{"id":9010,"date":"2022-09-22T23:44:45","date_gmt":"2022-09-23T05:44:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/?p=9010"},"modified":"2025-05-30T13:04:46","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T19:04:46","slug":"work-order-management","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/blog\/work-order-management\/","title":{"rendered":"Work order management: how to prioritize maintenance activities"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><p>[vc_row kd_background_image_position=&#8221;vc_row-bg-position-top&#8221;][vc_column][vc_column_text]<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When thinking about <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/blog\/work-order\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">work order<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> management (WOM), prioritization should be the first word that comes to mind. If you don\u2019t have a clear priority system for your work orders, you are bound to experience inefficiency, wasted resources, and other operational issues.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this article, we will walk you through everything you need to know about WOM systems, how to build a priority system, and effects and factors of poor prioritization.\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row kd_background_image_position=&#8221;vc_row-bg-position-top&#8221;][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is work order management?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Work order management is the process of organizing and managing <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">lots <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of work orders simultaneously to ensure they are addressed quickly and effectively.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To succeed, you need properly trained workers who can follow defined procedures. You also need a robust system that can help you organize and automate the process of handling a high volume of work orders.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row content_placement=&#8221;middle&#8221; css_animation=&#8221;fadeInDown&#8221; kd_background_image_position=&#8221;vc_row-bg-position-top&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1699310630716{margin-top: 30px !important;margin-bottom: 50px !important;padding-top: 50px !important;padding-bottom: 50px !important;background-color: #dde4e8 !important;border-radius: 20px !important;}&#8221;][vc_column width=&#8221;2\/3&#8243; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1699310302582{padding-left: 25px !important;}&#8221;]<header class=\"kd-section-title col-lg-12 text-left  subtitle-below-title    vc_custom_1740586908840\" ><h3 class=\"separator_off\" >Free Maintenance Work Order Template<\/h3><p class=\"subtitle\" >Free customizable work order template with best practices gained from thousands of customers that will help you standardized work orders.<\/p><\/header><a  href=\"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/resources\/maintenance-work-order-form\/\"  target=\"_self\"  title=\"Download Now\"  class=\"tt_button tt_primary_button btn_primary_color  button-center button-action-link icon_right\" ><span class=\"prim_text\">Get the Template<\/span><span class=\"fas fa-angle-right iconita\" ><\/span><\/a>[\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][vc_single_image source=&#8221;external_link&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1740586935670{padding-bottom: 10px !important;}&#8221; custom_src=&#8221;https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Maintenance-Work-Order-Form-Image.png&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row kd_background_image_position=&#8221;vc_row-bg-position-top&#8221;][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The benefits of having a robust WOM system<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A work order system is the key to smoothly functioning industrial and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/blog\/facilities-management\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">facilities maintenance programs<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. It can help you:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Standardize your maintenance workflows and eliminate paperwork<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Create a centralized hub to schedule, assign, and track labor hours<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Track maintenance performance (percentage of planned vs. preventive work, costs associated with performed work, downtime, etc.)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Estimate and monitor labor, parts, and miscellaneous costs and pricing<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stay on top of your inventory management \u2014 order parts and supplies so things can get done on time and within budget<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Avoid fines and maintain regulatory compliance more easily because you are organized<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a CMMS software to facilitate your work order management system has many benefits. For instance, Limble customers on average experience significant improvements in the efficiency of their work order management process.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Limble-CMMS-customers-measure.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9011\" style=\"border: black; border-width: 2px; border-style: solid;\" src=\"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Limble-CMMS-customers-measure.webp\" alt=\"Limble CMMS customers measure\" width=\"2084\" height=\"765\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CMMS can significantly streamline your work order management processes. However, the software itself is not a solution. It is a tool like any other \u2014 only as good as the person using it.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What does a typical work order management process look like?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At this point, we will presume that you know <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/blog\/work-order\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">how to create a proper work order<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and instead focus on how to manage them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are three different parties involved in a WO management process:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Work requester: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The person who submits maintenance requests. Usually a machine operator or an employee outside of the maintenance department.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Work approver:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The person who reviews and approves maintenance requests. This responsibility falls onto a maintenance manager\/supervisor\/planner\/coordinator.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>People carrying out the work:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Maintenance mechanics and technicians that execute the required work in the field and on the plant floor.