Work order management is an essential part of being a facility manager and keeps equipment functioning at its best. A work order is a document that describes maintenance or custodial work that needs to be completed within a building. The main goal of a work order is to organize information and help facilities personnel complete building maintenance as quickly and efficiently as possible.

In this blog, we’ll explore a step-by-step process for creating an effective work order. By including this critical information, your team will be on its way to proactive facility maintenance. Don’t forget to download AkitaBox’s free, easy-to-use work order template before you go.

How to Create an Effective Work Order

1. Collect General Details of Maintenance Task

The very first part of a work order template should always include general information about the maintenance task at hand. This information is essential to orienting maintenance technicians or custodians and helping facility managers sort work orders back in the office. Create fields for the following information in your general details section:

• Type of Maintenance (General Maintenance, Cleaning/Custodial, Inspection, Test etc.)
• Trade Type (Custodial, Electrical, Fire, HVAC, IT, Plumbing etc.)
• Assignee(s)
• Priority (Low, Medium, High)
• Estimated Hours to Complete Task

2. Identify Location of Asset in Need of Repair

With general details on the work order listed at the top of the page, your next section should be more specific about the location and details of the asset in need of repair. This information helps facilities personnel organize and prioritize maintenance tasks for the day. Here are four location-related details that work orders should include:

• Building
• Floor
• Room Number
• Asset Name

3. Record Additional Asset Details and Information

Each asset within a building is unique. Therefore, it’s important to dedicate section three of your work order to asset details and information. This section can be as simple or expansive as you’d like, but we suggest starting off by listing the following five detail fields. Depending on your organization, you may want to add more fields for higher specificity.

• Asset ID
• Equipment Category (Appliance, Door, Electrical, Fire Safety, IT, Mechanical, Plumbing, Roof, Security)
• Equipment Type (i.e. Cooling Tower, Condensing Unit, Air Conditioner, etc.)
• Make, Model and Manufacturer
• Serial #

4. Create a Work Order Description

Description of the work order is one of the most important parts of the template. This is the section where facility managers take information from incoming service requests and convert it to step-by-step instructions on how to fix the issue. The following points indicate examples of procedures and protocols that may be listed in a work order description. It is up to the work order administrator to list detailed steps for finishing the assignment.

• Lock out procedures
• Inspection protocols
• Filter changes
• Inspection of bearings
• Cleaning instructions

5. Log the Work Summary and Closing Details

Closing out a work order involves more than simply writing “done”, signing the form and throwing it back into the work order pile. This is where “closing details” of a work order come into play. Use this final section of the work order to indicate that the task is completed. Then, indicate notes, materials used and other helpful information for use in asset repair summaries. Consider asking for the following information from your maintenance personnel once work orders are complete:

• Description of work done/action taken
• Useful notes for future reference
• Completed by: (which assignee?)
• Date of task completion
• Hours it took to complete the task
• Cost and materials used to complete the task
• Approval signature from work order administrator

Moving from “Pen and Paper” to “Point and Click”

Part of proactive facility management is becoming comfortable with work order templates and filling them out, both completely and accurately. However, using a facility management software can eliminate many of the burdens associated with paper-based and spreadsheet-based asset maintenance. As your team and workload scales, using paper work orders or a spreadsheet may no longer become feasible.

A facility management software like AkitaBox includes a service request portal for occupants to submit
maintenance requests, as well as a robust work order management module

If your department still operates on either of these methods, it’s never too late to shift towards a more automated approach to work orders and building maintenance and management. At AkitaBox, we’ll help you determine where your team can improve and what tools they’ll need to succeed. Start by viewing a short video demonstration of AkitaBox software or scheduling a personalized consultation with the AkitaBox team. With custom-tailored training and support, our team of success managers will help guide your facility in the right direction.

Read Next: 

• Preventive Maintenance 101: How to Implement a Successful Program
• Why Your CMMS Sucks: 7 Signs You Need a New Maintenance Software