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.

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.

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

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. 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 by date

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; quick presets include Last 7 days and Last 30 days. For example, to see everything closed last week, set the field to "Closed Date" and choose "Last 7 days". You can also sort the list by Completed Date or Closed Date. This filtering is available on every plan, including the free Core plan — a paid plan is only needed to export the filtered list.

Work Order Lifecycle & Statuses