Most work order templates you find online are generic repair-order forms with a box for “description of work.” They do not survive contact with a motor shop. A rewind job needs nameplate data captured before the plate is cleaned off, incoming megohm and winding-resistance readings recorded as numbers rather than a checkmark, and an authorization structure that admits you cannot quote the repair until you have stripped the core.
The template below is organized the way the job actually moves: intake, nameplate, incoming tests, authorization, work performed, parts, final test, release. Use the field tables to understand what belongs in each box, then copy the plain-text version and make it yours. If you also need the billing side, there is a matching repair shop invoice template.
The template, field by field
1. Header | who, what, when
This block is what everyone quotes back at you on the phone. Keep the job number the same across the quote, the work order, and the invoice.
| Field | What goes in it | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Job / WO number | One number that follows this motor from intake to invoice. Do not issue a separate quote number and WO number. | Yes |
| Date received | The day the motor physically arrived, not the day paperwork was opened. Lead-time promises are measured from here. | Yes |
| Customer | Company, site, and the person who can approve money, not just the driver who dropped it off. | Yes |
| Customer PO number | Many plants will not pay an invoice without it. Capture it at intake or you will chase it at billing. | Yes |
| Promised / target date | The date you told the customer. Keep it visible on the floor copy so it drives sequencing. | Yes |
| Priority | Standard, rush, or emergency/breakdown. Drives overtime and outside-service decisions. | Optional |
2. Motor nameplate data
Copy this off the plate at intake, before anything is cleaned or the plate goes missing. Half of all rewind disputes trace back to a nameplate nobody recorded.
| Field | What goes in it | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer & model | Exactly as stamped. Note if the plate is illegible or absent. | Yes |
| Serial number | Your proof that the motor you shipped is the motor you received. | Yes |
| HP / kW | Rated output. Drives coil data, test values, and price band. | Yes |
| Volts / amps / phase / Hz | Full electrical rating. Note dual-voltage and connection type. | Yes |
| RPM & poles | Synchronous speed and pole count for winding data. | Yes |
| Frame size & mounting | NEMA/IEC frame, foot or flange, shaft dimensions. | Yes |
| Enclosure | TEFC, ODP, TENV, explosion-proof. Explosion-proof changes what repairs are legal. | Yes |
| Insulation class & service factor | Determines materials and acceptable temperature rise. | Optional |
| Bearing numbers (DE / ODE) | Drive-end and opposite-drive-end. Record even if you are not replacing them. | Yes |
| Accessories | Encoder, brake, blower, RTDs, thermistors, space heaters, anything that comes back on the motor. | Optional |
3. Incoming inspection & test readings
These readings are your evidence. Take them before teardown, record the actual numbers, and note the instrument and ambient conditions.
| Field | What goes in it | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Reported fault | What the customer says happened, in their words. Quote it. | Yes |
| Visual condition | Contamination, burn marks, impact damage, water, shaft condition, missing parts. | Yes |
| Insulation resistance (megohm) | Value, test voltage, duration, and ambient temperature. "Passed" is not a reading. | Yes |
| Winding resistance per phase | All three phases, so imbalance is visible on the record. | Yes |
| Surge / hipot result | If performed. Note the test voltage used. | Optional |
| Mechanical checks | Shaft runout, bearing fits, endplay, rotor condition. | Optional |
| Photos taken | Reference the photo IDs. Photos at intake end most "it wasn't like that" arguments. | Optional |
4. Authorized scope & approval
Two separate approvals. Inspection first, repair second, because the repair cannot be priced until the core is open.
| Field | What goes in it | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Teardown & inspect authorized | Dollar limit and who approved it, with date. This is the only work permitted before the repair quote. | Yes |
| Repair scope quoted | The line items you priced: rewind, bearings, machining, balance, paint, testing. | Yes |
| Not-to-exceed amount | The ceiling. Work beyond it needs a fresh approval line, not a phone call nobody wrote down. | Yes |
| Approved by / date / method | Name, date, and how, email, PO, verbal. Verbal approvals need a second initial. | Yes |
| Scrap / return decision | If the motor is uneconomical, what the customer wants done with the core. | Optional |
5. Work performed
Filled in on the floor as the job moves, not reconstructed at the end of the week.
| Field | What goes in it | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Operation | Strip, burnout, rewind, VPI/dip-and-bake, machining, bearing fit, balance, assembly, paint. | Yes |
| Technician | Who did it. Needed for both quality trace and labor costing. | Yes |
| Date & hours | Hours by operation, not one lump at the end. This is where your real job cost lives. | Yes |
| Coil / winding data | Turns, wire size, connection, slot count, pitch. Record it, the next rewind of this motor depends on it. | Optional |
| Outside services | Vendor, what they did, their cost, and their return date. Outside work is the top cause of blown lead times. | Optional |
6. Parts & materials
| Field | What goes in it | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Part number & description | Bearings, seals, wire, insulation, varnish, hardware. | Yes |
| Quantity | Issued to this job, so stock deducts correctly. | Yes |
| Unit cost & extended | Your cost. Selling price belongs on the invoice, not on the floor copy. | Optional |
| Source | Shelf stock or purchased for this job, with the PO number if purchased. | Optional |
7. Final test & release
The customer is paying for a tested motor. Give them the numbers, not a checkmark.
| Field | What goes in it | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Final insulation resistance | Post-repair megohm value with test voltage and temperature. | Yes |
| No-load run test | Amps per phase, voltage, run time, vibration, bearing temperatures. | Yes |
| Balance result | If the rotor was balanced, the achieved grade or residual value. | Optional |
| Warranty terms | Duration and what it covers. Put it on the paperwork, not just in a folder. | Yes |
| QA sign-off | Who released the motor for shipment. | Yes |
| Customer sign-off | Signature on pickup or delivery note reference. | Yes |
Plain-text version
Paste this into Word, Google Docs, or a spreadsheet and print it. Nothing to download, no sign-up.
