A Work Order is a task or job for a customer that can be scheduled and assigned to someone. The term is commonly used in the Field Services Industry, where Work Orders or Jobs are assigned to Field Technicians. Work orders assign field technicians with different tasks such as equipment installations, repairs or maintenance works
Usually, Work Orders are the result of a customer request. However, in many cases, Work Orders may be a follow-up action from an inspection or audit carried out before. Here are a few examples that signify an actual work order:
A Work Order provides a description of the details of a job. Work order assignments can be simple. A simple Work Order requires only the five elements shown in gold in the figure below. All the other elements are optional.
The use of Forms and Templates helps in managing them with ease.
For example, Forms are not required, but one or more Forms can be used to organize or document activities with customized and reusable checklists. Forms can contain pages that can be used to give “logic” to which items in a Form will be presented.
Other optional items, shown in green, such as an Estimate (or Quote), can be included in a Work Order. When a common set of optional items are often used, they can be grouped as part of a named Template to speed their inclusion in the Work Order.
The following example from the residential property management industry will give you a rough idea of how a simple work order is planned and executed through a workforce management software.
Consider the example below, from the residential property management industry.
Traditionally, work orders were assigned over phone calls. Instructions and forms were managed using paper and pen. Some companies use laptops to record forms. However, these days service businesses are upgrading to work order software and field service management software like ReachOut. Available as a web backend and companion mobile app, ReachOut allows field technicians to receive instructions, forms, notifications, addresses via their smartphones or tablets.
“It is time that service businesses move ahead with technology and implementing a work order software is one step to the process. The level of convenience it brings together with efficiency improvements and workflow optimization helps get more done in less time alongside the plus point of added customer satisfaction.” Stephen Cummings, SVP, ReachOut Suite
They can easily add job information, annotate pictures, take customer signatures and manage their own work with ease. Such systems provide supervisors the ability to manage their teams from anywhere in the world. Besides, ReachOut also allows business owners to create multiple teams with different supervisors.
Work Orders are the essence of an organization. Hence, maintaining a streamlined and hassle-free work order system becomes necessary to ensure the growth of an organization. A smart work order software like ReachOut not only eases maintaining work orders but also prevents wastage of time and money.
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