Work Orders: Lifecycle - FreeMaint Docs

Every work order follows a lifecycle. Understanding each status is key to effective maintenance management.

Status Definitions

OPEN

Created but work not started. Technician notified.

SCHEDULED

Planned for a specific date by a planner. Shows on the calendar; requires the work_orders.schedule permission. Optional — you can also start work directly from Open.

IN_PROGRESS

Technician actively working. startedAt timestamp recorded. If work was started by mistake, or needs to go back to the backlog before being reassigned, use "Back to Open" on the status stepper — it needs the work_orders.update permission and keeps the original start timestamp.

ON_HOLD

Paused — waiting for parts, approval, or external factors.

COMPLETED

Work done. Ready to close. Manager validation is optional unless your company enabled it in Workflow Settings.

VALIDATED

Manager approved. validatedBy and validatedAt recorded.

CLOSED

Fully resolved and archived. Costs finalized. Requires the "work_orders.close" permission. Closing is reversible: the same permission reopens the work order to In progress if it was closed too early.

CANCELLED

Cancelled before completion.

Typical Flow

Create (OPEN) → Technician starts (IN_PROGRESS)
Optional: a planner schedules it for a date (OPEN → SCHEDULED) before work begins.
If parts needed: pause (ON_HOLD) → resume (IN_PROGRESS)
Work done (COMPLETED) → Close (CLOSED). Optional validation step in between if configured.

Tip

By default, anyone with the work_orders.close permission can close a COMPLETED work order. To require manager approval first, configure a workflow rule under Settings → Workflows → Work Orders. Company admins — and anyone who can edit your workflows — can always close, so the person who set up the rule is never locked out. Users who can’t close now see which role’s approval is required instead of a missing button.

Tip

A work order that was never started can be completed directly from Open or Scheduled — for work already performed off-system, such as a contractor job done under a permit. It needs the "Complete a work order that was never started" permission (Admin, Manager and Supervisor have it by default). No start time is recorded, because none happened: the work order is simply marked complete. Everyone else still goes through Start Work first.

Tip

Made a mistake in the completion notes or root cause? Edit them directly on the work order's Details tab while it is COMPLETED. Once a manager validates the work order or it is closed, the completion record locks — reopen the work order to amend it — the "Reopen Work Order" button on the status stepper puts it back to In progress. Costs and labor stay editable from their own tabs.

Updating Asset Status from Work Orders

From the Start Work and Mark Complete dialogs, you can update the asset's operational status atomically with the WO transition — no need to navigate to the Asset module.

Operational states explained

Operational

Running normally and performing its function. Baseline state — completing a work order with 'No change' auto-resets the asset here.

Degraded

Still running but at reduced capacity or performance (ISO 14224 'degraded failure'). In OEE this is a performance loss, so it does not open downtime.

Down

Completely out of operation, unable to perform its function (ISO 14224 'critical failure'). Starts downtime tracking and counts as an availability loss.

Maintenance

Intentionally taken offline for a usually planned intervention — when you removed the asset from production to work on it, not an unexpected breakdown.

When closing a work order, leaving 'No change' lets the system auto-reset the asset from DOWN/DEGRADED/MAINTENANCE to OPERATIONAL. Override only when the asset is not fully repaired.

Filtering work orders

On the Work Orders list, use the "Filter by date" control to narrow the list to a date range. First choose which date to filter on — Due Date, Completed Date, Closed Date, or Created Date — then pick the range. The quick presets follow the date you picked: past windows such as "Last 7 days" for Completed, Closed and Created dates, and forward windows such as "Next 7 days", "This month" or "This year" (January 1st to December 31st) for Due Date, since a due date describes work still ahead of you. For example, to see everything closed last week, set the field to "Closed Date" and choose "Last 7 days". You can also filter by maintenance type (corrective, preventive, and so on) with the "Maintenance type" dropdown. When the date field is set to Due Date, a second dropdown lets you choose between "Any due date", "With a due date" and "No due date". "No due date" isolates work you deliberately leave unscheduled so it never shows up as overdue; it is mutually exclusive with a date range, so choosing it clears the range. Sorting has its own two controls: the "Sort by" dropdown picks the column, and the arrow button next to it shows and flips the direction (ascending or descending). Each column starts in its natural direction — due dates soonest first, creation and completion dates most recent first — and your choice is remembered. Every active filter appears as a removable chip and is kept in the URL, so you can bookmark or share the view. This filtering is available on every plan, including the free Core plan — a paid plan is only needed to export the filtered list.

Making the list fit your screen

The Work Orders list opens with a row of summary cards and a filter bar, and both can be trimmed down. Each choice is remembered on your own account and changes nothing for anyone else. Use the "Summary cards" button beside the cards to untick the ones you never read, or hide them all — the cards are only shortcuts, so the Status dropdown still reaches every status, Overdue included. The filter bar keeps Search, Status, Priority and "Assigned to" in view and folds the rest — Asset, Location, Category, Failure category, Team, Maintenance type and the date controls — behind the "More filters" button. A number on that button says how many of the folded filters are narrowing the list right now, and every active filter still shows as a removable chip under the bar.

Work Order Lifecycle & Statuses