- Maintenance · CMMS
- Operations Manager, Team Leader / Supervisor, Plant / Operations Director, Accounting / Analytics
- Manufacturing, Construction and field service, Logistics and warehousing, Services and offices
Work order template: a free printable form and how to fill it in
In short
A maintenance work order is a record that tells a technician what to do on which machine, by when, and captures what was actually done. A good one names the equipment, the problem, the priority, the assignee, the work performed, the parts used and who closed it. Print the template below for paper use, or run the same fields in a CMMS so the completed order lands in the machine's history. Fill it in at the machine, not afterwards from memory.
What a work order is for
A work order is the instruction and the record in one. Before the work, it says what needs doing, where and how urgently. After the work, it says what was found, what was done and what was used. Without it, a repair is a verbal agreement, and the next person to look at the machine starts from zero.
The document is internal. There is no single official form, so what matters is that it identifies the machine, the task, the person responsible and the result.
What a work order should contain
- a number and the date opened,
- the machine: name, location and the same ID that is on its label,
- the request or problem description, and who reported it,
- priority: how urgent, and why,
- the assignee and the target completion date,
- the work performed, with findings and cause where known,
- parts and materials used, with quantities,
- time spent,
- completion date and a sign-off by the technician and the requester or supervisor.
Printable work order template
MAINTENANCE WORK ORDER No. ……… / ………
| Date opened | …………………………… | Target completion | …………………………… |
|---|---|---|---|
| Machine / equipment | …………………………… | Asset ID / location | …………………………… |
| Requested by | …………………………… | Assigned to | …………………………… |
| Priority | ☐ Urgent (stops production or safety risk) ☐ High ☐ Normal ☐ Low | ||
| Type | ☐ Repair ☐ Inspection ☐ Adjustment ☐ Other: ……………… | ||
Problem description:
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Work performed and findings (cause, action taken):
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
| Part / material | Part number | Qty |
|---|---|---|
| Hours spent | ……………… | Date completed | ……………… |
|---|---|---|---|
| Machine back in service? | ☐ Yes ☐ No, follow-up needed: …………………………… | ||
| Technician signature | Requester / supervisor signature |
|---|---|
How to fill it in, step by step
- Open it when the request comes in. Write the number, date and requester while the details are fresh.
- Identify the machine exactly. Use the ID from the label, not "the press in bay 2". Several machines can match a casual description.
- Describe the symptom, not the guess. "Vibrates at start-up, stops after 10 minutes" is more useful than "motor broken".
- Set the priority honestly. If everything is urgent, nothing is. Reserve the top level for safety risk or a stopped line.
- Fill in the work at the machine. Write what you found and did while you are standing there, including the cause if you know it.
- List every part. Parts that leave the store with no link to a repair are the usual blind spot in maintenance costs.
- Close it with signatures. The person who reported the problem confirms the machine works.
Common mistakes
- no machine ID, so the record cannot be matched to history,
- "fixed" as the only note on the work done, with no cause and no parts,
- orders closed from memory days later,
- paper forms in a technician's locker, so nobody can find them when the same fault returns,
- no follow-up field, so a temporary fix is forgotten.
Priority levels that people respect
Define each level in a sentence and post the definitions where requesters see them. For example: urgent means a safety risk or a stopped line, high means production is degraded, normal means the machine works but needs attention within the week, low means it can wait for the next planned stop. When definitions are vague, requesters inflate priority to get attention, and the scale loses meaning within a month.
Work orders in different settings
- Plant floor: the order names the machine, the fault and the assignee, and the technician records parts used from the maintenance store.
- Warehouse: a dock door, a forklift or a conveyor section each has its own order history, so repeat faults show up.
- Construction and field service: equipment moves between sites, so the order should carry the machine ID, not the location.
- Office and facilities: HVAC, lifts and printers need the same structure, even if the repairs are small.
Reviewing closed orders
A closed order is also a source of information. Once a month, pull the orders for your five most troublesome machines and read them together. Look for the same symptom, the same part or the same technician's note appearing more than once. Two similar orders in a quarter usually mean the first repair treated a symptom. Raise the question with the team, and if needed, add a check to the preventive maintenance checklist for that machine type.
Paper or CMMS
For a few machines and one maintainer, a printed form and a binder can work. The trouble starts when you need to find every order for one machine, or see which orders are overdue. In Remanently CMMS, work orders can be created from failure reports, assigned to a technician, given a priority and completion status, and supplemented with comments, photos and attachments. Completed orders stay linked to the machine. Higher packages add response and completion times, escalations and labor and repair costs. Requests that start the process can come in through a maintenance request form.
For the bigger picture, see CMMS software: what it does and how to choose and what a CMMS is. To see work orders on your own machines, book a demo.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an official work order form?
No. A maintenance work order is an internal document, so there is no single required format. It should identify the machine, the task, the person responsible and the outcome.
What is the difference between a work order and a maintenance request?
A request says that something needs attention. A work order is the authorized task that follows: who does it, by when, and what was done. One request can lead to one work order.
Who should sign a work order?
The technician who did the work and the requester or supervisor who confirms the result. Your own procedure may add a manager for expensive repairs.
How do I prioritize work orders?
Use a short scale, such as urgent, high, normal and low, and define each level in writing. Safety risk and stopped production go first.
Can I track parts on a work order?
Yes. Listing parts with numbers and quantities links cost to a specific repair. In Remanently, parts can be linked to the action they were used for, together with the WMS module.
When should I move from paper to software?
When you spend time searching for old orders, miss deadlines, or cannot see the history of a machine. A CMMS keeps every order against its machine.
Move your work orders off paper
Book a short demo and we will show a request becoming a work order, a repair and a history entry on your own equipment.