Creating and Completing Work Orders

What Are Work Orders?

Work orders track repairs from discovery to completion. Anyone can create them, but only managers approve them.

Creating a Work Order

1. Go to Work Orders in the sidebar
2. Click New Work Order
3. Fill in:

- Title — Brief description ("Pump leaking")

- Priority — Low, Medium, High, or Critical

- Description — Detailed explanation

- Equipment — Link to the machine (important!)

- Before Photo — Show the problem

- Assign to — Who should work on it

Work Order Lifecycle

Open → In Progress → Pending Parts → Completed → Approved

• Open — Just created, not started
• In Progress — Someone is actively working on it
• Pending Parts — Waiting for materials to arrive
• Completed — Fixed, waiting for manager review
• Approved — Closed, equipment back online
• Cancelled — Work order was cancelled

Materials Tracking

Work orders can track parts and supplies needed for the repair.

Adding Materials

1. Open a work order
2. Go to the Materials section
3. Click Add Material
4. Enter:

- Item name — What you need

- Quantity — How many

- From inventory — Select if it's in your inventory

1. Save

Material Status

Each material item is tracked:

Pending Parts Status

When materials are needed but not received:

1. Work order automatically shows "Pending Parts" status
2. A banner shows which materials are missing
3. When ALL materials are received, status can resume to "In Progress"

Auto-Resume

When the last material is marked "Received":

• A notification appears
• Tech can resume work immediately
• No materials are blocking completion

Material Units

Each material uses a consistent unit type from the same dropdown as Inventory: Each, Box, Case, Bag, Gallon, Liter, Oz, Pail, Drum, Roll, Pack, Pair, Bottle, Carton, Kit, Set, or Other.

Material History

Changes to materials (add, update, remove) are tracked in the work order history with specific details (e.g., "Added Pump ×2; Filter qty 3 → 5"). Only the summary is stored in history — full material data stays in the materials list itself.

Completing a Work Order

When you fix something:

1. Click Mark Complete
2. Add:

- What you did — Resolution notes

- Root cause — Why it broke

- After photo — Proof it's fixed

- Materials used — Confirm what was actually used

Priority Levels

How It Connects

Work order created for pump
  ↓
Pump status → "Maintenance"
  ↓
Materials added → Supply order created
  ↓
Status → "Pending Parts"
  ↓
Parts received → Status → "In Progress"
  ↓
Tech fixes and marks complete
  ↓
Manager approves
  ↓
Pump status → "Online"

Work Order History

Every work order keeps a complete history:

• Who created it and when
• Status changes with timestamps
• Materials added/received
• Notes and photos added
• Approval/completion details

Tip

Always link work orders to equipment. This builds valuable maintenance history and helps identify problem machines.