WORK ORDERS

A request for maintenance services is to beapproved and submitted by the Principal, Secretary, Custodian or Department Head.

Any of the following work requires a work order to be submitted by the School/Site:

  • Corrective/Breakdown Maintenance - restoring the operation of equipment or systems that have failed or are not performing properly; or
  • Building Repairs - too large, time-consuming (i.e. takes longer than two hours to complete) or complex to be completed by the school custodian; or
  • New Work - requests made by Principals/Site Managers (typically valued at over $100) which are not covered under any maintenance category - examples include: moving, supply and/or installation of furniture, fixtures and equipment (including playground equipment); minor renovations to accommodate or enhance programs or school operations; connection of computers, telecommunications and electronics; additional electrical outlets or lighting; painting and flooring (outside of the maintenance or replacement program cycles); modification of HVAC schedules for a facility booking or special event; and other special requests; or
  • Estimates or Feasibility Reviews for potential facility work.

The means of requesting works and services from the Maintenance Department is via our online work order system, Asset Planner. ASSET PLANNER is a web-based computerized maintenance management system used to generate, track and report all maintenance activities.

ASSET PLANNER is used for all types of work including items formerly generated verbally, by email, or on paper lists in schools; it is used for any work that requires an estimate and it is the mechanism through which all work requests are submitted - this includes preventive and reparative maintenance, estimates, all trades work, moving services and all equipment repairs.

Emergency Work that is called-in directly to the Maintenance Departmentmust also be entered in ASSET PLANNER. The priority of work order requests is determined by the Director of Building Operations, with health and safety of the building occupants as the primary factor. The availability of specific maintenance personnel in the general location of the school is a secondary factor.

Faxed, mailed-in or e-mailed work requests are not accepted. All work requests must be entered into ASSET PLANNER via the internet at web address If a staff member is not set up to enter the system, he/she must contact the school/facility office and submit work requests through one of the site designates. If site designates are unsure of how to use the system, they should refer to the guidelines below or contact the Director of Building Operationsfor assistance.

ASSET PLANNER may also be used for follow-ups on the status of work requests or service calls.

CREATING A WORK REQUEST:

After accessing ASSET PLANNER, log into the system using the “User ID” (your full email address) and “Password” that has been provided. The Service Request Client screen should then open. From this screen new work requests may be entered or existing requests looked up.

Submitted work requests are automatically and immediately forwarded to the appropriate trade for scheduling. They are also reviewed 2-3 times weekly by Maintenance Administration.

ENTERING A NEW REQUEST:

Select “New Work Request”. A number will be automatically assigned to the request.

Contact Profile:

The User Profile will be automatically entered.

Type of Request:

Select from the drop down list the type of request. Please review the list carefully to make the most appropriate selection. This is especially important in that your request will be sent to the appropriate person based on your selection.

Priority:

Select from the drop down list. See below for a guideline for priority selection.

EMERGENCY: Fire, health, and safety items that demand immediate response to protect and save property, research, and lives. Immediate response to alleviate the situation, permanent repair may take longer.

URGENT: Non-emergency, urgent work that needs to be responded quickly. This is important work that normally requires completion within one day, however, OT may not be authorized if work can wait until the next day.

HIGH: Normal maintenance or service items that do not pose an immediate risk to facilities, systems or equipment or components. Response in 1 to 5 days (depending on department workload).

MEDIUM: Routine work that can be responded to on a planned and scheduled basis. Response in 1-2 weeks.

LOW: Requests scheduled for a specific date or issues that can be scheduled for greater than 2 weeks.

Request Completion Date:Select from the calendar a requested completion date. It is very important to identify those projects that require completion by a specific date, such as moving equipment or preparing sports fields.

Facility:

Facility will be automatically entered as the Client’s Facility. If you have permission to more than one facility you will be able to select from the drop down list. Facility is a required field.

Floor:

Select from the drop down list. Floors may be entered in the Facility data.

Location/Room #:

Enter the Room Number to enable a quick response. Please do not use descriptors such as “Computer Lab” “Mr. Smith’s Room” or Grade 3 Classroom” in place of the room number.

Click “Next” and enter information that is prompted in the Details box. Be as clear as possible with the information provided and include account code, contact person, and phone number if required in this field. You may also click “Attach” to add photos or other files pertinent to your request.

Click on “Submit” at the bottom right hand side of the screen and you are provided with a confirmation and service request number. Within seconds the request has been sent to Maintenance Department for approval. You will be notified by email when the work is completed or anytime changes are made to your request unless you have turned off email notifications in your Client Profile (see below).

You may now input another request following the same procedure, look up an existing request or exit the program.

TO LOOK UP AN EXISTING REQUEST:

Enter the search criteria to find the required request. If the work request number is known, enter that number into the Request # field and then click Search.

A blank in any selection field will select all the values for that field in your database.

Enter in Summary Contains or Details Contains a word or words and any request with that word will be shown. You may also hide closed service requests from your search. Check hide closed requests then Search.

You may also click on any service request number to see the details of that request including: Requestor, Facility, Date Submitted, Floor, Submitted By, Location/Room #, Requested Completion Date, Group Assigned, Date Completed, Individual Assigned, Status, Service Provider, Summary and Details.

You always have the option to check on the Service Request to see how the work is proceeding however you cannot make any changes to the Service Request once the request has been submitted. You can however add Notes afterwards.

TO CHANGE YOUR NOTIFICATIONS AND PERSONAL PROFILE:

Click on Client Profile to show the data that was entered in the initial setup. You may add additional information and select the option to receive email notifications or not by clicking on Yes or No.

You also have the options to say how notes will be displayed.

COSTS

Maintenance of existing systems, components, equipment and finishes is the responsibility of the Maintenance Department. The maintenance operating budget is established to enable the department to meet these needs without additional cost to the schools. Work outside this scope is generally described as ‘New Work’ or ‘Fee-for-Service’ work. When something new is added, when something is modified, or when any change is requested that is not part of ‘maintaining existing inventory’, costs will not be absorbed by the maintenance budget. In these cases the requesting school administrator or site manager is required to fund the work.For details and more specific information refer to Policy M-102 Responsibilities of Maintenance Department.

CHARGEBACKS

For work that is being charged to the School Budget:

-If Chargeback field = YES GL Code must be entered. A work order of this type will not be processed without a GL Code.

-If Chargeback field = NO then N/A may be entered in the GL Code field

WHAT ABOUT AFTER HOURS NEEDS?

After regular business hours, on weekends and statutory holidays, a work order should still be generated, with the problem described to the best of one’s knowledge. Work orders are automatically sent directly to the appropriate person as selected through the work order process. This may be in conjunction with or followed up by a phone call to the appropriate person(s).