Work order management was one of the big drivers in adopting the CMMS in the early days of CMMS software. Since those days, the software has advanced well beyond simply being a work order management system. Yet work order management is often a fail point in these systems today.
Often under pressure to get the work done, there’s a temptation to do such things as:
- Bypass the system. “We don’t need to wait for a work order, this job won’t take long.” These “quick” jobs add up, and the resources for doing them aren’t tracked. Neither are the problems that caused them to be needed.
- Not confirming/approving the work order. This is a basic management function. Is the work properly assigned? Correctly scheduled (e.g., if it requires shutdown, can it wait until the next scheduled one)? Are the instructions correct?
- Fail to close out the work order. Was the job even done? Has the job report been entered into the system, with notes (and photos) from the field tech?
