Add Labour

This feature allows you to record labour used to complete maintenance work. Adding Labour to Work Orders ensures time, cost, and resource effort are accurately captured in Samurai CMMS.

Labour entries form part of the Work Order history and are included in cost and performance reporting.

How Labour on Work Orders works

Labour is added as line items on a Work Order. Each line item represents a specific Trade and the time planned and spent performing work.

This means:

  • Labour effort is recorded against the Work Order
  • Labour costs are calculated at the line item level
  • Costs can be allocated to Cost Centres and Expense Codes
  • Reporting reflects actual time and labour cost

Labour can be added to Task or user generated Work Orders.

Common uses for Work Order Labour

Labour on Work Orders is commonly used to:

  • Allocate and plan for required manning resources
  • Record time spent by different Trades
  • Track labour cost by Asset, Task, or Work Order
  • Support cost allocation and reporting
  • Analyse maintenance effort and productivity

Labour line item fields

The following fields are shown when adding Labour to a Work Order. Field names match the Samurai CMMS user interface.

Field name Required Description
Trade Yes Trade performing the work. Selected from the Trades reference table.
Quantity Yes Number of people from the selected Trade.
Hours Yes Number of hours worked per person.
Cost Centre No Cost Centre applied to this labour line. Inherited or manually overridden.
Expense Code No Expense Code used for cost classification. Defaults from application settings.
Cost per Hour No Hourly labour rate. Automatically populated from the Trade if configured.
Total Cost Yes Calculated automatically based on Quantity, Hours, and Cost per Hour.
Actions No Edit and Delete buttons.

Some fields are automatically populated based on system configuration and selected values.

Pre-requisites

Before adding Labour to a Work Order:

  • Trades must be configured in Reference Tables → Work Order Tables → Trades
  • Trades may have a default Cost per Hour configured
  • Users must have permission to add or edit Labour on Work Orders
  • Expense Codes and Cost Centres should be configured if required

Adding Labour to a Work Order

Labour is added directly from within a Work Order. To add Labour:

  1. Open the Work Order
  2. Navigate to the Labour section
  3. Select + Add Labour
  4. Select the Trade
  5. Enter the Quantity (number of people) and Hours worked per person
  6. Review or update Cost per Hour if required
  7. Review or update Cost Centre and Expense Code if required
  8. Click Save

Cost and allocation behaviour

Labour costs are calculated at the line item level.

This means:

  • Total Cost is calculated automatically
  • Each labour line can have its own Expense Code and Cost Centre
  • Default Cost Centres follow inheritance rules
  • Selecting an Expense Code may override the inherited Cost Centre
  • Manual overrides apply only to the selected labour line

This ensures accurate cost allocation across Work Orders.

Example of Labour in use

A maintenance task requires two fitters for three hours. The labour entry is recorded as:

  • Trade: Mechanical Fitter
  • Quantity: 2
  • Hours: 3
  • Cost per Hour: Default from Trade
  • Expense Code: Mechanical Labour
  • Cost Centre: Workshop Maintenance

The total labour cost is calculated automatically and included in reporting.

Important considerations and best practices

  • Hours are for labour hours per person, which can be different to the job Duration specified on the General tab of the Work Order
  • Ensure Trades are set up correctly before use
  • Use consistent Trade definitions for clean reporting
  • Review hours and quantities before saving
  • Avoid editing labour costs on completed Work Orders unless correcting errors
  • Use Expense Codes and Cost Centres consistently
  • Labour entries are part of the Work Order history and support audits

This approach ensures labour effort and cost are accurately captured and reported within Samurai CMMS.