What Is Work Order Software? (And How to Choose the Best One)

Organized maintenance management can only be achieved when you streamline and document your work order process. The easiest way to achieve this is by investing in work order software as a comprehensive management platform for your maintenance professionals.

Every work order goes through a similar process, starting with the identification of a work request that needs to be issued. Maintenance teams will then create a work order to carry out the required maintenance task. Once that task is completed, the work order is closed, clearing the way for maintenance teams to focus on the next work orders in their queue.

But each work order brings its own challenges and requirements that need to be accounted for. Some work orders require visuals and other forms of documentation to help maintenance teams understand the work that needs to be performed. Communication is often required to share information, coordinate activities and provide updates on the status of the task. 

Maintenance managers may also need to reassign tasks, generate reports and manage external work orders. To account for all the variables that can complicate maintenance workflows — as well as the challenges of managing work orders for entire properties and facilities — maintenance teams need the specialized management tools offered by work order software.

What Is Work Order Software, and What Exactly Does It Do?

Work order software provides a centralized platform where maintenance teams can digitally manage and track work orders at every stage of the maintenance process. The software facilitates communication between technicians, managers and customers while making it easy to coordinate and oversee a wide range of work orders active across a company’s key assets and facilities.

While work order software is primarily used by maintenance and repair teams, this technology can enhance productivity and operational efficiency for almost any business with physical property to maintain. Work order software is particularly valuable in the following industries: 

• Residential and commercial property management: Work order management software helps property managers keep track of incoming tenant service requests alongside other property management tasks.
• Manufacturing facilities: Preventative maintenance scheduling and equipment repair can be managed side-by-side in a work order software solution, helping factories and other manufacturing facilities optimize resource allocation and prioritize their maintenance tasks.
• Construction companies: Construction managers can use the software to manage teams and workflows across multiple construction sites.
• Service providers: Maintenance and repair services for hire use work order software to manage their upcoming field service appointments and projects for local customers.

Key Parts of a Work Order Software

To realize the full benefits of a computerized maintenance management system (or CMMS software), it’s important to seek out a comprehensive platform that can support work order tracking and management across the full work order lifecycle — all in a central location. At a minimum, your work order software solution should offer the following components:

A Built-In Work Order Request Form

A platform-based request form reduces the administrative burden of work order paperwork and helps save time when assigning work orders. By digitizing this process, your organization can empower maintenance technicians, customer service agents and other authorized users to generate work order requests that are automatically added into your platform workflows.

Easy-to-Use Project Progress Tracking 

Maintenance and property managers need to keep tabs on many different work orders at all stages of the project lifecycle. From a user-friendly dashboard, managers can easily open up individual work orders and intervene when necessary — either by reassigning overdue tasks to a new team member or by sending out a communication to check in on the status of that project.

Diverse Communication Tools

Diverse communication channels offer more options for contacting field technicians and other points of contact as well as greater flexibility for the types of information you exchange. Platform-based messaging, interactive work order checklists and photo upload tools can all support more efficient and productive collaboration for each project.

Automated Alerts or Notifications

Stay on top of time-sensitive events such as work order creation, work order status and other work order information that may require intervention. Push notifications to mobile devices, for example, can keep all parties informed when there new information or messages require their attention.

Why Is Work Order Software Important?

As work orders come in, staying organized is critical. Manual work order management processes can be a recipe for disaster, creating the risk of oversights and delayed response times that result in bottlenecks, costly breakdowns, unnecessary damage to assets and rising frustration among maintenance workers, customers, property owners and other stakeholders. A paper-based approach to work order tracking isn’t sustainable — and it isn’t necessary, either. Here’s how work order software can benefit your organization:

• Decrease maintenance costs: More efficient and timely work order management reduces the resource and labor cost involved in maintenance. Timely preventative maintenance, along with a fast response when new maintenance requests arise, will reduce the frequency, severity and cost of maintenance issues in the future.
• Simplifies scheduling for preventive maintenance: Many repair tasks can be avoided through regular, preventive maintenance. Work order software can help you schedule preventative work and make sure it takes place on a necessary timeline.
• Improves maintenance team performance: Technicians, field workers and other staff all benefit from improved communication and better resource allocation. This leads to better work performance, which in turn, leads to more completed work orders.
• Increases asset lifespan: Scheduled maintenance and repairs preserves the integrity of your equipment and other assets, extending their lifespan and reducing their total cost of ownership.
• Streamlines maintenance tracking and reporting: Never lose track of a work order, and never forget to file a required report because the maintenance histories are all available in this maintenance management software. 

