Turn requests into work orders

Breakdowns land on Maintenance → Requests. Each one waits there until you turn it into a work order or reject it. You can put several requests on one asset into one work order, or add them to a work order that is already open. You can also raise a work order with no request, for a repair you already know about.

Rejecting a request and raising a work order need Manage work orders and View maintenance. Owners, Admins and Managers have both.

Read the request queue

The queue is a table. It opens on Open requests, newest first. Select Work order raised, Rejected or All above the table to see the others. Those views also show each request's Status.

To find requests, use the bar above the table:

• Search number, asset or fault: type part of a request number, such as WR-0004, an asset name or a word in the fault.
• All assets: select one asset to see only its requests. Use this to find the requests to put into one work order.
• Clear filters removes the search and the asset.

To sort the table, select a column heading: Number, Asset, Safe to operate, Priority, Raised by or Seen. Select the same heading again to reverse the order. Safe to operate puts the least safe requests first, and Priority puts the most urgent first.

The status, the search, the asset and the sort stay in the page address. You can share the link, and the queue opens the same way.

Each row shows:

• Number, such as WR-00002, and the Asset. Select the asset to open it.
• Fault: the first line of what was reported.
• Safe to operate: the answer, with the restriction under it for Limited use.
• Priority and Raised by.
• Seen: when they saw the fault, in your organization's time zone.

Select a row to open the request at the side. It shows the full fault one time, the restriction, the Project at the time (the project the machine was booked on when the fault was seen; the line is left out when it wasn't booked, unless you can set the project), who raised it, when they saw it and when they reported it. A rejected request shows the reason, and a request with a work order links to it.

A request raised by a failed inspection item, or from an HSEQ issue, shows what raised it under the fault in the side panel. For an inspection, the fault is the failed item and the inspector's note, so the panel does not show them again under the inspection. See See what raised a request. In the table, a request from an inspection has an Inspection badge next to its fault. When an inspection raised the request for someone who cannot raise requests, Raised by shows System.

Report breakdown and New work order are at the top right of the queue.

Set the project of a request

The project at the time can be empty (the machine was not booked) or wrong (the machine moved to a different site). You can correct it while the request is open. You need Manage work orders and View maintenance.

1. Select the request's row to open its side panel.
2. Next to Project at the time, select Set project. If the request has a project, select Change.
3. Choose the project. To remove the project, choose No project.

You see "Project updated." If you change your mind before you choose, select Cancel.

You can only choose a project of your organization. If the project was deleted, you see "That project can't be found. It may have been removed. Select a different project." If someone changed the request first, or it is no longer open, you see a message and the panel shows the latest request.

Reject a request

Reject a request that needs no work, such as a duplicate or an operator error.

1. On the request's row, or at the bottom of its side panel, select Reject. In the side panel, Create work order is on the first row, and Add to work order… and Reject are on the second row.
2. Under Reason, say why. The reason stays on the rejected request.
3. Select Reject request.

You see "Request rejected." If the request made the machine Down or Restricted, that status ends now.

Turn a request into a work order

1. On the request's row, or at the bottom of its side panel, select Create work order.
2. Change the Work order title if you want to. It starts as the first sentence of the fault, cut to 60 characters.
3. Choose a Priority.
4. Choose the Activity, such as Repair or Hydraulics. When an inspection rule suggests an activity for the request, it is already filled in. When your organization has only one maintenance activity, it is already selected. See Activities on a work order.
5. Leave Planned off: a breakdown is unplanned work. Turn it on only if this work was in your plan. Choose a Cause if you know it, or leave it as No cause yet. You can also choose it when you complete the work order.
6. Enter an Estimate in your account's currency if you know it. Leave it empty if you don't. The estimate is for planning only. If you do not hold Approve maintenance spend, the field tells you the approval threshold for this asset and activity. When your estimate is more than that amount, it warns you that the work order waits for approval.
7. Pick a Target start and Target end for when you plan to do the work, if you know them. Pick the times in your organization's time zone.
8. When you set both dates, choose what the machine is During the work window. It starts as Down: block it on the schedule. See Plan downtime for the work. If you choose Restricted and the requests are not Limited use, write the Restriction. A Limited use request brings its own restriction, and the work order uses it for the window too.
9. Select Create work order.

The work order opens, numbered like WO-00002. It takes over the request: the request moves to Work order raised, and the machine keeps its status until the work order is complete, cancelled or rejected.

If you hold Approve maintenance spend, the work order is Approved straight away. If you do not, and the estimate is empty or is the approval threshold or less, the work order is also Approved straight away. With a larger estimate, it is Waiting for approval. See Get a work order approved. Next, book a mechanic and run the work.