ELECTRIC MOTOR REPAIR, WORK ORDER Job / WO No: ______________ Date received: ____________ Customer: _________________________________________________ Site / contact: ___________________________________________ Customer PO: ______________ Promised date: ____________ Priority: [ ] Standard [ ] Rush [ ] Emergency --- MOTOR NAMEPLATE ---------------------------------------- Manufacturer: _____________ Model: ____________________ Serial: ___________________ HP / kW: __________________ Volts: ____________ Amps: ____________ Phase: ____ Hz: ___ RPM: ______ Poles: ______ Frame: ______ Mount: __________ Enclosure: ________ Ins. class: ______ Service factor: ____ Bearing DE: _______________ Bearing ODE: _______________ Accessories: ______________________________________________ --- INCOMING INSPECTION ------------------------------------ Reported fault: ___________________________________________ Visual condition: _________________________________________ Insulation resistance: ________ Mohm @ ______ V, ______ degC Winding resistance: U ________ V ________ W ________ ohm Surge / hipot: ____________________________________________ Mechanical (runout / endplay / fits): _____________________ Photos taken: [ ] Yes IDs: _____________________________ --- AUTHORIZATION ------------------------------------------ Teardown & inspect authorized to $____________ Approved by: ______________ Date: ______ Method: ________ Repair scope quoted: ______________________________________ NOT TO EXCEED: $____________ Approved by: ______________ Date: ______ Method: ________ If uneconomical: [ ] Scrap [ ] Return core [ ] Hold --- WORK PERFORMED ----------------------------------------- Operation Technician Date Hours __________________ ____________ ________ ______ __________________ ____________ ________ ______ __________________ ____________ ________ ______ Coil data (turns / wire / connection / pitch): ____________ Outside service: Vendor __________ Cost $______ Due ____ --- PARTS & MATERIALS -------------------------------------- Part no. Description Qty Cost Source ____________ _______________ ____ _____ _______ ____________ _______________ ____ _____ _______ --- FINAL TEST & RELEASE ----------------------------------- Final insulation resistance: ______ Mohm @ ______ V No-load run: U ______ V ______ W ______ A Time: ________ Vibration: __________ Bearing temp: __________ Balance grade achieved: __________ Warranty: ______ months, covering __________________________ QA released by: ______________________ Date: _____________ Customer sign-off: ___________________ Date: _____________
The three fields shops leave blank, and what it costs them
Serial number. Skipped constantly, because at intake the motor is filthy and the plate is hard to read. It is also the only thing that proves the frame you shipped back is the frame that arrived. Shops that record it stop having annual arguments with large plants about swapped cores.
Incoming insulation resistance, as a number.Writing “failed” or “low” tells you nothing six months later when the customer claims the motor was fine when they sent it. A recorded 0.4 Mohm at 500 V and 22 °C is evidence. It also gives you a before-and-after pair to hand back with the invoice, which is the cheapest trust-builder in the business.
Not-to-exceed amount with an approver name.Verbal “yeah, go ahead” is where margin dies. When a job runs long and the plant refuses the overage, the only thing that settles it is a dollar ceiling with a name and a date next to it.
Where a paper template stops working
A printed template is genuinely the right tool for a two-bench shop. It stops working at the point where the same data is being written three times: once on the quote, again on the work order, and a third time on the invoice. That is where transcription errors enter, and it is why the parts on the shelf never quite match the parts on the job.
The fix is not a better form. It is generating the work order from the approved quote so nameplate data and line items carry through, and having the floor update status against the same job number the office is looking at. That is what work order software for motor repair shops does, and the wider shop management system covers quoting, inventory, and billing on the same job record. Keep using the template until the retyping is the bottleneck, that is the honest signal to switch.
Frequently asked questions
- What should a motor repair work order include?
- At minimum: job number, customer and PO, full motor nameplate data, incoming test readings, the authorized scope with a dollar limit, parts and materials used, labor hours by technician, final test results, and a customer sign-off line. The nameplate block and the incoming readings are what separate a motor repair work order from a generic repair order, without them you cannot prove what condition the motor arrived in.
- What is the difference between a work order and a job card?
- A work order authorizes the work and carries the commercial terms, scope, approval limit, customer PO. A job card travels with the motor through the shop and records what each department actually did. Small shops often combine them into one printed sheet; larger shops keep the work order at the counter and the job card on the bench.
- Do I need a signed work order before starting a rewind?
- You want written authorization with a dollar limit before any teardown that cannot be reversed. Disassembly and inspection are usually quoted as a separate, smaller authorization, because you cannot price the rewind until the core is stripped and tested. The template below splits those into two approval lines for that reason.
- Is this work order template free?
- Yes. Copy the plain-text version and use it however you like, there is no download gate and no sign-up. If retyping it onto paper for every job becomes the bottleneck, that is the point at which shops move to work order software instead.