Facility & Maintenance Management

Work Order Management System: What You Need To Know

March 2, 2022

What is Work Order Management System?

Work order management refers to the regular process of handling maintenance work orders and completing them on time to minimize asset downtime.

Work order software for contractors provides facilities managers with wide range of tools and a centralized dashboard to track and manage all work order information.

They can manage work orders across many locations by creating service requests, tracking the status of those requests in real-time, documenting completion, leaving feedback, and generating reports on the status of all requests.

Work order management system can also be used to automate the process for estimating costs associated with a request, scheduling staff time and equipment resources, and determining which staff member is best qualified to handle a request.

What is a work order? Work orders are accepted maintenance requests. Typically, these are physical pieces of paper. However, a digital version is more effective.

Work orders are an integral part of any maintenance process and when managed correctly, they will lay the groundwork for an efficient and effective facility management process.

Why is Work Order Management System Important?

A work order management system is a software application that provides an automated way to manage work orders. It is also used as a tool for planning and tracking the progress of work orders.

Work order management system can be implemented in many industries such as commercial real estate, manufacturing, medical, hospitality, and more.

The solution provides a centralized repository for all the data related to work orders and eliminates the need for manual data entry by employees.

Work order management system allows you to:

  • Find the right contractor for the job
  • Manage the services you need
  • Accept or reject costs and track expenses
  • Analyze advanced data and analytics

Managers can receive answers to questions like who is working on what maintenance order, how many maintenance tasks have been completed, or how many remain.

Types of Work Order Management Systems

A work order management system is a system that manages the work orders that are submitted by clients and assigns them to the right workers. It also provides a way to track them and report on them.

Common types of work order management systems include:

  • Simple Work Order Systems
  • CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System)
  • Field Management Systems

Simple Work Order Systems

Assigning, tracking, and recording work orders are the main objectives of this system and designed usually for smaller companies. Through a centralized platform, users can track all work orders in real-time.

CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management System)

In larger companies, CMMS tools are used. They are comprehensive maintenance management systems that manage the entire maintenance process, including repairs and preventative maintenance.

You can automate your maintenance team using CMMS software. In addition, it has several value-added features, including preventative maintenance schedules and assets histories, and many more.

Work orders in CMMS software can be classified into different types: standard work orders, preventive, reactive, and corrective maintenance work orders, or inspection work orders.

Field Management Systems

Field Management Systems (FMS) might be considered as another type of work order management system, but they can also be used within systems such as the one mentioned above.

Software like this is perfect for companies with field personnel scattered across various locations.

Benefits of Work Order Management System

Work order management systems are beneficial because they allow companies to improve their workflow by maximizing efficiency across all departments. They are also useful since they allow companies to track the progress of each task that has been assigned to them. This will help with project planning and scheduling in the future. Some benefits include:

  • Centralizing Work Orders
  • Automating Work Orders
  • Streamlining Submissions of Work Orders
  • Extending Assets Lifetime and Lowering Costs
  • Detailed Reporting

1. Centralizing Work Orders

The process of handling work orders is automated with the dedicated software.

They eliminate or minimize the likelihood of mistakes, disorganization, and duplication. Assigned tasks are clear and transparent, improving scheduling and prioritizing of orders.

2. Automating Work Orders

Using work order management system you can assign work orders to the right people or the whole department automatically. For example, if there's a problem with your HVAC system, you can ensure the tickets get routed to the expert who is best suited for fixing the problem.

With a mobile work order management app, you can allow technicians in the field to add notes or update work orders on the equipment in real-time, while they're working on it.

Techs can complete work assignments, add costs, and digital signatures when the work is done while you can track performance directly from the mobile app, ensuring accurate and timely data.

3. Streamlining Submissions of Work Orders

In addition to streamlining processes for technicians, work order management system can also benefit other employees who need to submit work requests, for example, tenants when adding a new ticket.

They can easily describe their problem, and the request will be assigned to the right person. Tenants can also rate their experience which results in a higher level of service.

4. Extending Assets Lifetime and Lowering Costs

It is also imperative for a company to track asset life. The software makes it possible for you to determine if an asset is functioning appropriately or not.

By and large, it ensures that assets are appropriately functioning and proceeding as desired which results in lowering unexpected expenses.

A significant advantage of tracking assets is that it provides oversight, management, and expansion of the asset lifecycle. This provides the best possible upkeep of assets with standard updates.

5. Detailed Reporting

Supervisors can analyze reports to improve their understanding of what preventive maintenance has been performed on assets, what maintenance should be planned in the future, and how to schedule preventive maintenance for each asset.

Work Order Management System Features

There are many features that a work order management system should have. It should be able to handle the entire process from the time an order is placed until it is completed.

Some of these features are:

Work Order Management Mobile Portal

Work order management system makes it easy to manage contractor information since it keeps track of contact information, work history, invoices, and more.

Contractors can update assigned digital work orders and maintenance duties via the mobile app, so you're always up to date with what's happening in your facility.

A mobile app for work order management - Work orders lists and details
Work orders lists and details

Ratings & Benchmarking

Get information about vendors and ratings for a specific contractor's work. You can choose the best vendor for the next job based on customer reviews and data such as punctuality or quality.

Digital WOMS provides you with all the information you need to make informed decisions.

Ratings and Benchmarking

SLA Monitoring

Work order management system enables you to set SLAs for your vendors and monitor their compliance by managing the work and timelines more efficiently.

Other features of the work order management system include:

• The ability to capture, manage, and track work orders as they progress through the business process

• The ability to assign tasks and responsibilities for each work order

• A dashboard that provides real-time information about all work orders and their progress

• The ability to customize reports and dashboards for specific users or departments

• With Google Maps integration, you can quickly see your contractor's location and identify which one is closest to your site.

SLA monitoring
SLA Monitoring

Summary

Work order management tools assist companies in managing and controlling the ongoing and upcoming work. It helps with analyzing the data to determine vital business decisions regarding investment, expense control, and labor costs.

Work order management system is also useful in meeting safety and compliance requirements. You can increase productivity and efficiency by being able to submit work orders from any desktop or mobile device, anywhere at any time, keeping information up-to-date in real-time.

Do you want to improve your contractor management? Try Singu FM for free and its work order management system.

Written by:
Kacper Troć
Team Lead at Velis Real Estate Tech

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