Work Request
A work request is a reported maintenance need submitted for review before it becomes an approved work order.
What this term means in maintenance
A work request is a reported maintenance need submitted for review before it becomes an approved work order.
Why work requests matter
Operators, production staff, facility users, and other employees often notice problems before maintenance does. A work-request process gives them a controlled way to report those problems without allowing every request to become immediate maintenance work.
Information a request should capture
- Asset or location
- Problem category
- Clear description
- Observed symptoms
- Production or safety impact
- Photo or other evidence
- Requestor details
- Date and time reported
Review and approval
A supervisor or planner reviews the request, checks for duplicates, confirms priority, and decides whether to approve or reject it. Once approved, the request can create a work order with the relevant information carried forward.
Practical example
An operator reports oil leaking below a gearbox and attaches a photo. The maintenance supervisor checks the asset, confirms that the leak requires action, sets the priority, and approves a corrective work order.
Common mistake
Requestors should report what they observed rather than diagnose the root cause without evidence. “Oil below gearbox near the output shaft” is more useful than “seal failed” when the cause has not been confirmed.
How this term differs
Work Request is a request submitted by a user and awaiting maintenance review. It is related to Maintenance Request Triage, Work Order Approval, and Maintenance Notification, but these terms describe different records, measures, roles, strategies, or decisions and should not be used interchangeably.
Related concepts
Related maintenance terms
Keep exploring connected CMMS, reliability, and maintenance planning terms.
Work Order
A work order is an authorized record that defines maintenance work to be performed, including the asset, priority, scope, assignee, instructions, labor, parts, status, and completion evidence.
Corrective Maintenance
Corrective maintenance is work performed to restore an asset after a defect, abnormal condition, or failure has been identified.
Work Order Priority
Work order priority is the assigned urgency used to determine how quickly maintenance work should be reviewed, planned, scheduled, and executed.
Glossary FAQs
- Who can raise a maintenance work request?
Organizations commonly allow operators, production staff, facility users, supervisors, and other authorized users to report maintenance needs.
- Does every work request become a work order?
No. Requests should be reviewed for validity, duplication, priority, scope, and whether maintenance action is required.
- What makes a good work request?
A good request identifies the asset or location, describes the observed condition, explains the impact, and includes useful evidence such as a photo.