Work Order Template for Maintenance Teams [Free SA Template]

A work order is the single document that tells your maintenance team what to do, where, when, and how. Get it wrong and you get vague job cards, missed priorities, and no audit trail when an inspector asks for proof. Get it right and you have a clear record of every job from request to sign-off. This guide explains what a work order is, why it matters, and gives you a free work order template designed for South African operations — including fields for the OHS Act and common regulatory requirements.

If you are still using ad-hoc notes or a basic spreadsheet, a proper work order template is the first step toward consistent, traceable maintenance. From there, many teams move to a CMMS to automate scheduling and reporting; this template gives you a solid foundation either way.

What Is a Work Order and Why It Matters

A work order is a formal instruction to perform maintenance on a specific asset or location. It captures who requested the work, what needs to be done, who is responsible, when it should happen, and how it was completed. In South African mining, manufacturing, and facilities, work orders are not just administrative — they are the evidence that you maintained plant and equipment in a safe condition, as required by the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHS Act) and, in mining, the Mine Health and Safety Act (MHSA).

Without a standard work order template, teams often rely on handwritten job cards, WhatsApp messages, or rows in a shared spreadsheet. That leads to missing details, no clear priority, and no reliable record for compliance or root-cause analysis. A consistent work order form ensures every job has the same information, so planners can schedule effectively, technicians know exactly what to do, and managers can report on backlog, completion rates, and costs.

Anatomy of a Good Work Order

A good work order template includes the following fields. Each one serves a specific purpose in planning, execution, and record-keeping.

Field	Purpose
Work order number	Unique ID for reference, reporting, and audit trail.
Request date	When the work was requested or generated (e.g. from a PM schedule).
Requester	Name or department that requested or created the work order.
Asset	Equipment or location to be maintained (from your asset register).
Location	Physical place (building, area, site) where the work is done.
Priority	Urgency: e.g. Critical, High, Medium, Low — drives scheduling.
Type	Corrective, preventive, or regulatory — determines how the work was triggered.
Description	Clear scope of work: what to do, what to check, what to repair.
Assigned technician	Person responsible for executing the work.
Planned start / end	Scheduled window for the work.
Parts needed	List of spares or materials required (and ideally reserved).
Safety permits	Hot work, confined space, lockout, or other permit references.
Completion notes	What was done, parts used, time spent, findings.
Sign-off	Technician and (if required) supervisor approval to close the order.

These fields cover the full lifecycle: request, planning, execution, and close-out. For South African operations, you will often add regulatory fields (see below).

Free Work Order Template (Markdown Table)

You can use this work order template as a checklist or copy it into a spreadsheet. Fill one row per work order; for paper or PDF use, one sheet per job.

Field	Value
Work order number	WO-YYYYMMDD-XXX
Request date
Requester
Asset
Location
Priority	Critical / High / Medium / Low
Type	Corrective / Preventive / Regulatory / Emergency
Description
Assigned technician
Planned start
Planned end
Parts needed
Safety permit reference
OHS / MHSA reference	(if applicable)
Completion date
Completion notes
Parts used
Technician sign-off
Supervisor sign-off

Numbering (e.g. WO-20260127-001) keeps work orders unique and sortable. The type field helps you report on corrective vs preventive vs reactive work; the completion and sign-off fields give you the audit trail that inspectors expect.

Types of Work Orders

Not all work orders are the same. Defining type helps with reporting, compliance, and prioritisation.

Corrective Work Orders

Corrective work is triggered by a failure, defect, or complaint. Something is broken or not working as it should; the work order describes the fault and the required repair. Corrective work tends to be urgent and unplanned, so the template must capture the problem clearly and the actions taken so you can analyse repeat failures later.

Preventive Work Orders

Preventive work orders are generated from a schedule: weekly inspections, monthly lubrication, or meter-based tasks (e.g. every 500 running hours). The description typically comes from a standard job plan or checklist. Using a work order template for PM ensures each scheduled task is recorded and can be linked to the asset history and compliance reports.

Regulatory / OHS Work Orders

Regulatory work orders cover legally required inspections, tests, or maintenance — for example electrical compliance, lifting equipment, or pressure vessel checks. In South Africa, the OHS Act and MHSA require that certain equipment be maintained and that records be kept. Your template should include a field for the regulation or standard (e.g. “OHS Act 85 of 1993, Regulation 6”) and, where relevant, the inspection type (e.g. MHSA 8.2.2). That makes it easy to prove compliance during an audit.

Emergency Work Orders

Emergency work is unplanned, high-priority corrective work that requires immediate response. The same template applies, but priority is Critical and planned start/end may be “as soon as possible.” Capturing emergency work on a standard form still gives you a record of what was done and why, which is important for incident reviews and compliance.

