Work Order Basics

Introduction to work orders

Work orders are used to manage, provide required information for, and register consumption on maintenance jobs. A work order may contain one or more work order lines, and one or more objects can be connected to a work order. Each work order line defines a maintenance job scheduled on the object.

Work orders can be created automatically or manually:

• Automatically using the Schedule maintenance sequences form, for calendar-based sequences set to "Auto create" (refer to the Preventive Maintenance chapter).
• Automatically using the Schedule rounds form, for rounds set to "Auto create" (refer to the Preventive Maintenance chapter).
• Create from object calendar (refer to the Object Calendar section), which can be preventive maintenance jobs or requests.
• Create a work order manually.
• Create a work order from the All requests or Active requests or My functional location requests.

Note

Work order lines related to the same object are related to the same project ID.

All work orders

Click Enterprise asset management > Common > Work orders > All Work orders to open the list. All work orders contain a list of all work orders and displays some of the information related to a work order.

Note

Click Enterprise asset management > Common > Work orders > Active work orders to see a list of active work orders.

Click Enterprise asset management > Common > Work orders > My functional location work order lines to see a list of work order lines containing objects installed on functional locations, you are related to as a worker (set up in Workers and Worker Groups).

• • • • In the All Work orders list (grid view), click on a link in the Work order column to show the Details view of the selected record. Click the Edit button to open for editing.
      • In the Details view, you see detailed information related to the work order.
      • In the Details view, select the Lines link to see work order line details, or select the Header link to see work order details.
      • The vertical Related information pane to the right of the screen contains additional work order-related information. Expand the pane to see related information for the selected work order.

The action pane buttons are organized in tabs on the action pane. Here is a brief description of the buttons relating to Enterprise Asset Management:

The buttons on the Work order tab > Project section relate to functionality in the Project management and accounting module regarding forecasts, journals and invoicing.

Note

Forecasts created on a work order can be included when running master scheduling by using the forecast model selected in the Enterprise asset management parameters form.

List of all work orders

Details view of the selected work order

Create work orders manually

You can create work orders manually in two ways:

• in All work orders or Active work orders
• in All requests or Active requests or My functional location requests

Create work order

1. Click Enterprise asset management > Common > Work orders > All work orders or Active work orders.
2. Click the New button.
3. In the Create work order drop-down, select a work order type.
4. If required, select a description and a customer account in the related fields.
5. Select the object for the work order as well as the related job type.

Note

When you select an object, three tabs are available: The My objects tab contains objects related to the functional locations to which you (the worker who is logged on the system) may be allocated (set up in Workers and Worker Groups). If no functional locations are set up on a worker in Workers and Worker Groups, the My objects tab will not be visible. The Active objects tab contains a list of all objects with object stage "Active". The Object view tab displays a tree view of functional locations and objects installed on those locations.

6. If required, select Variant and Trade.
7. If required, you can change the work order priority in the Priority field.
8. Select expected start and end dates in the related fields.
9. Click OK to create a new work order.
10. Edit the work order in All work orders, if required.

Note

In All work orders, you can add several objects to a work order in Details view by adding lines on the Work order lines FastTab. On an object, you can only select the job types that are defined on the object type related to the object.

If you have changed an object priority or an object criticality after you have used them on a work order (refer to the Object Priorities and Object Criticalities sections), the priority or criticality on the work order is not updated accordingly.

Criticality on a work order is re-calculated each time a work order line is added or deleted on the work order.

In All work orders Details view > Header view > Schedule FastTab, you can select a responsible worker group or a responsible worker in the Responsible group or Responsible fields. These settings can be changed as long as the work order is active, for example, when the work order stage changes. The automatic selection made during work order creation is based on the setup in Responsible workers. If you add or remove work order lines after you have created a work order, and the Responsible group field and the Responsible field are blank when you update e work order, Enterprise Asset Management searches for a possible match in the setup form for a responsible group or a responsible worker. If the Responsible group field or the Responsible field is already filled out when you update the work order, no changes are made. Read more about responsible workers and worker groups in the Responsible Workers section.

In Maintenance status, you can make a calculation to get an overview of workload regarding incoming and completed work orders.

On the Line details FastTab, use the Latitude and Longitude fields to add geographic coordinates for the object selected on the work order line.

Create related work order

You can create a related work order to an existing work order if, for example, you want to work with primary and secondary work orders. A new work order is based on a work order line from an existing work order.

