8 Tips to Create More Effective Work Orders
Work orders are often at the center of a fleet maintenance shop . For the shop to run smoothly and get vehicles back on the road as soon as possible, it’s important for work orders to be completed in an efficient manner.
Get tips on how your fleet operation can create more effective work orders to help your shop improve its efficiencies.
Switch to Paperless Work Orders
Switching from paper forms to digital work orders can help shops become more efficient. When using a paper form, that piece of paper can only be accessed by one person at a time. It then needs to be filed away in a specific spot as to not get misplaced. By switching to digital – or paperless – work orders, multiple shop employees can access the information at one time, in a secure platform. This allows the technician to view the work order, the parts room staff to find or order the needed parts and the fleet manager to check on the status of the job at any time.
Learn more about RTA’s Paperless Shop solution.
Initiate a PM Program
Creating a preventative maintenance program can help organize your fleet operation and make the work order process more efficient. When vehicles are scheduled for PM, you can fill out most of the work order information ahead of time, including what parts are needed, and can schedule the services for a time when it’s convenient for the shop, vehicle and driver.
Designate Between Preventative Maintenance and Repairs
When vehicles arrive in the shop for repairs, it’s important to know which ones are there for routine preventative maintenance, and which are there for unscheduled repairs. This helps the shop assess how many labor hours and parts will be needed. It also helps the shop track how its PM program is performing. If there are more preventative maintenance work orders than repairs, then the PM is working as it’s preventing vehicles from needing larger repairs later.
Link Work Orders to Vehicles
To better track vehicle repair history, your fleet operation should link each work order to the vehicle or asset. This allows your operation to identify how many repairs the vehicle has had, and what the total cost of those fixes is. This can also help track warranty claims.
Create and Use a Standardized Work Order Template
Fleet operations should use standardized templates for all of their work orders. This ensures the same information is being gathered on each repair request and vehicle.
Assign Work Orders to Technicians
Assigning a work order directly to a technician as it is created can help make the process more efficient. This allows technicians to see what work is needed in real-time and eliminates having to assign tasks later. This also allows the technician to check to see if all needed parts are available.
Assign Parts to Work Orders
Fleet operations should assign parts to work orders as they are created. This allows the parts room staff to access the work orders and determine if they have the needed parts on-hand. If the parts are not in stock, it gives them time to alert the technician and order the parts. The work order can then be scheduled as needed based on parts availability.
Track All Costs
In the work order, fleet operations should track all costs associated with the repair. This can include the total amount of labor, the cost of parts, and the expense of using outside vendors to complete any work. This allows the operation to track the total cost of repairs on the vehicle. This helps with the operation’s overall budget and also helps track the total cost of ownership of the vehicle.
To learn more about RTA Fleet Management Software’s work order options, contact us today to schedule a demo.
I’m not sure why, but this statement sounds weird to me. Should we say something like “Work orders are often at the center…” ? I don’t know…it’s basically saying the same thing, but just a thought. lol [LM1]
available. [LM2]