How to Get Started with Workflow Automation

Key takeaways

• Workflow automation software schedules preventive maintenance automatically to reduce unplanned downtime and ensure teams never miss critical tasks.
• Rule-based logic automatically routes work requests to the correct technicians according to asset, location, or priority settings.
• Maintenance teams can set up automated alerts for low inventory levels to prevent stockouts of critical spare parts and avoid production delays.
• Start implementing automation with a small, high-impact workflow, such as a daily equipment inspection checklist, to demonstrate value and encourage team adoption before applying more broadly.

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For maintenance professionals managing complex facilities and high-value equipment, automated workflows can save significant time and costs. 

Common culprits behind inefficient maintenance operations include repetitive manual tasks and paper-based systems that limit data accuracy. Workflow automation can streamline many processes, reducing human error and freeing up the team’s time to focus on higher-value work.

Let's break down workflow automation for maintenance departments, including the fundamentals and implementation strategies. After reading, you'll understand how to identify automation opportunities, select the right software, and implement workflows that improve your team's productivity and equipment reliability.

What is workflow automation?

Every maintenance team follows processes to get work done. A workflow refers to the sequence of actions required to complete a process. 

Workflow automation is the practice of identifying, standardizing, and automating routine tasks with software designed to maximize productivity. It’s about eliminating "low-value" tasks with technology systems. Smart workflows cut down on mistakes and help teams work faster.

For maintenance managers, workflow automation is particularly effective for streamlining work order management. Work order software relieves maintenance technicians of time-consuming administrative tasks to focus on what they do best—keeping equipment running.

How workflow automation works

Workflow automation uses rule-based logic to carry out a sequence of tasks without human intervention. The process uses triggers and actions. A trigger is an event that starts the workflow, and an action is the task that the system performs automatically.

For example, in a maintenance setting, a trigger could be an asset's sensor reading exceeding a temperature threshold. This event automatically starts a series of actions:

• The system creates a work order to inspect the overheating asset.
• The platform assigns the work order to a technician with the right skills.
• The software sends a notification to the maintenance manager about the high-priority task.

This automated process replaces manual steps like filling out paper forms, making phone calls, and updating spreadsheets, allowing your team to respond to issues faster.

Benefits of workflow automation for maintenance operations

Automating your maintenance workflows provides several benefits that directly impact your team's performance and your company's bottom line.

Increased productivity

When you automate work order generation, your team can focus on higher-level work instead of paperwork. That productivity boost affects other departments, too.

Enhanced accountability

Workflow automation allows you to easily assign tasks to specific technicians and monitor their performance in real time. When everyone on the team knows who is responsible for what job, it becomes easier to hold workers accountable and ensure they complete work on time.

Improved quality control

Automated workflows give technicians clear step-by-step guidance. Team members know exactly what managers expect, which improves work quality. This is especially helpful for new hires.

Minimized human error

According to a Plant Engineering maintenance survey, operator error accounted for 11 percent of unexpected outages in facilities.

Process automation eliminates common human errors like:

• Forgetting to submit critical work requests
• Entering incorrect asset data or part numbers
• Missing scheduled preventive maintenance tasks
• Losing paper-based documentation

Increased work satisfaction

Work satisfaction plays a vital role in employee retention. Employees who feel unchallenged are likely to look for work elsewhere. That's not something you want, considering the growing skilled labor gap in maintenance.

Automating mundane administrative tasks increases job satisfaction by allowing technicians to focus on challenging and engaging projects.

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Types of workflow automation for industrial operations

Maintenance teams can automate several types of workflows. A maintenance manager at a food processing facility might automate safety inspections to ensure Food and Drug Administration (FDA) compliance, while a plant manager in manufacturing could focus on automating PM schedules for production-critical equipment like packaging machines.

Common examples include:

• Work order management: The system automates the entire lifecycle of a maintenance task, from creation and assignment to tracking and completion. 
• Preventive maintenance scheduling: The platform automatically generates preventive maintenance (PM) work orders based on a set schedule (e.g., every 30 days) or equipment usage (e.g., every 500 operating hours). This ensures teams never miss PMs.
• Inventory management: The software sets up triggers to automatically create a purchase request when the quantity of a critical spare part drops below a specified minimum. This helps prevent stockouts and production delays.
• Safety and compliance inspections: The system schedules and assigns routine safety inspections automatically. This ensures teams complete all required checks. The system then stores digital records of this for compliance audits.

Workflow automation examples in maintenance

While workflow automation applies across many departments, it offers especially powerful benefits for maintenance teams. 

1. Employee recruitment and onboarding

For maintenance teams, automated processes help filter candidates and streamline onboarding workflows.

You can use workflow automation software to assign safety training, tool check-outs, and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to new technicians automatically. This ensures every hire receives consistent preparation from day one.

2. Work requests

Maintenance teams must resolve work requests quickly, especially in manufacturing facilities. Without an automated workflow, teams can easily lose or delay requests.

Computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) software can help teams automate the entire work request process:

• Digital submission: Employees submit requests online through mobile devices
• Automatic routing: The system sends requests directly to the right approver based on priority or asset type
• Instant conversion: Approved requests automatically become assigned work orders
• Real-time tracking: Managers receive alerts and monitor progress from submission to completion

Why MaintainX is the best workflow automation software for maintenance teams

If you're working in an asset-intensive industry like manufacturing, warehousing, fleet management, or healthcare, MaintainX CMMS provides comprehensive workflow automation for your maintenance operations. 

The platform allows maintenance managers to automate their operations by:

• Creating and assigning maintenance tasks with automated routing based on technician skills and availability
• Cataloging equipment by barcodes, serial numbers, and locations for instant asset identification
• Setting minimum quantities for spare part inventory management with automated reorder notifications
• Generating advanced reporting metrics that help inform cost-effective decisions with real-time dashboards

The platform's mobile-first design makes entering data on the go and accessing SOPs and asset information seamless for field technicians. 

Visit the MaintainX Global Procedure Library for access to thousands of free templates shared by maintenance professionals and fill out the form to book a demo.