If you’ve been challenged by keeping track of maintenance needs and analytics for your company, a work order management system can deliver relief.
With an interactive interface and single software solution, you can manage the process of identifying and completing planned and urgent maintenance tasks across an organization. You may hear these software systems referred to as CMMS software, too.
What is a Work Order Management System?
A work order management system provides users with an organized, one-stop solution to prioritize and coordinate work orders for efficiency, accuracy, and completeness.
Using a formal work order system can standardize the process and reduce the chances of important tasks being overlooked or left incomplete. Work orders can be accepted, categorized, prioritized, scheduled, assigned or reassigned, and placed in the queue for approval by senior staff when appropriate.
Employees, based on access depending on their role, can open work orders, update them, assign them, document any issues or concerns, and mark them closed. Many work order management systems also offer the ability for techs to record inspections, readings, feedback, parts used, and more.
The Benefits
Work order management systems clarify maintenance needs and expectations for all involved employees. Because time and expenses for each project can be tracked, companies may realize efficiencies in both parts and labor costs and decrease the necessary downtime for both planned and emergency maintenance.
Just-in-time procurement of parts can cut down on inventory and storage costs. Administrative-level users can also run analytical reports based on collected data for budgeting and planning as well as revision of operations and processes where needed. Reports can include looking at work orders according to category, urgency, assigned tech, and more.
Improved communications among team members about who’s doing what, along with faster access to asset data and maintenance records from anywhere, reduces lags and downtime. Techs can act faster because all of the necessary details for a project are filled in on the work order so that it can be accepted into the system.
Work orders document all aspects of a maintenance or repair task for audit or review, improving the accountability of techs and ensuring that a full picture of an asset’s maintenance and repair history is readily available.
Features to Look For
While work order management systems generally offer varying levels of customization, several important features are common across systems. Recurring task functions can expedite work orders for preventive maintenance plans and tasks.
Cloud storage, offline sync, and mobile functionality enable techs to submit, update, and mark work orders complete from anywhere, 24/7. Controlled access functions tailor the work management system interface according to an employee’s role or level of responsibility. The ability to integrate a work order management system with other software solutions like accounting, scheduling, and inventory can streamline record keeping and reporting.
Adopting a work order management system can improve the overall performance of the department responsible for planned and emergency maintenance tasks. By improving efficiency while reducing downtime and unexpected expenses, this software can help reduce operations costs and maximize productivity.