Key Factors to Consider When Choosing a Work Order Software

Every type of maintenance management software is going to come with the basic parts. But some of the work order software features and capabilities that don’t come standard with every solution can have a big impact on the overall KPIs you need. Here are some of the key features we strongly recommend when comparing similar software systems:

• Customizable workflows: Different companies and use cases will need work order software that allows them to customize the maintenance workflow to their needs. Coast, for instance, allows you to mold the software to your business’ needs, as opposed to cramming your operations into a static system. This means you can customize work orders so that they gather exactly the information you need and use familiar language that your maintenance team can quickly understand and adopt.
• Ease of implementation: Is the work order software easy to implement? Is the interface user-friendly, or does it require a long adjustment period? The faster this software can be deployed, the sooner it will help you streamline maintenance needs.
• Mobile app availability: Mobile access is essential for any business wanting to deploy its work order software for use in the field and other remote settings. The work order app also needs to be compatible with the devices used by your team members.
• Maintenance scheduling: Preventive maintenance is most successfully managed when it can be scheduled into your platform. Along with the ability to generate new work orders, consider a work order software that lets you schedule recurring work into the future.
• Access to asset inventory management: When work orders require certain parts or assets, this inventory must be consulted to make sure the required items are in stock. Ideally, your work order software will integrate with your asset management solution to make this information accessible within the work order.
• Communication tools: As previously mentioned, diverse real-time communication options will enable more efficient and responsive collaboration.
• Built-in tracking tools and reporting. Does your software offer the option to track the time it takes to complete a work order? Can you easily generate reports to meet regulatory requirements or audits?

Who Uses Work Order Software?

In most cases, the primary users of work order software hold one of the following three roles:

Facility Manager

A facilities manager is often tasked with overseeing all operations of a building or other facility, including the property’s staff, vendors, maintenance team, owners and other stakeholders. Individuals in this role must be strong communicators and well-organized, and they must be comfortable in high-stress situations where multi-tasking, resource management and fast decision-making are key. Facility managers often have a bachelor’s degree in facilities management or a related field, and/or they may have previous professional experience in facilities management. Facility managers may hold one or more certifications specific to their field, such as Certified Facility Manager (CFM) or a Facility Management Professional (FMP) certification.

Maintenance Manager

A maintenance manager often works underneath a facilities manager. They are responsible for all equipment maintenance and repair activities taking place on the property or properties where they work. Given the nature of work order requests at large facilities or properties, a maintenance manager must possess not only extensive technical knowledge related to local maintenance and repair needs, but also strong organizational skills and the ability to allocate staff and resources based on the most urgent maintenance priorities. Most maintenance managers possess either a bachelor’s degree in engineering or a technical degree from a vocational school, along with prior job experience as a maintenance technician.

Maintenance Technician

A maintenance technician must possess extensive technical knowledge of the equipment and assets to which they are assigned to work. These professionals typically have either a bachelor’s degree in engineering or a technical degree from a vocational school. Technicians may also require specialized certifications to be permitted to perform maintenance on specific assets.

How to Create a Work Order Management System

Before you can leverage work order software to enhance your maintenance operations, you need a work order management system in place to help enforce repeatable, sustainable processes. Here’s a quick guide to creating a work order management system:

1. Define the maintenance needs of your business: This includes understanding and implementing the right type of maintenance plan. For example, does your organization need a system for managing preventive maintenance, reactive maintenance, predictive maintenance and/or condition-based maintenance? Some or all of these scenarios may be applicable to your business, and they will affect not only the creation of your work orders, but also the type of work order software best suits your needs.
2. Evaluate your current processes: What is your current method for creating and managing maintenance work orders? Are you fully manual, or do you have digital processes in place? What roles are involved, and how are work orders managed to make sure they get done? A close evaluation will help you understand what you’re doing well and where your system needs support.
3. Define the key team members who will be involved: This will likely include a facilities manager and maintenance manager, but it may also include technicians and other stakeholders, such as facility owners or executives.
4. Define the assets involved: Which equipment or other assets will be served by this system? Again, this informs the type of maintenance needs required by your business.
5. Implement a work order software: Once you’ve established all of the above parameters, you can choose a work order software built to support these needs. Make sure your work order platform is comprehensive in its ability to support your management system — otherwise, you will inevitably run into problems.
6. Create a work order using a template from your work order software: Generate a test work order to make sure the system works. If necessary, customize the work order form to your use-specific needs.
7. Develop a system for prioritizing and assigning work orders: For example, you may choose to flag certain types of work orders as urgent and move them to the top of your work queue. Likewise, you will have to decide whether you assign new work orders evenly across your staff, based on their current workloads, based on each technician’s specialty or other considerations.
8. Schedule any recurring work orders for preventive maintenance: This is only necessary if preventive maintenance is part of your system needs.
9. Create a review process to evaluate success: Over time, you will likely refine your system to enhance its operation and achieve even greater efficiency, productivity and outcomes for your business.

What Makes Coast’s Work Order Software Unique?

There’s no shortage of work order software options available to your business. But once you start writing down your list of must-have features, you’ll find that most of those platforms aren’t equipped for your organization’s needs. Coast, on the other hand, is a comprehensive work order solution that can be tailored to the needs and preferences of any facility. With Coast’s platform, you can easily do the following:

• Create customizable fields for work orders
• Automate scheduling for preventive maintenance days, weeks and months in advance
• Set reminders and notifications for individual team members
• Upload photos and task lists within each work order
• Track assets and external work orders through QR tracking
• And much, much more

Whether you manage a single, small facility or a number of large properties within your company, Coast can help you optimize work order management and bring new efficiency, productivity and performance to your maintenance operations.

See for yourself — sign up for an account with Coast today.