures the decision turns on.

12,480

LA Locked #F2F4F8

Labels, headers and system areas.

12,480

LA Pass #E6F4EC

Threshold met.

12,480

LA Warn #FDF0D5

Approaching threshold.

12,480

LA Fail #FBE7E5

Breach. Action required.

Never colour alone

Every status carries at least two of: colour, an explicit label, an icon or position. That is an accessibility rule and a print rule. A black-and-white printout of a RAG table still has to read.

Status carried by label as well as colour
Metric	Value	Status	Label	Readable in black and white
OEE, Line 1	71.5%	Warning	AT RISK	Yes, the label carries it
OTIF, Pilbara lane	94.2%	Success	ON TRACK	Yes, the label carries it

Nothing ships until the gate passes.

The same checklist runs against every deliverable: a model, a deck, a report. A deliverable that fails is not shipped, whatever it looks like.

Reconciliation

Model output ties back to the source system, and the residual is stated, not rounded away.

Recalculation

Full recalculation across every formula with zero errors before any version bump.

Contrast

Every text and interface pairing checked against WCAG 2.2: 4.5:1 for normal text, 3:1 for large text and meaningful graphics.

Typography

No font substitution in Office test files; the hierarchy holds on every surface.

Independent review

Someone who did not build the deliverable reviews it. Findings are logged, fixed and re-checked.

Real logic, not placeholders

Demos use real product logic. No decorative numbers standing in for a calculation.

Claims

Every speed or ROI claim is tied to an approved proof file and carries its assumptions where it is modelled. Until a proof file exists, a claim is published as a target.

Handoff

Manifest complete, files structured, readme included, an owner assigned to each asset.

Naming is a governance control, not a style choice.

Naming, versioning and claims rules
Rule area	Standard
Product naming	Lodestone [Industry] Control System
SKU naming	LA-[SET]-[PILLAR]-[MODULE]. SET is OPS for the 32 cross-industry operational models, or the sector code (MIN, NRG, INF, DEF, HLT, AGR, DST) for project finance models. Examples: LA-OPS-A-A02, LA-MIN-F-F09.
Asset naming	NA_[asset]_[variant]_[colour]_[size]_v01
Versioning	Semantic: major.minor.patch. A released asset is never overwritten. It is superseded and the prior version archived.
Claim governance	Any install-time, ROI or payback figure is published as a target or an illustration until it is tied to an approved proof file.
Third-party marks	Microsoft Excel, Power BI and similar appear only to describe what the product runs on, never as co-brands.
Confidentiality	Client-facing and internal-confidential versions are separate exports, never the same file.
Approvals	The brand owner approves new tokens, new pairings and any deviation. Local invention is a defect.

On illustrative figures. Where a number on this site is modelled rather than measured, it is labelled illustrative and carries its assumptions. Any payback or ROI figure depends on your data and the actions you take. It is not a guarantee of results.

The brand tokens.

Ink carries the weight, blue carries the action, and the extended accents map to pillars, not taste. Green is reserved for success states. It is never a brand colour.

Ink/950#0A1224

Ink/900#0F1B33

Slate/700#24324D

Slate/600#4D5B73

Slate/300#B3BED1

Cloud/50#F7F9FC

Brand/600#1558BC

Brand/400#85B8FF

Cyan/600#007F8C

Purple/600#6E5DC6

Success#216E4E

Danger#AE2E24

Contrast pairings in the brand system

Computed from the token values, not asserted.

Verified contrast ratios
Foreground	Background	Ratio	Level	Approved use
#FFFFFF	#0A1224	18.67:1	AAA	Reversed text on dark surfaces
#D7DFEB	#0A1224	13.91:1	AAA	Dark-mode secondary text
#B3BED1	#0A1224	9.96:1	AAA	Support text on dark surfaces
#85B8FF	#0A1224	9.15:1	AAA	Links and highlights on dark
#0A1224	#F7F9FC	17.70:1	AAA	Headings on off-white
#24324D	#FFFFFF	12.82:1	AAA	Subheads on white
#4D5B73	#FFFFFF	6.86:1	AA	Body copy on white
#1558BC	#FFFFFF	6.66:1	AA	Links, buttons, primary accent on light
#AE2E24	#FFFFFF	6.53:1	AA	Fail states on light
#216E4E	#FFFFFF	6.17:1	AA	Pass states on light
#9E4C00	#FFFFFF	6.02:1	AA	At-risk states on light