What it should include, at a minimum
- The asset, always. A work order without equipment does not show up in its history, and that job is lost for traceability.
- Specific, checkable tasks, one per line. “Check machine” is not a task.
- The owner: a person or a team.
- Dates, planned and due, and a real priority.
- Planned materials, if they are known.
- The inspection checklist, when it applies.
And when it is closed
Completed tasks, time spent, materials actually used, useful notes and evidence. The recommendations written down at closing are the natural starting point for the next preventive job.
What the technician writes on site is the service report: the work order says what needs doing, and the report says what was done.
The usual mistake
Three of them are costly:
- A work order with no asset: the equipment loses its traceability.
- A vague description: the technician wastes time and the history is useless.
- Forgetting the materials: real costs come out too low and the contract’s profitability is not real.