What is a work order?

A work order is the written instruction for one maintenance job. It says which equipment the job is for, what needs to be done, who will do it and by when, and it leaves space to record that the work was finished and who confirmed it. Each work order has its own number, so the job can be named without confusion in a log, on an invoice or in a conversation.

What a work order contains

Most maintenance work orders have the same parts, whatever the format:

• A number and a title: a unique reference and a short summary of the job.
• The equipment: its name, a stable asset ID and where it is.
• Dates: when the work order was raised and when the work is due.
• People: who asked for the work and who is assigned to it.
• A priority: how urgent the job is, using levels the team has agreed on.
• Tasks: one line per task, so it is clear which steps were done.
• Materials: the parts and supplies used, with quantities.
• Notes and signatures: anything else worth knowing, and who confirms the work was done.

The work order example shows every one of these fields filled in.

Why teams use work orders

A work order is read twice. The person doing the job reads it to know exactly what to do. Weeks or months later, someone else reads it to understand what happened: what was planned, what was used and who signed it off.

Without work orders, that second reader has to rely on memory and text messages. With them, a team can answer questions such as when a job was last done on a machine, whether work is running late and what a repair needed.

The stages of a work order

A work order moves through a few stages. The names vary between teams, but a common sequence is:

1. Draft: the job is being written up and is not yet ready to hand over.
2. Open: the job is ready and waiting to be done.
3. In progress: someone has started the work.
4. Completed: the work is done and recorded.

A job that will not be done is marked canceled, with the reason, instead of being deleted. That keeps the record honest about what was planned.

Work order, request and purchase order

Three documents are easy to confuse:

• A maintenance request reports a problem or asks for work. Anyone can raise one. It becomes a work order only when the person responsible accepts it. See the maintenance request form.
• A work order is the instruction to do the job.
• A purchase order asks a supplier to sell you something, such as a spare part. See work order vs purchase order.

Where work orders come from

A work order starts in one of two ways. Someone notices a problem and asks for it to be fixed, or a recurring task from the maintenance plan comes due. In both cases the work order is what turns the need into a specific job for a specific person.

What a work order does not do

A work order records what was planned and, once signed, that someone says it was done. It does not say what maintenance a machine needs; that comes from the manufacturer's manual and your site's procedures. It is not a safety procedure, and it does not certify that equipment is safe.

Create one

Use the free work order generator to fill in these fields and print or save the result, or print the blank work order form to fill in by hand.

Common questions

What is the purpose of a work order?

It tells the person doing a job exactly what to do, on which equipment and by when, and it leaves a record of what was planned and who confirmed it was done.

What is a work order number?

A unique reference for one job, such as WO-1001. It lets people mention the job in a log entry, an invoice or a conversation without confusion, so each number is used only once.

Who creates a work order?

Usually the person who coordinates maintenance: a supervisor, a maintenance lead or the owner in a small shop. They create it after a request is accepted or when scheduled maintenance comes due.

What are the stages of a work order?

A common sequence is draft, open, in progress and completed, with canceled for work that will not be done. The names vary between teams; what matters is that everyone can tell whether a job is waiting, under way or finished.