What a shift handover should cover
- Safety: incidents, near misses, hazards, permits in force, isolations.
- Status: where production is against plan, what is running, what is down.
- Equipment: faults, workarounds in use, maintenance in progress or due.
- Quality: holds, deviations, checks due.
- People: staffing, skills cover, anyone new or training.
- Open actions and escalations: what was raised, who owns it, what the next shift should do.
- Priorities for the incoming shift.
How to run a good handover
- Use a standard checklist in the same order every time, so nothing depends on memory.
- Write it down at the time, not from recollection at the end.
- Overlap briefly so the two shift leaders can talk through the exceptions in person.
- Walk the line together where possible for anything unusual.
- Keep the record so patterns across shifts are visible and the Tier 1 huddle can start from it.
Shift handover and the tier meeting
The handover feeds the next shift's Tier 1 huddle: open actions, problems and priorities carried over are the start of the agenda. A handover held on the same board as the huddle removes the re-keying and the gap between the two.
Shift handover template
| Section | Outgoing shift notes | Incoming shift confirms |
|---|---|---|
| Safety | ||
| Production status vs plan | ||
| Equipment faults and workarounds | ||
| Quality holds and checks due | ||
| Staffing and skills cover | ||
| Open actions and escalations (owner, due) | ||
| Priorities and things to watch |
Common failures
- Verbal handovers that leave with the person.
- Notes in a book that the next shift does not read.
- Handovers that cover output but not problems.
- No record, so the same fault surprises every shift.