Work order management software built for operations teams
Your maintenance team reports breakdowns in WhatsApp. Repairs get done. Nobody knows what was fixed, what it cost, or whether the same asset failed last month.
Used by healthcare, manufacturing, and facilities teams · No credit card required
The problem
Without a work order system, nothing is traceable.
Operations managers and engineering heads face the same three failures — every week.
No accountability for who fixed what
A technician fixes a chiller. Three weeks later it fails again. There is no record of what was done the first time, who did it, or what parts were used.
Repair costs invisible to finance
Labour, parts, and vendor charges scatter across invoices and verbal estimates. Nobody can answer: what did we spend on this asset last year?
Preventive maintenance forgotten
PM schedules live in spreadsheets or the facilities manager's head. Assets that needed service three months ago have had no one assigned to them.
No evidence trail for audits or incidents
When an inspector asks for maintenance history on a piece of safety equipment, the answer is a folder of old emails and a half-completed spreadsheet.
Every capability a maintenance team needs — nothing it doesn't.
Work order management in UniAsset covers the full lifecycle from creation to close, with cost tracking, documentation, and PM automation built in.
Three work order types
Corrective maintenance (CM)
Created when equipment breaks or a fault is reported. Captures what failed, what was done, and all associated costs. The default work order type for reactive repairs.
Preventive maintenance (PM)
Generated automatically when a PM rule becomes overdue. Scheduled, planned, and linked back to the PM rule so you can see which assets are keeping up with their service schedule.
Inspection
For compliance checks, safety audits, and routine condition assessments. No corrective action is expected — just a formal record that the inspection happened, who performed it, and what was found.
Four priority levels with automatic SLA deadlines
Every work order carries a priority that determines its SLA response window. Deadlines are calculated automatically at creation — no manual entry required.
4 hours
Critical failure — safety risk or total operational stoppage.
24 hours
Significant impact — major system degradation.
72 hours
Non-critical repair — operations continue with workaround.
Scheduled date
Known future maintenance — date is set at creation.
The eight-status work order lifecycle
Every work order moves through a defined set of statuses from creation to close. Each transition is logged with a timestamp and actor, giving you a full accountability trail.
Work order created, awaiting assignment
Technician assigned, not yet started
Technician actively working
Blocked — awaiting parts or access
Work done, pending manager sign-off
Manager approved, costs locked
Maintenance record auto-created, feeds TCO
Issue recurred — child work order linked
Time and cost logging
Technicians log actual minutes spent and labour cost directly on the work order. Materials consumed are listed individually, and UniAsset rolls up the total material cost automatically. Every work order closes with a complete cost record.
Before / during / after photo documentation
Photo evidence is captured at three defined stages of the work order. Before photos document the fault state. During photos show work in progress. After photos confirm the completed repair. All photos are stored on the work order and visible in the timeline.
Threaded notes with visibility control
Notes on a work order can be public (visible to all assigned users) or internal (manager-only). Use internal notes for vendor quotes, escalation decisions, or sensitive context that technicians should not see.
Reopen workflow with linked child work order
When a resolved issue recurs, reopening the work order creates a new child work order linked to the original. The original is preserved in a REOPENED terminal status. This maintains the full repair history for repeat-failure analysis.
Automatic PM work order generation
When a preventive maintenance rule becomes overdue, UniAsset automatically creates a PM work order in the background. No manual trigger required. The work order is linked to the PM rule and the asset, and a notification is sent to the Engineering Head.
Instant technician notification on assignment
The moment a manager assigns a work order to a technician, an in-app notification is sent. The technician sees the asset, fault description, priority, and SLA deadline — everything needed to begin work immediately.
Outcome: Every repair, service, and inspection tracked end-to-end — with cost, accountability, and photographic evidence on every work order.
The right people see — and do — the right things.
Work order access is role-controlled. Technicians update their assigned work orders. Managers own creation, assignment, and closure.
Manager
- Create work orders of any type
- Assign to any technician
- Add internal (manager-only) notes
- Approve completed work and close
- Reopen resolved work orders
- View all work orders across the organisation
Technician (Employee)
- View work orders assigned to them
- Update status to In Progress or On Hold
- Log time spent and labour cost
- Add materials consumed
- Upload before / during / after photos
- Add public notes and submit for approval
Work order management in the real world
The same system serves very different environments. Here is how operations teams in three industries use UniAsset work order tracking every day.
🏥 Healthcare
At 2 AM, a ventilator alarm activates on ICU Ward 4. The charge nurse logs a Corrective Maintenance work order in UniAsset — marking it Emergency priority. The biomedical engineering head receives an in-app notification immediately. A technician is assigned, accepts the work order, and updates the status to In Progress within six minutes. He logs the fault (faulty expiratory valve), replaces the component, photographs the before and after states, and submits for approval. The Engineering Head approves and closes the work order. A maintenance record is created automatically, the repair cost is logged against the ventilator's TCO, and the SLA was met. If regulators audit the asset, the complete evidence trail — who responded, when, what was done, and what it cost — is already there.