Create one work order from several requests

Two or more people can report faults on the same machine. Fix them with one work order.

1. In the queue, select the check box on the row of each open request. All the requests must be on one asset.
2. Look at the bar above the table. It shows the number of requests you selected, for example 3 selected.
3. Select Create one work order. The Create work order dialog opens. Its title shows the number of requests, for example Create one work order from 3 requests.
4. Check the values in the dialog. They come from the most severe request. The Work order title lists the faults. Choose the Activity for all the requests. Make one work order for each activity, or add the other activities to the work order later. Add an Estimate, a Target start and Target end, and a status During the work window if you want to, as for one request.
5. Check the list under Requests in this work order. It shows each request you selected.
6. Select Create work order.

The work order opens. Each request moves to Work order raised and links to the work order. The work order takes over the Down or Restricted status of each request. The approval rules are the same as for one request. See Get a work order approved.

These rules apply:

• You can select open requests only.
• All the requests must be on one asset.
• You can select up to 20 requests.
• The worst safe-to-operate answer wins. Not safe to operate is worse than Limited use, and Limited use is worse than Safe to operate. The work order keeps the restriction of each Limited use request.
• The values come from the most severe request. This is the request with the worst safe-to-operate answer. When two requests have the same answer, it is the request with the highest priority. When they also have the same priority, it is the oldest request.

To remove the selection, select Clear on the bar. The check boxes show only when you can raise work orders.

Add requests to an open work order

A new request can be about a work order that is already open on the asset. Add the request to that work order. Do not raise a second work order.

To add one request:

1. Select the request's row to open it at the side.
2. Select Add to work order…. The dialog Add to a work order opens.
3. Under Open work orders, select one of the asset's open work orders. Each one shows its number, title and status.
4. Under Activity on WO-00012 (the number of the work order you selected), select one of its activities. Each one shows its name, Planned or Unplanned, and its cause. For work that is not on the work order yet, select New activity, then choose the Activity, Planned and Cause.
5. Select Add to work order.

To add several requests:

1. In the queue, select the check box on the row of each open request. All the requests must be on one asset.
2. On the bar above the table, select Add to work order…. The dialog Add to a work order opens.
3. Select one of the asset's open work orders.
4. Choose the activity for the requests, as for one request.
5. Select Add to work order.

If the asset has no open work order, the dialog shows "This asset has no open work order. Create a work order instead." Close the dialog and select Create work order or Create one work order.

When you add the requests:

• Each request moves to Work order raised. It links to the work order, for example In WO-00012.
• The work order takes over the Down or Restricted status of each request.
• If a request is less safe than the work order, the work order takes the answer of that request. For example, when you add a Not safe to operate request to a Limited use work order, the work order becomes Not safe to operate, and the machine goes Down now.
• A Limited use work order keeps its restriction and adds the restriction of each Limited use request, one on each line. It does not add a restriction that it already has.
• The work order description gets the number and the fault of each request, for example WR-00031: Hydraulic leak at the boom. Mechanics who cannot see the requests can read the faults there.
• Each request goes on the activity you chose. A new activity goes on the work order.
• The work order shows the requests under Reported issues. Its History shows Requests added with the request numbers. See Run a work order.

You can add requests to a work order that is Waiting for approval, Approved, In progress or On hold.

When a button is not available

Create one work order and Add to work order… on the bar are not available when your selection breaks a rule. The bar shows one of these reasons:

• "Pick open requests only": you selected a request that is rejected or already has a work order. Clear its check box.
• "Pick requests on one asset": you selected requests on two or more assets. Select requests on one asset only.
• "Pick 20 requests or fewer": you selected more than 20 requests. Clear some check boxes.

Raise a work order without a request

1. Start from either place:
   • Maintenance → Work orders → New work order, then choose the Asset.
   • The asset's Maintenance tab → New work order. The asset is already filled in.
2. Give it a Title, such as Replace hydraulic hose, and a Description if it helps.
3. Choose an Activity, such as PM service or Inspection. It is required. Planned is on, because work you raise yourself is usually planned, such as a service. Turn it off for unplanned work, such as a repair after damage. Choose a Cause if you know it, or leave it as No cause yet.
4. Choose a Priority.
5. Answer Safe to operate now? with Safe to operate, Limited use or Not safe to operate. The answer is about the machine now, not about the work. As for a breakdown, Limited use makes the machine Restricted now, with the Restriction you write, and Not safe to operate makes it Down now. People whose bookings clash with a Down machine get a notice. See What your answer does.
6. Enter an Estimate in your account's currency if you know it. Leave it empty if you don't. If you do not hold Approve maintenance spend, the field tells you the approval threshold: the account default until you choose the asset, then the threshold for that asset and activity. Once saved, the estimate shows on the work order only to people with See cost figures.
7. Pick a Target start and Target end for when you plan to do the work, if you know them. Pick the times in your organization's time zone.
8. When you set both dates, choose what the machine is During the work window. See Plan downtime for the work.
9. Select Create work order.

