Free work order software: raise, assign and track maintenance work orders, free
Log a breakdown, assign it to a technician, and track it to close, all on a free work order board that runs in your browser with no account and no cost.
The short answer
- Free work order board in the OEE Lab tracker: raise a work order, assign it to a person, move it to done, all in your browser.
- Pairs with a preventive maintenance schedule and asset register so work orders link back to the machine and the plan.
- Best for one line or one plant on one device, you log entries by hand and investigate causes yourself.
- When you need auto-routed work orders straight from a detected loss, plant-wide visibility, or PLC integration, that is where Fabrico takes over.
A work order is the simplest unit of maintenance work: something broke or needs attention, someone gets assigned to fix it, and someone confirms it is done. Most plants start tracking this on paper or a whiteboard, then move to a spreadsheet, then hit the limits of both. The free OEE Lab tracker gives you a real work order board plus the OEE context around it, all for free, in one tool you can open right now.
The free version covers raising, assigning and tracking work orders on a single line or plant, from one device. You log the shift, note the downtime cause, and open a work order straight from that entry or from the asset register. It is built to be fast enough that operators and technicians actually use it, not a heavyweight system that needs a rollout plan.
If you want to see how work orders compare to a full CMMS, or whether your plant needs one yet, read how to choose OEE and CMMS software and our free CMMS overview.
What you get, free
Work order board
Raise a work order from a downtime entry or from scratch, move it through open, in progress and done, all on one board you can see at a glance.
Assign to people
Add the people on your line as local users and assign each work order to a name, so everyone knows who owns what.
Linked to the asset register
Attach a work order to a specific machine or asset so history builds up per asset over time, not just in a general list.
Preventive maintenance schedule
Set recurring PM tasks alongside your reactive work orders, so planned and unplanned work sit in the same place.
Downtime Pareto feeds the queue
Log a shift, see which downtime reasons are costing you the most OEE, and turn the worst offenders straight into work orders.
Export and share
Export your work order history as CSV or JSON any time, and share a scorecard view with your team without setting up logins for everyone.
Log one shift and the free tracker shows your OEE, your loss Pareto and how you compare to world-class. Add work orders and preventive-maintenance reminders in the same place.
Where free stops, and Fabrico begins
The free tracker is built for getting started fast and for one plant on one device. When a site gets serious about its losses, the manual steps start to cost more than they save. This is exactly where Fabrico takes over.
| Capability | Free OEE Lab tracker | Fabrico |
|---|---|---|
| Data capture | Log each shift by hand in about 2 minutes, data stays in your browser. | Reads OEE automatically off your PLCs, no manual entry. |
| Loss-to-fix loop | You spot the loss, then raise the work order yourself on the board. | A detected loss becomes an auto-routed work order, assigned automatically. |
| Micro-stop cause | You investigate sub-5-minute stops yourself and note the reason. | Computer vision identifies the true cause of each micro-stop, with video evidence. |
| Scope and multi-site | One plant on one device and browser, best for a single line or shift. | Plant-wide and multi-site from one central cloud view. |
| Integrations | Standalone, run it on its own, export data when you need it elsewhere. | Integrates with PLCs, MES, and ERP so OEE flows with your stack. |
| Access and roles | Local device sign-in with people and roles on that one device. | Org SSO with roles across the plant and a full audit trail. |
| Data residency | Your data lives in your own browser storage on your device. | EU-built with EU data residency, outside the reach of the US CLOUD Act. |
| Reporting | Instant OEE, a downtime Pareto, and CSV/JSON export you run yourself. | Live plant-wide dashboards plus scheduled reports delivered automatically. |
Frequently asked questions
Is this free work order software really free, no trial and no card?
Yes. Open the tracker, start logging shifts and raising work orders, no account and no payment details needed. Your data stays in your browser on your device.
Can I assign work orders to different technicians?
Yes. Add the people on your line as local users on the device, then assign each work order to a name. Everyone signed in on that device sees who owns what.
Does it track preventive maintenance too, or just reactive work orders?
Both. You can set a recurring preventive maintenance schedule alongside your reactive work order board, so planned and unplanned work live in one place.
What happens if I need more than one plant or one device?
The free tool is built for one plant on one device and browser. If you need plant-wide or multi-site work orders with a central view, that is a good time to look at Fabrico.
How is this different from a spreadsheet or whiteboard?
It is still free and just as fast to start, but it gives you a real board with statuses, an asset register, a preventive maintenance schedule, and OEE numbers calculated automatically, instead of you building and maintaining all of that by hand.
Can work orders connect automatically to what caused the downtime?
In the free tool, you note the cause yourself when you log the shift or raise the work order. Fabrico closes that loop with computer vision that identifies the true cause of micro-stops and auto-routes the work order for you.
When free is not enough, Fabrico is the upgrade
The free tracker gets a work order onto a board and assigned to a name, which is already a big step up from a whiteboard or a group chat. But someone still has to spot the loss, decide it needs a work order, and raise it. Fabrico closes that loop: it reads OEE straight off your PLCs, uses computer vision to identify the true cause of micro-stops with video evidence, and auto-routes the work order to the right person the moment a loss is detected, plant-wide and across sites. When you are ready to stop raising work orders by hand, book a Fabrico demo.
Book a Fabrico demoMore free software: All free software · Free asset management software for manufacturing · Free CMMS software: work orders, PM schedule, and an asset register you can start using now
Open the free OEE tracker · Free CMMS overview · Free maintenance management software · How to choose OEE and CMMS software · Maintenance KPIs and metrics · The real cost of downtime