Whether running a small or large company, you must schedule multiple service and maintenance events daily. However, are you aware of how much that work can cost your business?
Mismanaged service and maintenance events can increase expenses due to inefficient management and lack of transparency.
Work order software and work order tracking can mitigate these problems. Work order software allows you to manage labor hours, asset expenditures, and costs, all in one platform.
Proper work order systems are the most efficient solution for coordinating and prioritizing company tasks. When you have an organized system for tracking work orders, you increase productivity and efficiency.
Types of Work Orders
Typically, companies run many different kinds of work orders. Here are some of the most basic examples.
- General work order – This work order refers to any maintenance task that does not count under emergency or preventive classification. Essentially, general work orders entail removing old machines, painting jobs, or installing new equipment.
- Maintenance work order – This work order refers to different subtypes of maintenance tasks that typically require scheduling. These subtypes include:
- Inspection – It is essential to conduct routine audits to decrease equipment downtime. Inspection work orders are crucial to determine if corrective action is necessary for damage control.
- Preventive maintenance – Preventive work orders are probably the most common kind of maintenance work order. They need regular scheduling to ensure equipment stays functional for the year. Preventive work orders also include important notes like vendor instructions and checklists.
- Corrective maintenance – This subtype typically comes after preventive maintenance or inspections to address issues found by a technician. Corrective maintenance includes replacement, repairs, or acquisition of new equipment.
Real-time work order tracking helps write down all relevant details while running seamless workflows. Complete work order software can decrease extra costs incurred by reducing downtime.
The software does this by simplifying the management and planning of work orders. It also makes resource and maintenance work estimations easier to analyze through previous documentation access.
Here are some ways that work order software can help your company cut costs and idle time.
Increase Management and Communication Efficiency
Using quality work order software is the best way to boost efficiency since it decreases manual work and removes surveillance. Since they can monitor all equipment and work statuses in real-time, facility management can take a preventive approach to maintenance. It also enables facility managers to make better decisions for work order prioritization.
Managers will also receive automatic notifications of status changes, service requests, and emergencies, which enable them to respond quickly. The software provides seamless communication among maintenance workers, facility managers, and end-users.
When management requires less manual work and efficient communication, you save your managers and workers a lot of time. That time saved goes into different tasks, thus maximizing tasks completed daily and lowering the extra cost for maintenance.
Improve Maintenance Worker Productivity
Work order software is a great tool for maintenance workers due to its comprehensive functions. With the software, maintenance workers can view status updates and work orders in real-time while on the field online.
It significantly reduces delays as well since all necessary information and instructions are present in the digital work order. That enables maintenance workers to get to work immediately and eliminate idle time.
The software also provides a means to update report details and work statuses efficiently through a mobile device. That way, maintenance workers send task completion reports to their managers in real time.
Decrease Preventive Maintenance Costs
An organized work order system decreases costs for maintenance through an intelligent selection of maintenance workers with relevant experience.
Moreover, managers can assign tasks to workers within the right proximity to the work location. This system can reduce a significant amount of time and resources used to complete work orders.
A streamlined work order system for equipment monitoring and maintenance afford workers more time for preventive maintenance.
When maintenance workers have more time for preventive maintenance, it drastically reduces the need for expensive emergency repairs. Additionally, a well-planned system provides minimal downtime and prolongs equipment lifespan, reducing costs tremendously.
Improve Organization, Prioritization, and Budgeting
Work order tracking software can collect and measure performance and information on previous work orders. That information can assist managers in making difficult decisions, organizing valuable resources, and priority budgeting for the future.
The system is also effective for scheduling preventive maintenance to prepare for and avoid any unforeseen breakdowns and replacements. The basis of automating the schedules is on previously collected information from past recorded work orders.
Summary
There are numerous ways work order management systems can benefit your business by saving on time and costs. The best work order software can help you automate processes and create seamless information flow among personnel. Most would argue that businesses requiring regular maintenance would cease functioning optimally without the software.
