What is a work order?

• A. A formal instruction for maintenance or repair tasks tracked from initiation to completion.
• B. The process of responding to emergencies with predefined steps.
• C. A schedule of preventive maintenance based on calendar.
• D. A report summarizing incidents.

Answer: (A)

A work order is a formal instruction for maintenance or repair tasks that is tracked from initiation through completion. It starts when a need is identified and then captures the asset, location, scope of work, priority, and required resources. It assigns responsibility, sets a plan for how the work will be carried out, and records what’s done, including labor, parts, and tools used. The process follows the task from start to finish, so there’s a clear record that the work was requested, authorized, executed, and verified as complete. This makes maintenance work auditable and ensures the job is actually carried out and properly closed.

Other concepts describe different things: an emergency-response procedure outlines steps to follow during incidents rather than a specific maintenance task; a preventive maintenance calendar shows when tasks should occur but doesn’t itself authorize or track execution; and an incident report documents what happened, not a task to fix something.