You see "Work order WO-00003 created.", with the number of clashing bookings when there are any.

Activities on a work order

A work order holds one or more activities: the work the mechanics do, such as PM service, Repair or Hydraulics. Your organization chooses these activities in Settings → Maintenance activities. The first activity comes from the request or from the dialog when you make the work order.

Each activity on the work order has its own:

• Planned or Unplanned. Planned work is work you scheduled, such as a service or a yearly inspection. Unplanned work is a breakdown or other work that nobody planned. For example, during a planned service the mechanic finds a hose that is about to burst. Add Hydraulics as an unplanned activity on the same work order.
• Cause, such as Wear or Damage. You can choose it later. Each activity needs a cause before you can complete the work order.
• Requests, labor and materials. See Run a work order.

A work order can hold each activity one time only. To record more work of the same activity, add the labor and materials to the activity that is already there.

The work order shows Planned when all its activities are planned, Unplanned when none are, and Mixed when it has both. Maintenance costs add up the cost of each activity, so you can see what each kind of work costs, and how much went on planned work against unplanned work.

To add, change or remove an activity, see Change the activities. You need Manage work orders and View maintenance.

Plan downtime for the work

Safe to operate now? sets the machine's status now. During the work window sets its status only from the Target start to the Target end, so you can plan the work on a machine that still works today:

The window status starts when the work order is approved: straight away, or when someone approves it. If the machine is already Down now because it is not safe to operate, it stays Down, and the window is still planned. If someone later changes the Down to Restricted, the machine stays blocked on the window days. If it is Restricted now and the window is Down, it is Restricted until the target start, then Down until the target end. After the window, it is Restricted again until the work order is complete.

A work order made from a request asks for the same window status, after you set both dates.

Get a work order approved

Approval controls how much a work order can spend. It does not approve the estimate. Each work order has an authorized amount: the spend that is approved. The estimate is for planning only. Pay checks the actual cost against the authorized amount.

A new work order gets its authorized amount like this:

• You hold Approve maintenance spend: the work order is Approved straight away. The authorized amount is the larger of the estimate and the approval threshold.
• You do not hold it, and the estimate is the approval threshold or less: the work order is Approved straight away. An empty estimate counts the same. The authorized amount is the threshold.
• You do not hold it, and the estimate is more than the threshold: the work order is Waiting for approval.

The same rules apply when you turn a request into a work order and when you put several requests into one work order. The amounts are in your account's currency.

Your organization sets the threshold in Maintenance approvals. It starts at 5,000.

While it waits, nobody can book a mechanic or add labor or materials. A safe-to-operate answer still changes the machine's status straight away.

Someone with Approve maintenance spend opens the work order and selects:

• Approve: the work can start. In Authorized amount, type the amount the work order can spend. If you leave it empty, the larger of the estimate and the threshold applies. You see "Work order approved." If you do not have See cost figures, there is no Authorized amount field. The dialog tells you "Approved up to the standard amount", and the larger of the estimate and the threshold applies.
• Reject: they must give a Reason. The work order is Rejected, and any Down or Restricted status it put on the machine ends now.

If you have See cost figures, the Summary box of the work order shows the Authorized amount.

Owners and Admins hold Approve maintenance spend. A Manager holds it only from an access preset that includes it.

Approve from the Needs approval list

In Maintenance → Work orders, set the status filter to Needs approval. You see this choice only when you hold Approve maintenance spend. The list shows the work orders that wait for you, oldest first, with:

• Why: one of two reasons.
  • Waiting for approval: a work order that is Waiting for approval.
  • Over authorized amount: a work order that is Approved, In progress or On hold, and its actual cost is over its authorized amount by more than the limit in Maintenance approvals.
• Estimate, Authorized (the authorized amount), Actual (the cost so far) and Threshold. You see the amounts only when you have See cost figures. Actual is hidden when it would show the labor cost of one worker, as in the rest of Maintenance.

Without See cost figures, you see only Waiting for approval rows. You do not see Over authorized amount rows, and you cannot re-approve.

Select Approve or Re-approve on a row. To approve several at once, select their check boxes. They must all have the same Why. Select Approve in the bar above the list. Bulk Approve uses the default authorized amount: the larger of the estimate and the threshold. One message tells you how many were done and which were not done. You re-approve one work order at a time, because each one needs a new amount.