1. Click Enterprise asset management > Common > Work orders > All work orders or Active work orders.
2. Select the work order for which you want to make a related work order.
3. Click Related work order.
4. In the Create related work order drop-down, select the work order line for which you want to create a related work order in the Work order line field.
5. Select a job type in the Job type field and, if required, a related job variant and job trade in the Variant and Trade fields.
6. If this is the first related work order you make, click the New work order radio button.
7. Select a Work order type and a Description in the related fields.
8. If required, change the work order priority in the Priority field.
9. Insert expected start and end dates in the related fields.
10. Click OK. The new related work order is shown in the All work orders list.
11. If you create a related work order on a work order that already has related work orders, you can add the work order line to an already related work order. This is done by clicking the Add to related work order radio button in step 6. Then you select the related work order to which you want to add a new work order line. Edit the Priority, Expected start, and Expected end fields, if required, and click OK. The work order line is added to the existing related work order.

Note

If you have set up a related work order mask in Enterprise asset management parameters > Work orders link > Related work order mask field, work order IDs will be created in accordance with the mask setup. If no related work order mask is set up, the next available work order ID will be used for related work orders.

Copy work order

It is possible to quickly create a new work order from an existing work order. This way of working with work orders is different from creating work orders based on Maintenance Sequences. It is useful if, for example, you have a work order containing many work order lines with various jobs on different objects that should be completed at regular intervals.

1. Click Enterprise asset management > Common > Work orders > All work orders or Active work orders.
2. Select the work order from which you want to copy content.
3. Click Copy work order. The work order setup from the selected work order is shown. If required, you can edit some of the fields.
4. Click OK to create the new work order.
5. Edit the work order in All work orders, if required.

Note

When the new work order is created, some information is copied directly from the existing work order. Information regarding forecasts, tools, checklists, functional location, addresses, and scheduling is not copied, but initialized from the current setup in Enterprise Asset Management. This means that if changes were made in those data from the time of creation of the first work order until the time you made a copy of the work order, those changes are included in the new work order you have created. Examples are changes in forecasts or updated checklists.

Copy work order

Create work order based on request

1. Click Enterprise asset management > Common > Requests > All requests or Active requests.
2. Select the request for which you want to create a work order, and click Edit.
3. In All requests, click Work order.
4. Fill out the Work order drop-down. If a job type has been selected in the request, you are able to select another job type, if required, when you create the work order.
5. Click OK. You will see a message informing you that the work order has been created.
6. If you want to see which work orders are connected to a request, select the request in the All requests or Active requests lists, and click the Work orders button.

Note

Work orders can also be created automatically by scheduling maintenance sequences jobs, or by setting up "Auto create" maintenance sequences or rounds on an object. Read more about automatically created work orders in the Preventive Maintenance chapter. Work orders created from requests in the Object calendar are created with the job types selected in the requests.

Forecasts

When you create a work order, you create work order lines with related objects and job types. When you select a job type containing forecasts, the forecasts are automatically copied to the work order.

You may be able to add or delete forecast lines on a work order. The setup of a work order stage, the related project type, and the stage rules related to the project type determines if you are able to add or edit forecast lines. Read more about work order stages and related project stages in the Integration to Project Management and Accounting chapter.

1. Click Enterprise asset management > Common > Work orders > All work orders or Active work orders.
2. Select the work order in the list, and click Forecast. In Work order forecast, forecast lines from the job type selected on the work order line are displayed.

Add hours forecast to a work order

1. Select the work order line to which you want to add a forecast.
2. On the Forecast FastTab, click the Hours tab.
3. Click Add to create a new line.
4. Select a category in the Category field.
5. Insert number of forecasted hours in the Hours field.
6. In the Line property field, select the charge type to be used on the line.

Add items forecast to a work order

There are three ways to add items to a work order forecast: You can create lines for items (spare parts) that are not included in the spare parts list or object BOM, you can select spare parts from the approved spare parts list, and you can select items from the object BOM.

1. Select the work order line to which you want to add a forecast.
2. On the Forecast FastTab, click the Items tab.
3. Click Add to create a new line for a spare part that is not on the spare parts list or the object BOM list.
4. Select the item in the Item number field.
5. Insert quantity in the Quantity field, and select a quantity unit in the Unit field.
6. Insert cost price and currency in the relevant fields.
7. If you want to change the list of dimensions displayed on the Inventory dimensions tab, click Inventory > Dimensions display, select the dimensions, and select "Yes" on the Save setup toggle button.
8. If you want to add an approved spare part to the forecast, click Add spare parts, select the spare part, edit related information if required, and click OK.
9. If you want to add object BOM items to the forecast, click Add BOM items, select the item, edit related information if required, and click OK.
10. Click the Item where used if you want to get an overview of where the item on the selected line is used in Enterprise Asset Management in relation to objects, job type setup, spare parts, and work orders. Read more about this overview in the Items Where Used section.

