Free work order software: raise, assign and track maintenance work orders, free
Log a breakdown, assign it to a technician, add a checklist and photos, and track it to close, in a free app that runs in your browser with no account and no cost.
The short answer
- The free CMMS app at OEE Lab handles work orders end to end: raise one, assign it to one or more technicians, add a checklist, photos and comments, and move it from upcoming to completed.
- Work orders sit on a maintenance calendar next to your PM plans, and each one is linked to a machine, so repair history builds up per machine.
- Best for one plant on one shared computer or tablet: the data stays in that browser and does not sync between devices.
- When you need work orders opened from the stop, plant-wide visibility or data read from the machine, 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. If you want a paper or Excel version first, use the maintenance work order template. When you are ready for a real list with statuses and history, the free work order app is one click away.
The free app covers raising, assigning and tracking work orders for one plant. Mark a task urgent when a machine is down, count its downtime, and close it with a note. Each technician gets a work card with their own tasks for the day, so whoever picks up the tablet sees their list first. Already logging shifts in the free OEE tracker? The first time you open the app, it offers to bring that data in.
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 orders with statuses
One-off and urgent work orders that move through upcoming, in progress, on hold, for confirmation and completed, with missed and delayed work flagged.
Assign to people
Add the people on your team with a role, assign each work order to one or more of them, and give everyone a work card with their own tasks.
Checklists, photos and comments
Break a job into checklist steps, take a photo with the tablet camera, and leave a comment for the next shift on the work order itself.
Linked to each machine
Every work order belongs to a machine or asset, so its repair history and downtime build up per machine instead of in one long list.
PM plans on the same calendar
Periodic PM plans come back on their own schedule and sit on the same month or week calendar as reactive work.
Reports and export
Repair history by machine and a downtime report, with every table exported to Excel or CSV and a full backup as one file.
Open the app with a sample plant to see a month of work orders on the calendar, then clear it and add your own machines and people.
Where free stops, and Fabrico begins
The free app is built for getting started fast, for one plant on one shared device. When a site gets serious about its losses, the manual steps start to cost more than they save. This is where Fabrico takes over.
| Capability | Free OEE Lab app | Fabrico |
|---|---|---|
| Data capture | Enter work orders, shifts and stops by hand; the data stays in your browser. | Tracks OEE and downtime live from PLCs, IoT sensors or AI cameras. |
| From loss to fix | You spot the loss, then raise the work order yourself. | A technician opens the work order from the stop, in the same system. |
| Short stop causes | You investigate short stops yourself and note the reason. | Where cameras are fitted, the video of a stop sits next to its machine data, with AI-suggested likely causes the team validates. |
| Scope | One plant in one browser on one device; no sync between devices. | Plant-wide and across sites, for the whole team on their own devices. |
| People and roles | People and roles on that one device. | Role-based access across the plant, with an audit log of changes. |
| Hosting and certificates | Nothing leaves your browser unless you export it. | Data hosted in the AWS EU region; ISO 27001, ISO 9001 and ISO/IEC 20000-1 certified. |
Frequently asked questions
Is this free work order software really free, no trial and no card?
It is free today, with no trial clock, no account and no payment details. Your data stays in this browser on the device you use, and you can export all of it any time as Excel, CSV or a JSON backup.
Can I assign work orders to different technicians?
Yes. Add the people on your team with a role, then assign each work order to one or more of them. Each person gets a work card with their own tasks for the day, on the device the team shares.
Does it track preventive maintenance too, or just reactive work orders?
Both. Set periodic PM plans that come back on their own schedule, and they sit on the same calendar as one-off and urgent work orders, so planned and unplanned work live in one place.
What happens if I need more than one plant or one device?
The free app is built for one plant in one browser on one device, and it does not sync between devices. If you need plant-wide or multi-site work orders that everyone sees on their own phone, 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 statuses, due dates, a calendar, checklists, photos and a repair history per machine, instead of you building and maintaining all of that by hand.
Can work orders connect automatically to what caused the downtime?
In the free app, you note the cause yourself when you raise or close the work order, and you can count its downtime. In Fabrico, a technician opens the work order from the stop, and where cameras are fitted, the video of that stop sits next to its machine data with AI-suggested likely causes the team validates.
When free is not enough, Fabrico is the upgrade
The free app gets a work order onto a calendar 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. In Fabrico, OEE and downtime are tracked live from PLCs, IoT sensors or AI cameras; where cameras are fitted, the video of a stop sits next to its machine data, and a technician opens the work order from the stop, 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 · How to Implement a Free CMMS Without a Rollout Project · When to Upgrade From a Free CMMS · Do I need a CMMS? An honest self-assessment for your maintenance team · Free asset management software for manufacturing
Open the free work order app · 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