Work Order Workflow: Request to Close

A typical work order moves through several stages. Your template and your process should support each step.

Request — Someone reports a fault or the system generates a PM work order. The requester (or planner) fills in asset, location, type, description, and priority.
Approval — Where required (e.g. high-cost repairs, shutdown work), a supervisor or manager approves the work order before it is scheduled.
Scheduling — The planner assigns a technician and sets planned start and end. Parts are reserved or ordered if needed; permits are requested.
Execution — The technician performs the work, follows safety procedures, and uses the work order as the job card. Status is updated to “In progress.”
Completion — The technician fills in completion notes, parts used, and actual time. Photos or attachments can be linked if your system supports it.
Sign-off — The technician signs off; for critical or regulatory work, a supervisor may also sign to confirm the work was done correctly.
Close — The work order is closed and the record is retained for asset history, cost reporting, and compliance.

Paper or spreadsheet templates can support this workflow, but they rely on discipline: someone must move the job from one stage to the next and file completed orders. A CMMS automates status changes, notifications, and reporting so nothing is left in a drawer or an outdated Excel file.

Common Mistakes When Using Work Order Templates

Even with a good template, these mistakes undermine effectiveness and compliance.

Vague Descriptions

“Fix the pump” or “Check the conveyor” does not tell a technician what to do. The description should state the fault or task clearly: “Replace mechanical seal on pump P-101; isolate and drain before disassembly.” Vague work orders lead to wrong scope, repeat visits, and poor asset history.

No Priority

If every work order is “High” or nothing is prioritised, planners cannot sequence work and critical jobs get delayed. Use a simple scale (Critical, High, Medium, Low) and apply it consistently so that urgent and regulatory work is done first.

No Parts Planning

Starting a job without the right spares causes delays and wasted trips. The template should list parts needed; where possible, reserve them or order in advance. For common PMs, a standard parts list on the job plan reduces this risk.

No Proper Close-Out

Leaving work orders open or closing them without completion notes and sign-off breaks the audit trail. Inspectors and internal auditors need to see what was done, when, and by whom. Always complete the completion notes and sign-off fields before closing the order.

South Africa–Specific Fields for Your Work Order Template

For South African operations, consider adding these fields to your work order template.

OHS permit reference — If the work requires a permit to work (e.g. hot work, confined space), record the permit number and validity. That links the maintenance record to your safety system.
MHSA inspection type — In mining, certain inspections are required under the MHSA. Recording the regulation or inspection type (e.g. 8.2.2) on the work order helps you prove compliance and plan recurring regulatory work.
B-BBEE supplier (if parts ordered) — When spare parts are ordered for the job, recording the supplier and their B-BBEE level supports B-BBEE procurement reporting and verification. Many teams add a simple “Supplier” and “B-BBEE level” field for work orders that involve procurement.

These fields do not replace your main template; they extend it so that one work order supports both maintenance execution and South African compliance and reporting.

Limitations of Paper and Spreadsheet Work Orders

A work order template in Word, PDF, or Excel is better than no template, but it has limits.

No single source of truth — Paper gets lost; spreadsheets get copied and edited in parallel. You end up with multiple versions and no guarantee that the closed job you show an auditor is the only record.
No automatic scheduling — Preventive work orders must be created by hand or by formula. It is easy to miss a due PM when there is no system generating work orders from a schedule.
No mobile access — Technicians in the plant or on site cannot easily update a paper form or a shared spreadsheet. Delays and incomplete data are common.
No real-time visibility — Managers cannot see backlog, overdue work, or completion rates without manually consolidating sheets or files.
Weak audit trail — Spreadsheets can be edited at any time; paper can be altered. Auditors and inspectors expect a reliable, tamper-resistant record of maintenance.

For small teams or low-risk assets, a well-used template may be enough. As you scale, add sites, or face stricter compliance, the case for moving from spreadsheets to a CMMS becomes strong.

How a CMMS Manages Work Orders

A CMMS (computerized maintenance management system) takes the same information as your work order template and turns it into a live, traceable process. Work orders are created from requests or from preventive schedules; they are assigned and pushed to technicians on mobile devices; status is updated in real time; and completion notes, parts, and sign-off are stored in one system. Reports on backlog, PM compliance, and cost per asset come from the same data, and auditors can see a clear history of what was maintained, when, and by whom.

Using a standard work order template today prepares your team for that transition: the fields you use on paper or in Excel are the same fields a good CMMS will use. When you are ready to reduce manual scheduling and improve visibility, you already have a clear picture of what you need from the system.

Use the work order template in this article as a starting point for your maintenance team. Customise the fields to match your assets, sites, and compliance requirements. For a digital system that automates work order creation, assignment, and reporting for South African operations, explore Lungisa CMMS and see how a single platform can replace paper and spreadsheets while keeping your OHS and MHSA records in order.