Add expense forecast to work order

1. In the left-hand side of the form, select the work order line to which you want to add a forecast.
2. On the Forecast FastTab, click the Expense tab.
3. Click Add to create a new line.
4. Select a category in the Category field.
5. Insert quantity in the Quantity field.
6. Insert cost price, sales currency, and sales price in the relevant fields.
7. In the Line property field, select the charge type to be used on the line.

Note

On the Forecast totals FastTab, you can see an overview of the number of lines created on each tab, for the selected work order line and for the work order. Also, you can see a sum of forecasted work hours for the work order line and for the work order.

Work order forecast

Automatic update of work order forecasts

In Enterprise Asset Management, you can automatically update any changes in work order forecasts regarding hour costs, item costs, and expenses, which have been updated in other modules in Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations. This is done to ensure that the latest cost prices are always used in your work order forecasts. It is also possible to make similar updates for job type forecasts.

1. Click Enterprise asset management > Periodic > Forecast > Update work order forecast.
2. In the Update work order forecast drop-down, you can add selections regarding specific work orders or work order lines, if required. Click Filter to make those selections.
3. If required, you can set up the automatic update as a batch job on the Run in the background FastTab.
4. Click OK to start the forecast update.

Update work order forecast

Procurement

In Enterprise Asset Management, you can get an overview of purchase requisitions and purchase orders related to work orders. It is also possible to create a purchase order or a purchase requisition from a work order.

In the Work order purchase requisition list (Enterprise asset management > Common > Procurement > Work order purchase requisition), you see a list of purchase requisitions related to work orders.

• Select a work order line in the Work order purchase requisition list, and click the Purchase requisition button to open the related purchase requisition.
• Select a work order line in the Work order purchase requisition list, and click the Work order button to open the related work order.
• Select a work order line in the Work order purchase requisition list, and click the Item where used button if you want to get an overview of where the item on the selected line is used in Enterprise Asset Management in relation to objects, job type setup, spare parts, and work orders. Read more about this overview in the Items Where Used section.

In the Work order purchase list (Enterprise asset management > Common > Procurement > Work order purchase), you can see a list of purchase orders related to work orders.

• Select a work order line in the Work order purchase list, and click the Purchase order button to open the related purchase order.
• Select a work order line in the Work order purchase list, and click the Work order button to open the related work order.
• Select a work order line in the Work order purchase list, and click the Item where used button if you want to get an overview of where the item on the selected line is used in Enterprise Asset Management in relation to objects, job type setup, spare parts, and work orders. Read more about this overview in the Items Where Used section.

In the lists shown above, an icon regarding delivery date control is placed to the right on each line. If the icon shows an exclamation mark in a red circle, it means that delivery on the related purchase requisition or purchase order may be delayed.

On a purchase requisition, the date used to calculate possible delay is found in the Purchase requisitions form > Purchase requisition header FastTab > Requested date field. That date is compared with the available date on the work order or work order line in the same way as the purchase order date.

On a purchase order, the date used to calculate possible delay is the date related to the purchase order line, which shown in the Purchase order form > select purchase order line > Line details FastTab > Setup tab > Confirmed delivery date field. If that field is not filled out, the date in the Delivery date field on the Purchase order header FastTab is used. One of those dates is compared with the available date on the work order or work order line in the following order:

• Actual start date on the work order, or
• Scheduled start date on the related work order line, or
• Scheduled start date on the work order, or
• Expected start date on the work order

Work order purchase requisition

Work order purchase list

Create purchase order from a work order

In All Work orders, you select a work order line and create a related purchase order or a purchase requisition. This is done to ensure project relations between the purchase order or purchase requisition and the work order.

1. Click Enterprise asset management > Common > Work orders > All work orders or Active work orders.
2. In the All work orders or Active work orders list, select the work order for which you want to create a purchase order, and click Edit.
3. In the Work order form > Work order lines FastTab, select the work order line for which you want to create the purchase order.
4. Click Item tasks > Purchase orders.
5. In the Project purchase orders list page, click Purchase order.
6. Create the purchase order.