When you cover for an approver who is away, the list also shows the work orders at their locations, marked Cover for and their name. These rows do not link to the work order page. You still need Approve maintenance spend yourself.

Re-approve a work order

A work order is Over authorized amount when its actual cost goes over its authorized amount by more than the limit in Maintenance approvals. The actual cost includes labor and materials.

Approval never stops repairs. The work order keeps its status, and the team can continue the work. The flag only asks an approver to look at the cost.

The work order page shows an Over authorized amount callout with Re-approve. You see the callout only when you have Approve maintenance spend and See cost figures. To re-approve:

1. Select Re-approve on the callout, or on the row in the Needs approval list.
2. The dialog title shows the work order number, for example Re-approve WO-00012. In New authorized amount, type the new amount. The field starts empty, and the hint under it shows the cost so far. You must enter an amount, and it must be at least the cost so far. If you enter less, Pay does not accept it and tells you the amount to enter, for example "Enter at least $6,200.00: the work order has already cost that."
3. Select Re-approve.

You see "Work order re-approved." If the cost then goes over the new amount by more than the limit, the work order shows in Needs approval again. History shows Re-approved. It shows no amounts.

Set the approval threshold

In Settings → Maintenance approvals, set:

• Default approval threshold: a new work order with a larger estimate waits for approval. A work order that is approved straight away is authorized up to at least this amount. It is in your account's currency.
• The limit over the authorized amount: By more than (%), By more than (amount), or both. Leave one empty to not use it. A work order shows as Over authorized amount when its cost goes over its authorized amount by more than this limit.
• Use: Either limit (the work order shows when the cost goes over one of the limits) or Both limits (only when it goes over both).

It starts at a threshold of 5,000 and a limit of 10% over the authorized amount. Select Save. The new values apply to work orders from then on.

You need Manage settings, and your organization needs Asset Maintenance.

Find a work order

Maintenance → Work orders opens on the open work orders: Waiting for approval, Approved, In progress and On hold. The list has the columns Number, Title, Asset, Activities (the first activity, and +2 when there are 2 more), Planned (Planned, Unplanned or Mixed), Status, Priority, Actual and Mechanics (the mechanics booked on it). Select a column heading to sort by it. To find others, use the filters above the list: Status (Open, All or one status), Asset, Priority, Mechanic, Cause (a work order matches when any of its activities has that cause), Activity and Planned (Planned, Unplanned or Mixed). A filter shows its name until you choose a value. Then it shows the value, for example Priority: High. Select Any to remove the filter. A link from Maintenance costs also adds a Finished date filter; select its × to remove it. Clear shows the open work orders again. To search, or to see the Actual column, see Find a work order.

When it doesn't save

When someone else got there first, the dialog closes and the page shows what they did. Your text is not saved.

• "This request is no longer open. The page now shows its status." Someone else rejected the request or made a work order from it first.
• "Give the work order a title." or "Enter a title." The title is empty.
• "Enter the restriction." You chose Limited use or a Restricted work window. Write what operators must not do.
• "Set the target start and the target end." A status for the work window needs both dates.
• "The end must be after the start." Change Target end so it is later than Target start.
• "Enter 0 or more." The Estimate is below zero.
• "Select an activity." A work order needs an Activity.
• "That activity is not available for maintenance. Select another activity." The activity was archived in Settings → Maintenance activities, or deleted.
• "That cause is not available. Select another cause."
• "Select an activity on the work order, or a new activity." When you add requests to a work order, choose one activity for them.
• "That activity is no longer on the work order. Select another activity." Someone removed the activity while you had the dialog open.
• "That activity is already on the work order with a different Planned setting or cause. Select it from the work order's activities, or raise these requests as their own work order." A work order holds each activity one time only.
• When you re-approve, a message can tell you that the work order is no longer over its authorized amount. Someone may have re-approved it first. The page now shows the work order as it is.
• "Enter an authorized amount of 0 or more, under 10,000,000,000." Check the authorized amount.
• "The new amount is less than the work order has already cost. Enter at least the cost so far." When you re-approve, the new authorized amount must be at least the cost so far. The cost can go up while the dialog is open.
• "You need See cost figures to set an authorized amount." Ask an admin for See cost figures, or leave the amount empty when you approve.
• "Use 2 decimal places or fewer." or "Enter an estimate of 9,999,999,999,999.99 or less." Check the Estimate.
• "Use 200 characters or fewer." (or another number) The text in that field is too long. Make it shorter.
• "Someone else changed this first. The page now shows the latest version. Check it and try again." Another person changed the request or work order while you had it open.