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-9013\" style=\"border: black; border-width: 2px; border-style: solid;\" src=\"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Work-order-management-process-scaled.webp\" alt=\"Work order management process\" width=\"1942\" height=\"2560\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Step 1: Work request<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The majority of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/blog\/maintenance-work-request\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">maintenance work requests<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are submitted by machine operators and other employees at your facility.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Modern organizations use <a href=\"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/cmms\/work-order-software\/\">work order management software<\/a> like Limble so their workers can submit work requests through a <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">work request portal<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-10033\" src=\"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Streamlined-Mobile-Work-Order-Request-System.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"720\" srcset=\"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Streamlined-Mobile-Work-Order-Request-System.png 1024w, https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Streamlined-Mobile-Work-Order-Request-System-300x211.png 300w, https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Streamlined-Mobile-Work-Order-Request-System-768x540.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can customize Limble\u2019s WR portal however you want, asking for specific information during the submission process. Once you are done, share the link on the portal with all stakeholders. This way, anyone with a mobile or desktop device can submit a work request in less than a minute.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Step 2: Work requests become work orders<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not every work request results in a work order. Here are a few situations in which a work request might be blocked:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The submitted work request asks for something that is not under the jurisdiction of your maintenance team<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The problem was resolved before anyone had time to review the submitted work request<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The resources (technicians\/tools\/spare parts) for completing the required work are not available. In this situation, the work order might still be created \u2014 and immediately put on a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/blog\/what-is-deferred-maintenance\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">deferred maintenance backlog<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Work requests that are not approved should be archived. A corresponding notification should be sent to the person that submitted it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These exceptions aside, most work requests are approved and subsequently used to create a Work Order.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Step 3: Technicians receive the work order and get to work<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A WO can be assigned to an individual or a team (i.e., the morning shift).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Businesses that have implemented a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/cmms\/cmms-mobile-app\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">mobile work order management system<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> have this process streamlined. When maintenance work orders are created, the assigned technician(s) automatically receive a push notification and an email.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Depending on the priority of the work order, a technician might start working on it right away or tend to the WO when his schedule clears up.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Limble\u2019s mobile app makes it easy for maintenance technicians to have all the information they need at their fingertips at all times. It also streamlines work order tracking for managers, enabling them to know what\u2019s happening with their maintenance operations in real time.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Step 4: WO is completed and closed<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After the required work has been performed, a technician will close the work order. If they are using Limble CMMS (other vendors follow a similar approach), they will do the following:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Enter the amount of time spent performing the work.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Confirm which spare parts and materials they used.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Attach pictures\/leave completion comments (if there is anything of importance to note).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Click the \u201cComplete\u201d button.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After the WO is closed, the system will automatically <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/blog\/equipment-maintenance-log\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">update the equipment maintenance log<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of the corresponding asset.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-10032\" src=\"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/A-Work-Order-System-Your-Technicians-Will-Actually-Use-TEST-5-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"3064\" height=\"1951\" srcset=\"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/A-Work-Order-System-Your-Technicians-Will-Actually-Use-TEST-5-1.png 3064w, https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/A-Work-Order-System-Your-Technicians-Will-Actually-Use-TEST-5-1-300x191.png 300w, https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/A-Work-Order-System-Your-Technicians-Will-Actually-Use-TEST-5-1-1024x652.png 1024w, https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/A-Work-Order-System-Your-Technicians-Will-Actually-Use-TEST-5-1-768x489.png 768w, https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/A-Work-Order-System-Your-Technicians-Will-Actually-Use-TEST-5-1-1536x978.png 1536w, https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/A-Work-Order-System-Your-Technicians-Will-Actually-Use-TEST-5-1-2048x1304.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 3064px) 100vw, 3064px\" \/><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Work order management best practices<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Productive maintenance teams have a few things in common:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They have clearly defined goals, procedures, and responsibilities.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They actively work on improving their internal processes.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They use maintenance software to automate and streamline work.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They know how to set up their maintenance team for success.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here\u2019s how you can set up your team for success when it comes to work order management.