As a janitorial business owner, one of the biggest advantages you have today is technology. Processes and operations can be easily and precisely measured because of the widespread adoption of digital software which can turn long, painstaking labor into a task completed with ease.

A work order management system can be one of the best upgrades you choose to make for your janitorial business, time, clients, and contractors. But what is it exactly and what does it do?

Let’s start with the basics:

What is work order software?

The work order management software is made to help facility managers like you and other professionals in the field. 

How can a work order software program help you?

Simply put, it helps you monitor and manage the maintenance and inventory of your property using a digital platform. 

Everyone (including outside vendors, employees, and tenants) can submit work orders through a CMMS (computerized maintenance management system) and stay informed about their maintenance requests for efficient communication.

The right property management system can also help you capture and manage leads, and sell more efficiently.
You could certainly manage things using a simple spreadsheet or piece of lined paper, making notes and sending them to your team by text or email. 

This is how things were done in the past, but now the requirements and complexity of the business can be too much to handle. A single mistake can trigger a domino effect that will damage your reputation and cost you money and time.
Why struggle when you can have a dedicated platform for following best practices?

What is a work order? 

A work order is, at its most basic level, a task or action given to a person or group. It can be written down on paper or digitally and it details the upkeep tasks needed for a certain piece of equipment or area.

An employee may submit a work order inside the company, or a customer may submit one externally.

What are the common work order types?

Here are the main work order types you typically use in your commercial property management:

On-demand, unscheduled work order

This is probably the option you are most familiar with if you don’t have CMMS software (computerized maintenance management system). 

It is used when something unexpectedly breaks or fails. When an issue is spotted, it is reported, and the maintenance crew creates a work order to address it. 

Unscheduled work orders have a lot of drawbacks due to their nature. The maintenance staff has to rush to get the necessary personnel and supplies, and they don’t have much time before the situation can go from bad to worse.

Additionally, breakdowns frequently occur during a crucial production run or on the weekend, forcing the department to bring in technicians for costly overtime.

Scheduled work orders for preventive maintenance

By planning the maintenance work orders, you’re spotting little problems before they have a chance to develop into significant concerns.
It typically involves regular maintenance and inspection work, examining the equipment and technical parts. 

Numerous departments arrange walkthrough inspections, during which technicians inspect the entire facility in search of anything odd, such as a puddle under a piece of property or strange noises coming from the machinery.

Third-party work orders

Even though they are less common, third-party work requests are nevertheless crucial. There is frequent work that has to be done but is outside the maintenance team’s technical capabilities. 

The fire suppression system is a good example. The smoke detectors and alarms need to be checked annually or semi-annually, but only a qualified third party or contractor can complete the task.

It is very easy to collect, secure, and access your data using modern CMMS software. 

One of the best CMMS solutions on the market is Ranyan – a Web App for Janitorial and Engineering Services. Everything is kept in a single central cloud-based database rather than a ton of paper or endless spreadsheet files.

Everyone works from the same database because the software updates everything in real-time whenever someone opens or closes a work order. 

Additionally, the maintenance crew can access the current status and update the work order information from any mobile device that is connected to the Internet. Still, we’ll cover this in more detail further in the post.

What is the workflow for work orders?

Request

Any user can initiate a maintenance request within a work order system – from a technician to an operator, and that is a great advantage. 

Regardless, it is a simple process with the online request platform. Nobody needs to look for the department’s phone number, email address, or maintenance lead. 

Approve and generate

After reviewing the request, you can create a new work order right away. 

It’s much easier to supply the techs with everything they need to do their jobs effectively when all the information you want to include in the work order creation is already in the software.

Not all requests are granted. The task might not be under any of the maintenance departments. 

For instance, someone might submit a request for additional paper towels for the restroom. In other instances, a technician fixed the issue before the maintenance division could review the request.

Assign

Finding the appropriate staff to handle the work order is easy because you can see everything your field workers are doing with just a few clicks, from any device. 

