Definition

Work Order

A work order is the structured record of a single maintenance task — who reported it, what asset is affected, what work is needed, who is assigned, and what was done. In a restaurant CMMS, the work order is the unit of accountability that connects "the fryer is down" to "Joe replaced the thermopile at 4:20pm."

A complete work order captures: asset (via tag), reporter, priority, fault description, assigned technician, parts used, labor time, completion notes, and photos before/after. That last bit matters for warranty claims and disputes.

The difference between a work order system that gets used and one that doesn't is friction. If reporting a broken oven takes more than 15 seconds from a phone, the system gets bypassed and you're back to texting the GM.

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