A trailer repair work order puts in motion a formal request for work to be performed on a trailer. Eighteen-wheelers, heavy-duty construction trailers, flatbeds, refrigerated trailers, car haulers, and trailers that carry hazardous materials all require maintenance and occasional repairs to stay safe on the open road.

About the Trailer Repair Work Order

Trailers are the glue of commerce, tying people and businesses together around the country. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), freight carried by trucks (and attached trailers) amounts to a whopping 62.7 percent of all freight in the US. In order to keep all these trailers in working order, repair shops need to have a fluid system for receiving new work, communicating costs with customers, and scheduling for it all to be done. This is where work orders come in.

Generally, work orders are completed by the company responsible for conducting the repairs. However, repair businesses should provide a means for their customers to partially complete the work order. Overall, the following method of receiving and issuing work orders is both efficient and scalable:

1. Initial Request – The customer sends a preliminary work order or calls in a request for work to be performed. The employee on the other end will record the customer’s information down (or begin completing the rest of the fields of the work order).
2. Costs are Calculated – An employee familiar with price estimation will calculate the total cost of all parts and the labor to install them. This will be inserted into the work order and updated for all to see.
3. Customer Approval – The customer is presented (or sent) the total cost of the work to be performed. Once confirmed by the customer, a date for bringing in the trailer is set as well as a completion date. The work order is then sent to the employee in charge of scheduling.
4. Scheduling – A manager will set a time for the work to be performed and assign the job to one (1) or more mechanics. Detailed info on what is to be performed to the trailer will be created by the manager.
5. Work Begins – The technicians will conduct the work on the trailer. Once finished, the customer will be sent the work order (or a separate invoice), requiring them to make full payment as indicated on the form.

Before digital work orders, if a customer were to request a change on the order, every copy that was sent out (to parts departments, technicians, etc.) would have to be retracted, and a new version printed and delivered. By using an online system for work orders, information can be modified on the fly – automatically updating all employees (and the customer) with the new information.

Information to Include

Use the following as a checklist for what to include in the work order:

• Contact info of the customer
• Description of the issue and the repairs to be made
• Name of the employee completing the work order
• Costs of parts + labor
• Person/team scheduled to make repairs
• Start and end dates
• Manager signature (approving of work to be done)