Managing Investigation from a Work Order
As a Remote Service Engineer (RSE), you can manage investigations to document, track, and resolve issues identified during a Work Order (WO). Using the Investigation widget, you can capture Observations, identify Root Causes, and record Solutions directly within the Work Order. This helps maintain a complete troubleshooting history, streamline issue resolution, and promote knowledge sharing across the service team.
When servicing complex equipment, multiple issues may arise across different Work Orders. The Investigation feature ensures that all findings, diagnoses, and corrective actions are consistently recorded and linked to the relevant Installed Product.
This enables RSEs to:
• Avoid repeating diagnostic steps on recurring problems.
• Reference past solutions that resolved similar issues.
• Provide a complete audit trail for service performance and product reliability.
Managing investigations from a Work Order enables you to:
• Maintain visibility into all troubleshooting activities: Investigations provide a centralized record of all actions performed during service resolution—from initial observations and diagnostic steps to identified root causes and applied solutions. This visibility ensures that every action taken by an RSE is documented, traceable, and accessible for review by other team members or administrators. It helps prevent duplicate efforts, supports quality audits, and enables data-driven insights into recurring product or service issues.
• Link investigation data to product and service history: Investigations ensure that Observations, Root Causes, and Solutions recorded during a Work Order are associated with the relevant Installed Product and become part of its service history. This linkage provides a complete view of the product’s performance and supports faster troubleshooting and long-term analysis.
• Ensure investigation continuity across related transactions: ServiceMax allows Investigations started in a Case or Service Request to be continued in a subsequent Work Order. All collected information is preserved and carried forward, ensuring no loss of data and maintaining a seamless troubleshooting record across connected service transactions.
To manage investigation from a work order:
1. Locate the Work Order by searching in the sidebar or from a list view in the Work Orders tab and then click the Work Order number in which you want to manage investigation.
The selected Work Order is displayed.
2. Select the Investigations tab.
The tab displays sections for Observations, Root Causes, and Solutions associated with the Work Order.
You can add, edit, or remove dictionary items such as Observations, Root Causes, or Solutions as needed.
3. Review the updated investigation details.
The system automatically saves your changes, and the investigation becomes part of the Work Order’s record and service history.
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