Note

Creating a purchase requisition is almost identical to creating a purchase order. The only difference is that in the above procedure, you click Item tasks > Project purchase requisitions in step 4, and in the Project purchase requisitions list page, you click Purchase requisition and create the requisition.

Project relation

A purchase order line or purchase requisition line is related to a work order line via the work order project and the related project activity number. When you create a purchase order or purchase requisition from a work order line, the related project activity number is mandatory. The project activity number is automatically inserted on a purchase order or purchase requisition if the related work order contains work order lines that all use the same job type. If the work order lines contain different job types, the project activity number must be inserted manually.

To see or insert the activity number related to a purchase order line, open Work order purchase > select the purchase order record > click on the purchase order in the Purchase order column > Line details FastTab > Project tab > Activity number field.

Likewise, to see or insert the activity number related to a work order purchase requisition line, open Work order purchase requisition > select the purchase requisition record > click on the purchase requisition in the Purchase requisition column > Line details FastTab > Project tab > Activity number field.

Purchase order details

Time zones

Considerations regarding time zones are only relevant if objects in your company are located on several sites that are located in different time zones. The considerations concern capacity reservations and scheduled start and end times. Capacity reservations are created in relation to scheduling. Generally, capacity reservations in Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations are stored as date and time and are therefore associated with the time zone of the company. This explains why the start and end times on capacity reservations may differ from scheduled start and end times (the company is located in a time zone that is different from the time zone in which planning/scheduling takes place).

Schedule work order

Example: A work order has an expected start of 7/16/2018 03:30:00 PM and a forecast of 30 work hours. The date and time fields shown in the figure "Schedule work order" are viewed in the user's/planner's preferred time zone. Starting the scheduling process results in the work order being scheduled to start at 7/16/2018 03:30:00 PM and end at 7/19/2018 10:00:00 PM (the dialog shown in figure "Schedule work order" is from the 'Schedule exclusively' work process):

This is the expected result is shown in the figure "Schedule work order: header".

The scheduled line created on the work order line looks like this (select the work order line on the work order > Line view > Line details FastTab > Schedule tab):

Note

The company is located in a different time zone than the worker's preferred time zone. Therefore, start and end times on the capacity reservations differ from what is shown on the work order.

Schedule work order

Schedule work order: header

Schedule details

Time Zone Differences

Schedule from work order lines

Using the 'Schedule' process found on the work order line works differently. There, you are scheduling capacity reservations directly.

In the Schedule group, the From and To columns are times set in the company time zone.

Tasks performed by a worker on site, relating to actual work on objects and work orders such as:

• production stop registration
• loan object registration
• registration or update of scheduled/expected/actual start and stop time on work orders
• time line (overview on objects)

are based on the time zone selected for the worker. This may only cause problems if, for example, a worker creating a production stop registration on an object, is related to another time zone than the time zone defined for the object. In that case, the worker must manually calculate the correct time for the production stop registration, adding or subtracting a number of hours relative to the worker's local time, to register the correct production stop time for the object that corresponds with the object's time zone.

Schedule from the work order lines

Schedule group (work order lines)

Work order pools

You can use work order pools to group work orders that have something in common. For example, you can create work order pools for

• work crews, for example, Maintenance Crew A, Maintenance Crew B
• professional skills, for example, electricians or plumbers
• physical locations
• time schedules, for example, weeks or other periods

If required, one work order can be placed in many work order pools.

Note

In the Job Groups and Job Types, Variants, and Trades section, job types can also be grouped. Job groups relate specifically to job types used in your company (such as service, maintenance, overhaul) whereas work order pools can be used for grouping on a wider scale, as suggested in the above list.

Create work order pool

In All work order pools or Active work order pools, you can get an overview of your work order pools and create new pools.