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Build SOP\u2019s and checklists<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Find the person in your team that is best at completing specific tasks. Ask them to break down their approach in the form of steps. Use that to define <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/blog\/standard-operating-procedure-sop\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">standard operating procedures<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/blog\/preventive-maintenance-checklist\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">build maintenance checklists<\/span><\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/blog\/maintenance-work-order-template\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">work order templates<\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Save them into your CMMS software in the form of templates, and attach them to Work Orders as needed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-7316\" src=\"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Maintenance-checklist.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"2052\" height=\"1188\" srcset=\"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Maintenance-checklist.png 2052w, https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Maintenance-checklist-300x174.png 300w, https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Maintenance-checklist-1024x593.png 1024w, https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Maintenance-checklist-768x445.png 768w, https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Maintenance-checklist-1536x889.png 1536w, https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Maintenance-checklist-2048x1186.png 2048w, https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Maintenance-checklist-411x238.png 411w, https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Maintenance-checklist-504x292.png 504w, https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Maintenance-checklist-93x54.png 93w, https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Maintenance-checklist-540x313.png 540w, https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Maintenance-checklist-100x58.png 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2052px) 100vw, 2052px\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Develop methods for prioritizing maintenance work<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How you prioritize maintenance work should reflect its true effect on the overall operations of the plant and asset management.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When assigning a priority to a WO, consider the following:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is the criticality of the equipment<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What will be the effects of delaying the completion of this WO.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What are the real-world limitations on executing this type of work (like spare parts, labor, and tool availability)\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For more info, take a look at <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/reliabilityweb.com\/articles\/entry\/work_order_prioritization\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">this guide on work order prioritization<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How to effectively prioritize maintenance work orders<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When determining priority, organizations commonly require their employees to consider the following:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is the risk to the business if maintenance of an issue does not occur?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How severe are the consequences of the failure?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is the likelihood of those consequences coming true?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Two common decision-making tools or methodologies in work order prioritization are the:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk\/research\/dstools\/analytical-hierarchy-process\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Analytical hierarchy process<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Better suited for complex decision-making using psychology and mathematics. It is less useful as a quick and convenient tool for employee self-use.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Risk_matrix\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Risk-based matrix<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: An easy-to-use table that gives your workers a semi-quantitative, risk-weighted guide to choosing the right priority based on a series of predetermined risks.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Creating and applying the maintenance priority matrix<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The following is a practical example of a maintenance risk matrix in action. Conceptually, it is almost identical to the tables used in<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/blog\/how-to-perform-criticality-analysis\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> asset criticality analysis<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are a few tips to help your understanding before we start (look at the table below as you are going through these bullet points):<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The matrix identifies the risk areas that the business feels are a priority.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are five levels of severity applied to each risk area, highlighting what that severity rating means for each area.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The four right-hand columns of the table measure the probability of the risk occurring, with each colored box multiplying the severity number by the probability number to form a total risk number.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Beneath the risk matrix is a table that helps apply the probability rating. The table gives guidance on what the business considers each probability means in calendar terms.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Preventive maintenance tasks and regularly scheduled work generally fall outside of scope of the maintenance priority matrix, but should be considered equally important maintenance activities.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this particular example, the business has decided that the chance of incurring costs between $5,000 and $50,000 forms a moderate financial risk. The rest of the \u201cFinancial\u201d column is filled out using that as the baseline.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"How to Manage Work - Limble CMMS\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FTNN_9MeBQc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row kd_background_image_position=&#8221;vc_row-bg-position-top&#8221;][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The effects of the poor maintenance prioritization<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Poor maintenance prioritization has a sea of negative effects. Here are the most common ones:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Inefficient workflows:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Without a prioritization system, maintenance becomes reactive. Often, important work orders get set aside in favor of work orders that can be done quickly but are of less importance.