How to find repeat breakdowns in your work order data
Why repeats are hard to see
A work-order system records each job on its own. The same fault can appear under different words, on different shifts, written by different people. Counting by asset alone misses faults that move across a fleet, and counting by description misses faults that are worded differently each time.
- Descriptions are free text, so similar faults look different.
- Repeats are spread over weeks or months, so nobody sees them together.
- Sorting thousands of rows by hand is slow, so it rarely happens.
What your work-order export needs
| Field | Why it matters | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Asset or property ID | Lets you count repeats per asset and group assets by type | RTG115, P-101A, 14B Oak Road |
| Start and end date and time | Gives the downtime or time to complete for each job | 12/10/2026 06:10 to 07:05 |
| Problem description and work done | The source for classifying the cause | Engine overheating alarm, cleaned radiator |
| Work order type | Lets you keep breakdowns and corrective jobs and leave out planned work | BD, CM, PM |
| Man-hours and technician (optional) | Useful context, not needed to find repeats | 3.5 h |
Step 1: classify each work order by cause
- Agree a short list of causes that suits your industry, such as electrical, lubrication, leaks, controls or operator damage.
- Read the problem and work-done text, and place each job in one cause.
- Keep an 'unclear' category for vague descriptions, and review it later.
- Correct mistakes once and reuse the correction next time.
Step 2: count repeats at three levels
- Same asset, same cause: the classic repeat breakdown.
- A group of assets, same cause: for example several cranes or pumps of the same type failing the same way.
- Across the site, same cause: a wider pattern, such as a recurring problem with a supplier, a procedure or a season.
Step 3: rank by repeats and downtime
| Signal | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Repeats close together in time | A fix that did not work, or a cause still active. This is usually the most urgent. |
| Repeats over a longer period | A slower pattern worth a planned investigation. |
| Total downtime | How much the cause costs. Large downtime matters even with few repeats. |
| One very long event | A single failure that cost more than most. Worth a review even if it never repeats. |
How close together counts as urgent depends on the industry. Equipment with no spare, such as port cranes, needs a short window. Plant with standby equipment may look over months.
An illustrative example
| Asset | Cause | Repeats | Downtime | Priority |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pump 12 | Seal leak | 4 in one week | 216 min | High |
| Property 14B | No heating | 3 in two months | 38 hours to complete | Medium |
| Fan 3 | Sensor fault | 2 in a year | 35 min | Low |
From repeat to root cause
A repeat tells you where to look, not why it happens. Take the work-order history for the worst repeat and use it as the starting point of a root cause analysis: what changed, what the earlier fixes were, and why they did not last. After the fix, keep watching the count. If the cause stops repeating, the fix worked.
Doing this with RapidRCA
The Repeat Finder in RapidRCA reads an Excel or CSV export, sorts each work order by cause, finds repeats for one asset, a group or the whole site, and ranks them High, Medium or Low using repeats and downtime. You can start an RCA from any repeat with its work-order history filled in, and your history builds over time.
Frequently asked questions
What is a repeat breakdown?
A repeat breakdown is the same type of failure happening again on the same asset, or across a group of similar assets, after it was supposedly fixed.
How many work orders do I need to find repeats?
A few weeks of breakdown records is enough to start. Longer history helps for slower patterns, and equipment with standby units may need months of data.
Should planned maintenance be included?
Usually not. Keep breakdown and corrective work orders for repeat analysis, and look at planned maintenance separately to see whether it is preventing the failures.
Describe the failure or add a photo or file, and RapidRCA builds the 5 Whys, fishbone, actions and report, using the ROOTS method.
Start an RCA
Last updated 14 October 2026. These guides explain a method and give examples. Always follow your equipment manufacturer's manual, your site procedures and applicable regulations.