🏭 Manufacturing
A CNC machining centre on the production floor starts producing out-of-tolerance parts. The shift supervisor raises an Urgent Corrective Maintenance work order in UniAsset, links it to the machine asset, and assigns it to the on-call maintenance technician. While the technician works on a spindle bearing replacement, the work order sits In Progress. When parts need to be ordered, the status moves to On Hold — the supervisor can see the hold reason at any time. Once the bearing arrives and the repair is complete, the technician logs the parts consumed (bearing, lubricant, 3 hours labour), uploads photos, and submits for completion. The manager closes the work order. The next day, the maintenance manager runs a cost report and can see exactly what this machine has cost to maintain in the last 12 months — informing the next capital planning discussion.
🏢 Facilities Management
A commercial building's chiller unit is due for its six-month PM service. The PM rule in UniAsset triggers automatically on the due date, creating a Preventive Maintenance work order and notifying the facilities manager. The work order is assigned to the HVAC contractor, who logs into UniAsset as a technician, works through the service checklist, photographs the unit's condition before and after, and logs the service time. The facilities manager reviews and closes the work order. The closure automatically records the maintenance event on the chiller's asset record, updates its maintenance cost total, and resets the PM schedule. Nothing was forgotten, nothing was manually tracked, and the building owner has a complete service record for every asset on every floor.
Closing a work order does more than mark it done.
Feeds total cost of ownership
When a work order is closed, UniAsset automatically creates an AssetMaintenance record on the linked asset. The cost logged on the work order — labour, materials, external vendor charges — is added to that asset's accumulated maintenance total. The asset's Total Cost of Ownership updates in real time. Every repair contributes to the financial picture of the asset, whether it cost $30 or $3,000.
Resets the PM schedule
When a PM work order closes, the asset's last-serviced date is updated. The next PM due date recalculates automatically based on the interval set in the PM rule. The maintenance cycle continues without any manual intervention. Technicians complete work — the system handles scheduling.
Builds the asset's maintenance history
Every closed work order becomes a permanent entry in the asset's maintenance history. This history is visible on the asset detail page — a complete chronological record of every repair, inspection, and service event the asset has experienced, with costs, technicians, and photos attached.
Informs the repair-vs-replace decision
When accumulated maintenance costs exceed a significant percentage of the asset's purchase price, UniAsset surfaces a Cost Risk signal. Teams managing assets with high repair frequency have the data to make the case for replacement — rather than continuing to spend on diminishing returns.
Frequently asked questions
Answers to the questions operations managers ask before choosing a work order management system.
How does work order management work in UniAsset?
A work order is created with a type (Corrective, PM, or Inspection), a priority level, and a linked asset. UniAsset automatically calculates the SLA deadline based on the priority. A manager assigns the work order to a technician, who receives an instant notification. The technician updates status, logs time and materials, and uploads photos as work progresses. The manager reviews and closes. Closing auto-creates a maintenance record on the asset.
What is the difference between a PM and a CM work order?
A Corrective Maintenance (CM) work order is created in response to a failure — something broke and needs to be fixed. A Preventive Maintenance (PM) work order is created proactively, either manually or automatically when a PM rule becomes overdue. The key difference is intent: CM is reactive, PM is planned. Both follow the same eight-status lifecycle and generate the same maintenance cost records on close.
Can work orders be created automatically, or does someone always create them manually?
Both are supported. Managers create work orders manually for corrective maintenance and ad hoc inspections. PM work orders are created automatically by UniAsset when a preventive maintenance rule's next due date passes. The system runs a background check and generates the work order without any manual step — the Engineering Head or Owner is notified in-app when this happens.
How does UniAsset track the cost of a work order?
Cost is captured at three levels. First, technicians log actual time spent and a labour cost figure on the work order. Second, materials consumed are listed individually — each with a name and cost — and UniAsset rolls up the total material cost automatically. Third, any additional charges (vendor fees, travel, etc.) can be noted. When the work order closes, the total cost is transferred to the asset's maintenance record and added to its TCO.
What happens when the same asset keeps breaking down?
Repeat failures are visible in the asset's maintenance history. When a work order is reopened, UniAsset creates a linked child work order preserving the original record — so the full repair chain is traceable. If accumulated maintenance costs on an asset exceed a significant threshold relative to its purchase price, UniAsset surfaces a Cost Risk signal, making the case for replacement rather than continued repair.
Does work order management in UniAsset require an expensive implementation?
No. Work orders in UniAsset are available immediately — no configuration required beyond setting up your assets and users. You can create your first work order on the same day you sign up. SLA windows and escalation settings can be configured later in Settings → Work Orders when you are ready to customise them.
Get started
Start tracking work orders in UniAsset — free.
Full work order management software — lifecycle, cost tracking, PM automation, and SLA escalation — in one system of record.
Used by healthcare, manufacturing, and facilities teams. No credit card required.