Everything You Need to Know About Maintenance Work Order

When an organization does not keep its assets maintained, asset breakdown eventually occurs. This is where maintenance work orders come into play! A perfect maintenance work order allows you to schedule maintenance that can be performed on time.

So, what is the work order process, and what are its advantages from an organization's point of view?

You will find answers to these questions in this blog. Without further ado, let us begin!

What Is a Maintenance Work Order?

In a maintenance work order, MRO (maintenance, repairing, operation) activities are performed. It contains all the details, such as to whom the work order is assigned, what is the issue in an asset, what activities need to be done, when the work order needs to be completed, and so on!

What Is the Objective of the Work Order?

The objective of the work order is to keep assets or equipment in the best shape. If asset failure occurs, then reviving it back to the running condition in minimum time or as per the priority. Moreover, keeping the records of issue detection and maintenance history.

What Is a Work Request?

The work request is submitted either by clients or staff itself; they want to perform some particular task on some specific equipment. Once the work request is approved by the maintenance department, a work order is created.

What Is the Work Order Process?

The work order process is divided into several steps:

The first step is identifying the task, either it can be planned maintenance (activity scheduled for the future, such as asset inspection, servicing, etc.) or unplanned maintenance (unexpected asset failure occurrence).

The second step is requesting maintenance in which all job specifications are put together, and then the maintenance team takes further action.

Then the work order priority is decided, and scheduling is done accordingly. If the work order priority is high, then it is scheduled for as soon as possible, whereas if the work order priority is low, then it can be scheduled for a free time slot.

After that, a work order is assigned to the technician, and it may complete within ten minutes, hours, or days, depending on the job!

At last, a work order is completed and documented for further improvement or enhancement if needed to be done.

What Are the Different Categories of Maintenance Work Orders?

Different categories of maintenance work orders are as follows:

1. Inspection

Inspection work orders emphasize inspecting and reviewing assets, machines, and equipment. It can be considered an initial part of preventive maintenance. In this process, assets are inspected closely to find if there are any issues.

2. Preventive

This maintenance strategy is very effective for those organizations equipped with a lot of assets. In this maintenance work order, activities are done such as a routine checkup, lubrication, cleaning, oiling, air filter change, etc.

One of the main goals of the maintenance activity process is to find the potential problem if there are any. It has been proven that this maintenance management strategy has been working better than others. As it provides several advantages to the organization, such as optimization of assets and minimizing breakdown occurrence.

3. Emergency

When an emergency work order arrives, then its work priority is high. In this, assets and machines are brought back into running condition on an urgent basis to save assets & control damage.

Another aim is avoiding all types of threats to human lives, the property of the organization. The emergency work order needs to be finished as quickly as possible.

4. Routine

This type of maintenance comes under scheduled maintenance. Depending on the company size and equipment they have got, routine maintenance can occur on a weekly, monthly basis, as per the company's requirement.

What Are the Advantages for an Organization of Using Work Order Management?

Below we have mentioned advantages for an organization of using work order management software:

1. Migrate from Paper to Digital

Once the paperwork is done for a work order, you pass it to the client or worker. After that, you do not have any updates on its current status, and those papers might get lost.

Furthermore, papers are done by humans, and messy writing can cause a problem. But with the software, you don't have to worry about writing.

When you use the system for sending data, that data document can be found within minutes, and you will always have proof of what you have sent.

2. Prioritization of Work Orders

It's important to provide crucial details about a work order, such as work order priority. It will help the maintenance team finish work orders quickly or as per the urgency.

Once the priority is decided & according to the deadline of the work order, scheduling is done.

3. Accurate Reports

Reports represent data that can help in identifying the potential areas of improvement. You can get all maintenance work order details and statistics, such as how many work orders left, how many completed & costs related to it, etc.

4. Centralized Data

It minimizes the chances of mistakes such as duplication. Work order tasks are identified, and it shows the update and status in real-time. The management and technicians can see work order status, which keeps the team organized.

Conclusion

According to the website Global News Wire,

“The global online project management software market is expected to reach a value of US$ 6.68 Bn by 2026 due to the increasing adoption of cloud-based project management solutions. The market is projected to expand at a CAGR of 9.4% during the forecast period from 2018 to 2026.”

As we can notice from the above data that online project management can be beneficial for business firms. Work order management can assist in easy scheduling and organizing tasks, without making it complicated and overwhelming.

Therefore, you can use Helpdesk and Ticketing software for effective work order management. An efficient system follows each step smoothly that will assist the organization to reduce downtime and work order backlog clearing.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What can you do with Work order management?

You can track and manage all work orders from a single dashboard, track real-time status and updates. Also, you can track work order completion as well as create and manage work orders efficiently.

Why is work order important?

A work order authorizes, approves, and guides an individual maintenance technician or a whole team to perform a given assignment. The work order is helpful for management in controlling expenses and assessing work execution.

How to manage work order?

Set work order category priority, assign it to a specific technician, provide details such as mention what's the issue and what needs to be done. Make sure every step is well defined.