Schedule Dates

Schedule Dates are used to define when maintenance work will be carried out. They apply to both Work Orders and Events, and control how work is planned, grouped, and displayed within Samurai CMMS.

Scheduling helps teams plan resources, coordinate downtime, and clearly see what work is planned, outstanding, or complete.

What Schedule Dates are

Schedule Dates represent the planned execution window for maintenance work.

Depending on the Asset type, Schedule Dates are applied in different ways:

  • Standard and Basic Assets use Scheduled Start and Scheduled End dates directly on the Work Order
  • Advanced Assets are scheduled by adding Work Orders to an Event, which defines the schedule and downtime window

Schedule Dates do not indicate when work was completed. They indicate when the work is intended to occur.

How scheduling works in Samurai CMMS

Samurai CMMS uses scheduling to organise Work Orders into clear planning states.

In Work Management → Work Orders in Panel view, Work Orders are grouped into:

  • Scheduled
  • Unscheduled
  • Complete

This grouping provides an immediate view of maintenance status.

Category Description
Scheduled Work Orders that have been planned. For Standard and Basic Assets, this means Scheduled Start and End dates are set. For Advanced Assets, the Work Order has been added to an Event, which defines the maintenance window.
Unscheduled Work Orders that are not yet planned. For Standard and Basic Assets, no schedule dates are set. For Advanced Assets, the Work Order is not linked to an Event.
Complete Work Orders that have been finished and marked with the status Complete. These are historical records.

In Table view, the Scheduled At column shows when work is planned to occur.

Schedule Date fields

The following fields are used when scheduling Work Orders and Events.

Field name Required Description
Scheduled Start Yes Planned start date and time for the work. Determines when the Work Order is considered scheduled.
Scheduled End Yes Planned end date and time for the work. Used to indicate expected duration.
Event Conditional Required for Advanced Assets. The Event defines the schedule and downtime window for one or more Work Orders.

For Advanced Assets, Scheduled Start and End are defined on both the Work Order for the individual task, and the Event for the entire downtime window.

Scheduling Standard and Basic Assets

Standard and Basic Assets are scheduled directly on the Work Order.

To schedule a Work Order:

  1. Open Work Management → Work Orders
  2. Switch to Panel view
  3. Select an Unscheduled Work Order or create a new one
  4. Go to the General tab
  5. Enter the Scheduled Start and Scheduled End dates
  6. Save the Work Order

Once saved, the Work Order moves from Unscheduled to Scheduled.

Scheduling Advanced Assets using Events

Advanced Assets use Events to manage scheduling and downtime.

An Event represents a planned maintenance window during which the Asset is unavailable for operation. Multiple Work Orders can be grouped into the same Event.

To schedule a Work Order for an Advanced Asset:

  1. Open Work Management → Work Orders in Panel view
  2. Select an Unscheduled Work Order
  3. Click Add to Event
  4. Choose an existing Event, or select Add to New Event
  5. Confirm the Event Scheduled Start and Scheduled End times
  6. Save the changes

The Work Order is now scheduled as part of the Event.

How Events are used

Events provide additional control and visibility for Advanced Assets.

This allows:

  • Multiple Work Orders to share the same downtime window
  • Clear coordination between maintenance and operations
  • Tracking of downtime duration
  • Use of Delay Codes to record reasons for downtime changes

Events define when the Asset is offline, not just when work starts.

Pre-requisites

Before scheduling Work Orders:

  • The Asset must be correctly configured as Basic, Standard, or Advanced
  • Users must have permission to schedule Work Orders
  • Events must exist or be created for Advanced Assets

Example of Schedule Dates in use

A Standard Asset requires planned maintenance.

The planner:

  • Sets Scheduled Start to Monday 08:00
  • Sets Scheduled End to Monday 12:00

The Work Order appears under Scheduled and is visible in planning views.

For an Advanced Asset:

  • An Event is created from Tuesday 06:00 to Tuesday 18:00
  • Three Work Orders are added to the Event
  • All work is completed during a single downtime window

Important considerations and best practices

  • Schedule Work Orders as early as possible to support planning
  • Use Events for Advanced Assets to avoid repeated downtime
  • Keep Scheduled End dates realistic to support resource planning
  • Unscheduled Work Orders represent outstanding work and should be reviewed regularly
  • Changing Schedule Dates does not change Task due dates or history
  • Completed Work Orders remain visible under Complete for audit and reporting

Schedule Dates provide a clear and structured way to plan maintenance work, manage downtime, and ensure maintenance activities are carried out at the right time.