Pro Tip: Follow-up Work Orders from Dispatches Created from Work Orders

Have you ever gotten the following error messages when trying to plan a follow-up work order?  

When creating a follow up work order request from a dispatch that was launched from a work order, the system will link the original work order as the parent to the new follow up work order.  If the parent work order is closed (i.e. its dispatch is closed), you will not be able to create launch, schedule, or due dates that will occur after the date the parent work order was closed.   There are couple of ways you can accomplish the planning of these specific follow-up work orders:

(1) You can create the follow-up work order as you do now, but ask your resources to Complete but not Close the dispatch.  This will allow you as the planner to provide launch, schedule, due dates for the follow-up work order without getting any errors because the dispatch has not been closed.  When you complete not close the dispatch, it will stop the clock on all downtime measures as if the work is done for reporting purposes. (See Completed vs. Closed support article). The original dispatch with the parent work order link can then be closed.  This will maintain linkage from dispatch to follow-up work order, however, should you have to make any modifications to the follow-up work order, status change, launch/schedule/due date changes, you will receive the error messages above. This can be remedied by clicking on the parent work order, re-open the dispatch from the parent work order, uncheck close and save the dispatch.  This will allow you to modify the follow-up work order’s dates again, or

(2) Rather than create a follow-up work request in this specific situation, just create a stand alone work order by Add New Work Order.  This will not provide the linkage to that specific dispatch, but you will not have all of the above steps to consider.