New online work request launches September 16

September 14, 2022

Campus partners using the electronic Work Order Request (eWORq) system linked from Facilities Management's website will notice a difference in the interface on September 16, 2022. Facilities Management is retiring the eWORq system, which uses technology that is no longer being supported. A relatively seamless migration to Jira ticket drive Work Requests (FMWR) will commence this Friday.

Much of the functionality of the new form remains the same, however, users may notice a few differences.

What stays the same?

  • Web-based platform available on the FM website that the campus community can use to submit work requests to Facilities Management
  • The user-friendly form for collecting required information will have the same fields; as well as a description field to allow for specific details to be provided
  • Clients will continue to receive a confirmation of their request via email which will include a work order number and the title of the request
  • Details of the request will be sent to Client Services who will create the Work Order in our internal maintenance system

What is changing?

  • Requesters will need to authenticate by logging into Jira using Western credentials
    • Those without Western credentials can submit requests to fmhelp@uwo.ca
  • The automatic email receipt following work requests will no longer contain details of the request
    • Automatic email receipts will include work order number and a short description
  • The URL/web location of the work request platform is changing
  • Work orders submitted via this platform will have the prefix “FMWR”
    • “E” work orders will no longer be created

Why is this being done?

The eWORq system was launched over a decade ago to allow FM clients a user-friendly method of submitting work requests to Facilities Management. Submissions through this method provided clients with an automated work order number that could be used to track work order progress.

Amazingly, eWORq handled nearly 50,000 requests during its deployment. The eWORq platform and the email server that it relies on will soon be end-of-life and are no longer supported. To ensure service continuity, Jira Service Desk has been chosen and configured to deliver the same features as our previous work request system; while also being fully supported, a familiar interface for current Jira users, and with an additional layer of security provided by a Western ID authentication.