Assigning every work order to a specific individual creates bottlenecks when that person is out sick, on vacation, or buried in other work. Maintenance groups in Antero solve this by assigning work to a team or department, so any qualified member can grab and complete the work without waiting for a specific operator to become available.
Why use maintenance groups?
Small plants with 2-3 maintenance staff might assign work individually without issues. Larger plants with specialized crews (electrical, plumbing, HVAC, instrumentation) or shift-based teams (day shift, night shift, weekend crew) need more flexibility. Maintenance groups let you route electrical work to the electrical group, plumbing work to the plumbing group, and so on. Individual team members then pull work from their group’s queue based on availability and priority, which balances workload naturally and prevents one person from becoming a single point of failure.
How to create maintenance groups
Go to Database Administration > Setup Tools > Worklist Setup > Maintenance Groups. Click Add New (the plus button). Type the group name: “Electrical Team,” “Day Shift Maintenance,” “HVAC Crew,” or whatever label fits your organization. Click Save. Repeat for each group you need. Most plants create 3-10 groups based on specialization, shift, or location (e.g., “Building A Maintenance” vs “Building B Maintenance”).
Assign users to maintenance groups
After creating a maintenance group, assign users to it in the user setup screen. Each user can belong to multiple groups if they have cross-trained skills. For example, an operator might be in both “Day Shift Maintenance” and “Electrical Team” if they work day shift and have electrical certifications. When work orders get assigned to either group, that user sees them in their queue.
Assign work orders to groups
When creating or editing a work order, use the Maintenance Group dropdown to assign it. The work order appears in the work management screen for every user in that group. Any group member can open the work order, claim it, and start working. Some plants leave work unassigned to individuals until someone starts it; others have a supervisor assign specific work orders from the group queue to individuals during morning briefings.
Combine groups with individual assignments
Maintenance groups and individual user assignments aren’t mutually exclusive. You can assign a work order to the “Electrical Team” group initially, then later assign it to a specific electrician once you know who has capacity. Or you can pre-assign specialized work to an individual while keeping routine work at the group level. This hybrid approach gives supervisors flexibility to manage workflows without micromanaging every task.
Pre-assign groups on work templates
When setting up work templates for preventive maintenance, assign a maintenance group on the template itself. Every time Antero generates a work order from that template, it automatically assigns the work to the correct group. For example, all monthly HVAC inspections auto-assign to “HVAC Crew.” All quarterly electrical checks auto-assign to “Electrical Team.” This eliminates manual routing and ensures specialized work always lands with the right team.
Filter work management by group
In the work management screen, operators can filter to see only their maintenance group’s work orders. If you’re part of the “Day Shift Maintenance” group, filter to show just that group’s queue. This eliminates noise from other teams’ work and helps operators focus on tasks relevant to their skills and schedule. Supervisors managing multiple groups can view all groups at once or switch between them to monitor each team’s workload.
Balance workload across the team
Maintenance groups naturally distribute work among team members. When a group has 10 open work orders and 4 members, each member can grab 2-3 based on availability. If one member is tied up on a long job, others pick up the slack. This self-balancing system works best in cultures where operators have autonomy to choose their next task, but supervisors can still intervene and assign specific work orders when needed.
Track group performance
Antero reporting can filter by maintenance group to show which teams are completing work on time, which are falling behind, and where costs are accumulating. If the HVAC group consistently closes 95% of scheduled work on time while the electrical group is only hitting 70%, that data prompts conversations about staffing, training, or workload distribution. Group-level metrics help management make informed decisions about resource allocation.
Why this approach works
Assigning work to maintenance groups respects the reality of plant operations: specialists aren’t always available, cross-training exists, and workload fluctuates daily. By routing work to teams instead of individuals, Antero reduces micromanagement, prevents bottlenecks, and empowers operators to self-organize around priorities.
Next Steps: Set up Antero maintenance groups for your team →
