A work order (WO) is a document, paper or digital, that authorizes a specific job and tracks it from request to completion. In maintenance it tells a technician what to do, on which asset and by when, and it records what was actually done, the time and parts used and the cost. Every closed work order becomes part of the asset's service history.
Other words for a work order include job card, job ticket, job order, service order, maintenance ticket and work ticket. A work request is related but different: it is the first report ("the boiler is making a knocking noise") that a planner approves and turns into a work order.
Types of work order
| Type | Triggered by | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Preventive | A maintenance schedule coming due | Quarterly HVAC filter change |
| Corrective | A fault or breakdown | Replace a failed pump seal |
| Inspection | A planned check of condition or safety | Monthly fire-extinguisher check |
| Calibration | An instrument’s calibration due date | Annual pressure-gauge calibration |
| Emergency | A failure that is a safety risk or stops operations | Burst pipe above a server room |
| Project / improvement | A planned change or installation | Fit a new guard to a production line |
Preventive work orders come from the maintenance schedule; corrective ones come from faults. Keep the list short, because reports split cost and time by type.
What a work order contains
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| Work order number | WO-03317 |
| Asset and location | Conveyor 2B, Line 2, Plant A |
| Type and priority | Corrective, high |
| Description and task list | Grinding noise at drive end; inspect and replace bearing |
| Requested by / assigned to | Line supervisor / maintenance technician |
| Dates | Requested, scheduled, started, completed |
| Status | Open, assigned, in progress, on hold, completed, cancelled |
| Labour and parts | 1.5 h; bearing 6205 ×1 |
| Cost and downtime | Parts plus labour total; 95 minutes out of service |
| Findings and follow-up | Shaft wear noted; follow-up inspection in 30 days |
What is a work order number?
A work order number is the unique reference for one job. It links invoices, parts and downtime records to the work. A good number is sequential, never reused and short enough to read out over the phone.
The work order lifecycle
- Request. Someone reports a fault, or a schedule comes due.
- Approve and plan. A planner rejects duplicates, sets type and priority, and lists tasks and parts.
- Schedule and assign. The job gets a date and a technician or outside vendor.
- Execute. The technician does the work and records findings. A job waiting for parts goes on hold.
- Complete. Time, parts, cost and downtime are recorded, and the requester is told.
- Review. Patterns across closed work orders drive MTTR, MTBF and repair-or-replace decisions.
Work order examples by industry
- Hospital: a bed with a faulty brake gets a corrective work order and is tagged out of use.
- School: a teacher reports a projector fault; facilities raise a work order and a contractor replaces the lamp.
- Logistics: each forklift's 250-hour service is a preventive work order, building cost per truck.
- Hotel: a guest-room air-conditioning fault is logged against that unit, not just the room.
Common mistakes
- Doing small jobs without a work order. They add up, and the asset history is incomplete.
- Vague descriptions such as "fix machine". Name the symptom and the asset.
- Leaving jobs in progress for weeks. Use on hold with a reason, so the backlog is honest.
- Logging against the wrong asset. Scan the asset's tag rather than picking from a long list.
Spreadsheet vs CMMS
Many teams start with a spreadsheet or a shared inbox: one row per job, with a number typed by hand. It breaks when two people add the same number, statuses go stale, and finance asks what one machine cost this year. A CMMS numbers jobs automatically, enforces the status flow and builds each asset's history as jobs close.
Work orders in Asetavo
In Asetavo maintenance (Business plan), work orders are auto-numbered (WO-00001), typed as corrective, preventive, inspection or calibration, and given a priority from low to urgent. They move through Open, Assigned, In progress, On hold and Completed (or Cancelled) on a board or a list, with start and completion times stamped by the server. Each records the technician, requester, any vendor, parts and labour cost and downtime minutes, and lands on the asset's Maintenance tab. Preventive work orders are raised by a planner from the Due & overdue list.