In some circumstances, only technicians with the appropriate training can perform the tasks. With the help of the CMMS, you can easily choose a staff who meets the requirements and forward them the work order.
If you’d be using the traditional, offline method, you would have to wait for them to read their email or stop by the maintenance office. 

With the right maintenance management software, you can instantly issue service requests to the staff’s smartphone or another mobile device, and they’ll receive notifications with all the information needed to fully complete the task.

Complete

The tech may in some situations complete tasks by himself. However, the work order can also be configured so that only the person who assigned it can complete it. 

In other words, the tech finishes the tasks and then asks for a check of the work done. They can take a picture of the asset using the mobile app, and then immediately upload it to the work order.

The ones responsible, including the facilities managers, can follow the job execution and track completion at any time.

Analyze

You can rapidly produce KPI (key performance indicators) reports that help you track progress and improve because the software collects and protects all of your data. 

For instance, you might discover that some technicians are having trouble completing all of their allocated work orders. You can raise the overall close-out rate by rearranging the schedule.

What are the benefits of using work order software?

You might be skeptical – how can a single software help you manage all of your maintenance tasks, run your business more efficiently and save you time and money?

Here are the key features of a work order software:

Automated Work Orders

Using work order management software, you can automatically assign work orders to the appropriate person or team. You can make sure that requests are routed to the technician qualified to address a problem with an HVAC system, for example.
In addition, your field technicians can submit comments about the equipment or update orders in real-time while working on the equipment, when you opt for a work order management software that connects to a mobile application. 

This minimizes double entry and guarantees that your data is correct and current.  Technicians can finish the tasks given to them, send invoices, and monitor their performance, all from the mobile application.

Making Maintenance More Effective

When performing routine inspections, such as safety checks or cleaning rounds, your maintenance teams can streamline the procedure by centralizing all documentation, training materials, and checklists.

Additionally, they can immediately submit a corrective work order to rectify any problems they find and perform the needed preventive maintenance.
It becomes much easier to see trends when employing a software system to manage all of the equipment’s data. 

Facilities technicians can more precisely anticipate expenses, modify maintenance plans, manage resources, and allocate funds for new equipment when they can identify which equipment is constantly malfunctioning and which needs further maintenance.

Mobile Access Anytime, Anywhere

Field technicians always have to balance various responsibilities and expectations while ensuring the clients are satisfied. 

To be able to deliver the finest experiences to everyone, players in the service industry are constantly coming up with new strategies to maximize their performance. A mobile app reduces travel time while boosting service quality. 

When field technicians have access to all the essential data through an app, they can:

• make and track work requests ;
• manage their schedule;
• improve customer communication, which will increase client loyalty and satisfaction.

The software can be accessed from any mobile device.

Work history data to track the success

Some of the best work order software on the market offers additional features, such as analytics reports. 

You can get precise metrics by sharing work order data on one central platform with your other business analytics. 

Work order processes, asset management, requests for corrective maintenance, and more can be included in reports and dashboards.
This makes it much simpler to view the data, assess how you’re doing with KPIs, and formulate long-term plans and reports to important stakeholders.

And if all of the above weren’t enough, using the right property management software will strengthen your client relations and increase your business value through:

• Increased ratings and reviews for your facilities and better retention, due to higher tenant satisfaction;
• Fewer errors and loss of time and money-related resources, by adding specifics to the maintenance request, such as additional instructions and photographs;
• One, single point of contact: it reduces the likelihood of discrepancies and makes information much easier to access.

Add value to your business today

We know how crucial it is to ensure that every investment you make is worthwhile. 

Ranyan – First-of-its-Kind Web App for Janitorial and Engineering Services, was created to assist you and many other janitorial companies’ business owners to get the work done. 

Easy, professional, and timely manner. All through great work order software with a user-friendly interface. 

We’ve been in the industry for over 25 years – we have the experience and we understand all the pain points that any small businesses or large businesses have to face.

Use flexible, web-based work order software to stay one step ahead of the competition. 

Discover Ranyan today. Contact us for a demo!