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Poor equipment reliability:<\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/blog\/equipment-reliability\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Equipment reliability<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> depends on timely and targeted maintenance. Having a clear work order priority system reduces the risk of unexpected breakdowns. Additionally, asset lifespan is increased when regular maintenance is completed.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Inflated maintenance costs:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Expect your maintenance budget to be higher than necessary if the equipment is not receiving maintenance in a timely manner. Prioritizing regular maintenance work orders is a simple solution to combat <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/strategies\/reactive-maintenance\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reactive maintenance<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/blog\/emergency-maintenance\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> emergency maintenance<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Maintenance technician frustration:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Being pulled back and forth between competing departments and carrying out work that is low priority when they know of higher-priority tasks is frustrating. This is bound to increase staff turnover.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Safety issues:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> When equipment is not functioning properly, all kinds of safety problems can occur. When a clear work order priority system is in place, safety issues are reduced because maintenance is preventive rather than reactive.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Emotional factors that obstruct maintenance prioritization<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To properly prioritize your maintenance work orders, you first need to understand the emotional drivers that can skew your maintenance prioritization efforts.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Narrow operational focus\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It may seem like continuing production at all costs is the right move, but there are often other factors to consider, like:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Spares holdings<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Resource availability<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maintenance costs<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Asset life<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Safety, environmental and legislative compliance<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Without considering these areas in the context of maintenance, the wrong types of work can get prioritized, and results suffer.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Departmental self-importance<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It often feels like a particular department\u2019s needs are prioritized above others. When this happens, other departments then struggle to perform to expectations due to a lack of resources.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This leads to business inefficiency and interdepartmental resentment, weakening the company\u2019s culture.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Having a work order priority system helps teams understand where the greatest needs are regardless of department and provide fair and equal resources throughout the organization.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Personal gains<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Businesses often reward their employees for achieving key performance indicators (KPI) by paying them annual bonuses, however, this can be counterproductive.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When equipment requires maintenance intervention, the potential of personal financial loss overcomes wider business issues, with employees either overstating work urgency or delaying reporting the issue.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you have a clear work order priority system, however, unexpected breakdowns will be reduced. Additionally, the urgency of any issues that may happen to arise won\u2019t be left up to any one individual to determine.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Personality differences<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We all have different personalities. Some people are more extroverted, others are more reserved.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Without an auditable semi-quantitative system to balance maintenance work priority, some will naturally see their issues as highly important, while others will be more balanced in their assessment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Such imbalance can cause friction among team members, damaging the organization\u2019s attempts to create a common culture within the team.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Final thoughts<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Understanding what factors impact work order prioritization is the first step in building a strong work order priority system.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The next step is having a robust CMMS to automate your work orders.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Limble CMMS can help track, automate, and manage work tasks, making a previously paper-intensive process much more efficient. You can provide quality, error-free information tracking your maintenance cost, parts, work requests\/orders, etc. You can also keep a detailed record of the number of people who worked on a specific work order, plus the time spent completing it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Don\u2019t take our word for it! <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">See for yourself what Limble can do for you, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/demo-request\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">schedule a quick product demo<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/limblecmms.com\/get-started\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">start a free trial<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row kd_background_image_position=&#8221;vc_row-bg-position-top&#8221;][vc_column][vc_column_text]When thinking about work order management (WOM), prioritization should [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":9012,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[739],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-maintenance-operations"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.7.1 (Yoast SEO v25.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Work Order Management 101: From Tickets to Completion Notes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn what is work order management and how to set up an efficient work order management system and workflow.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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