1. Click Enterprise asset management > Common > Work order pools > All work order pools or Active work order pools.
2. Click New.
3. Insert a work order pool ID in the Pool field and a name in the Name field.
4. Select "Yes" on the Active toggle button to indicate that the work order pool is active.
5. Select "Yes" on the Delete work order relations toggle button if you want work orders to be automatically removed from the work order pool.
6. In the Delete stage field, select the work order stage. For example, the work order stage for completing a work order could be set to automatically delete relations to work order pools.
7. You can start adding work orders to your work order pool right away. On the Work orders FastTab, click Add line.
8. Select a work order in the Work order field. The related fields are automatically updated.
9. Repeat steps 7-8 if you want to add more work orders.
10. In the Sort order field, you can indicate if the work orders should be carried out in a certain order. Insert numbers 1, 2, 3, and so on to indicate a specific sequence for the selected work orders.
11. Click the Work orders button to see a list of all the work orders included in the work order pool.
12. Click the Capacity load button to open Capacity load to calculate and view capacity load for object calendar lines, not scheduled work orders, and scheduled work orders.
13. Click the Item forecast button to open Item forecast to calculate and view forecasts for items (spare parts and other required items) related to object calendar lines, not scheduled work orders, and scheduled work orders.
14. Click the Work order purchase requisition button to open the Work order purchase requisition list to see a list of purchase requisitions related to the work orders in the work order pool.
15. Click the Work order purchase button to open the Work order purchase list to see a list of purchase orders related to the work orders in the work order pool.

Note

When a work order pool is no longer relevant for your work planning, clear the Active check box in the Work order pool list view.

Select the Delete work order relations check box if you want to delete all work order lines, for example to create an empty pool that you can later use for other work orders. Remember to clear the Delete work order relations check box if you want to use the work order pool to create new work order relations later.

Work order pools

Add work order to a work order pool

As described in the section above, you can add work orders to a work order pool when you create the pool. You can also add a work order to a work order pool from one of the All work orders list.

1. Click Enterprise asset management > Common > Work orders > All work orders or Active work orders.
2. Select the work order in the list, and click Work order pool.
3. Select "Add" in the Add/remove field.
4. Select the work order pool in the Pool field.
5. Click OK.
6. After you have added a work order to a work order pool, if you want to place the work order in a specific sequence in the pool: Open one of the work order pools list pages, select the pool and click Edit, and adjust the sort order of the work orders included in pool in the Work order pool form > Work orders FastTab > Sort order field.

Note

If you want to remove the selected work order from a work order pool, select "Remove" in step 3.

Active work order lines overview

In Active work order lines, you can get an overview of work orders in relation to how many work orders have been created on specific objects, object types, products, models, job types, and so on. If you select a work order line and click Edit, you open the related work order. If you select a line and click one of the buttons on the Work order lines tab, you see data for the work order to which the work order line is related.

Click Enterprise asset management > Common > Active work order lines to open the list. The list contains all active work order lines and displays some of the information related to the work order or work order line.

In the % column, a number indicates completion of the work order in percent. Completion is based on two calculations: Posted hours compared to forecast hours, and number of checklists completed.

Note

For a short description of the buttons in Active work order lines, refer to the Introduction to Work Orders section in which identical buttons are described.

Active work order lines

Work orders and fixed assets

In Enterprise Asset Management, objects can be related to fixed assets, and you can create work orders for those objects. If you use this functionality, you can get a complete overview of fixed assets, related investment projects, and the costs registered on the investment projects in the Project management and accounting module and the Fixed assets module in Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations.

Note

The Fixed asset number field is only filled out on the work order line project if type "Investment" is selected as the project type on the work order line project.

The following procedure describes the relation between objects, work orders, work order line projects, and fixed assets.

1. You create an object that you relate to a fixed asset.
   
2. When you set up work order types (Enterprise asset management > Setup > Work orders > Work order types), you create a work order type for handling investments. See also the Work Order Types section.
3. When you set up work order project groups (Enterprise asset management > Setup > Work orders > Project setup > Project group link), you create a relation between the work order type used for investments and the project group created for investments in the Project management and accounting module (Project management and accounting > Setup > Posting > Project groups).
   
4. When you create a work order that relates to a fixed asset object, you select the work order type used for handling investments, for example, "Investment".
   
5. When the work order is created, the related work order type is shown in All work orders.
   
6. When the work order is created, the project related to the work order is shown in the Project management and accounting module in the All projects list. Click on a project ID in the list and you will see project-related information on the project record as well as a reference to the fixed asset to which the object on the work order is related (Project management and accounting > Projects > All projects > Click on a project ID in the list > General FastTab and Setup FastTab).
   
7. In Fixed assets, you are able to see an overview of the projects associated with a fixed asset (Fixed assets > Fixed assets > Fixed assets > click on the fixed asset in the Fixed asset number field > view the contents in the Related information pane > Associated projects section).
   

Fixed asset number field

Fixed assets

Work order types section

Work order project setup

Work order type field

Related fixed assets