Biomed story songComputerized maintenance management systems (work orders)
The CMMS Won't Let Me Close It
Closing a work order, required field by required field: failure code, labor hours, part number, test equipment.
A biomed story song from our shop-floor series. Diagrams are simplified to tell the story; this is not a service procedure, so always follow the manufacturer's instructions and your facility's policy.
The story behind it: Computerized maintenance management systems (work orders)
Hospitals track the service history of their medical equipment in a computerized maintenance management system, usually called a CMMS. Every repair or inspection is a work order, and the system often refuses to close one until the required fields are filled in.
Those fields are what make the record useful later: a failure code shows patterns across devices, labor hours show the true cost of upkeep, part numbers allow recalls to be traced, and the test equipment used shows that the check was made with calibrated tools.
Reviewed November 1, 2026. General information, not a service procedure: follow the manufacturer's instructions and your facility's policy.
Put the steps in order
Tap step 1 of 4.