A service order (OS) is a formal document issued within a company in which all the information referring to a service provided by it is described.
When a company plans to perform a service (whether by a customer's request, by virtue of a contract or any other cause), a service order is formulated that must contain all the information necessary to carry out the activity.
The service order can be related to an external service (provided to a customer) or an internal service (provided within the company itself).
How important is a work order?
Because it contains all information related to the work, the work order serves several important purposes and works as:
- internal company activity record
- internal productivity control instrument
- accounting control instrument
- form of detailed description of the service for the customer
- form of detailed description of the service for the employees responsible for carrying it out
- service delivery receipt
Work order in work safety
The service order has special importance in labor legislation. Article 157, II of the Consolidation of Labor Laws - CLT provides that:
Art. 157 - It is up to the companies:
I - […]
II - instruct employees, through work orders, regarding the precautions to be taken in order to avoid work accidents or occupational diseases;
Thus, when the company forwards a work order to the employee for him to execute, the document must describe in detail all the risks involved in the activity. In addition, the company must provide all equipment and adequate safety conditions to minimize these risks.
In this context, the work order works as a guarantee that the employee is aware of the work conditions and that he/she must comply with the company's safety standards.
How to make a work order
There are no absolute rules for how a work order should be prepared. However, for the document to best fulfill its purpose, it must contain:
- work order number (because it is an extremely important document, it is recommended that it be easy to identify)
- complete qualification of the company and the employees providing the service
- full customer qualification
- detailed description about the labor of the service, as well as its value
- detailed description about the risks of the service
- document issue date
- service execution date
- company and customer signature
Keep in mind that the work order may vary depending on the nature of the activity, so not all items mentioned above are mandatory.
Work Order Example
To better visualize the subject, check out the work order template below:
Don't forget to adapt the above model to your needs.
See too:
- CLT
