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Shift handover template

A shift handover is the outgoing lead passing the state of the line to the incoming lead: what happened, what is still open and what the next shift has to act on. The outgoing lead fills in the sheet in the last hour, then the two go through it face to face at the line, which is what the UK Health and Safety Executive's guidance asks for: prepared in advance, two-way, spoken and written, with enough time. The sheet puts safety first, then production against plan, quality holds, downtime events, materials and people, and the open actions with an owner and a time. Excel, Word and PDF, with a filled-in example in the Excel and PDF files.

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Page 1 of the shift handover templateFields for line, date, shift change time, outgoing shift and both leads, boxes for safety and for materials and people, a production against plan table, tables for quality holds, downtime events and open actions, and signature lines.
Safety firstProduction against planQuality holdsDowntime events checkMaterials and peopleOpen actions with ownersHandover logOpen actions carry-overWorked example
Filled-in Shift handover template: night shift to day shift on packaging line 3
The same sheet filled in with the worked example (page 2 of the PDF, illustrative numbers). Open full size (opens the picture in a new tab)

When to use it

When to use a shift handover template

  • At every shift change on a line or in an area that runs more than one shift.
  • When problems keep reaching the next shift as surprises: a hold nobody mentioned, a machine left running with a known fault.
  • When lockouts, permits or maintenance work stay open across a shift change, which is where handovers matter most for safety.
  • When a new lead starts, so the handover follows the same order whoever gives it.
  • Before the start-of-shift huddle, so the open actions go straight onto the tier board.

How to fill it in

  1. 1

    Fill it in during the last hour

    The outgoing lead writes it from the boards and logs while there is time, not from memory in the last two minutes.
  2. 2

    Start with safety

    Near misses and injuries with their report number, lockouts and permits still in place, hazards not yet fixed. Tick nothing to hand over only when there is nothing.
  3. 3

    Give the numbers against plan

    Good output, scrap, rework, downtime and changeovers, each with the plan and the main reason for any difference, then what is running now and when the next changeover is due.
  4. 4

    List the holds and the downtime events

    Each hold with its tag number, quantity and where it is. Each stop with its time, machine, minutes and how the machine was left. The event minutes should add up to the downtime in the production table; the Excel checks it.
  5. 5

    Write the open actions

    Everything the next shift has to act on, what has been done so far, the next step, an owner and a time. Add each one to the open actions list so it is followed until it is closed.
  6. 6

    Hand over at the line, both ways

    Walk anything unusual together. The incoming lead reads back the open actions and asks until they could explain the line's state themselves, then both sign and note the time.
  7. 7

    Look at the log every week

    Attainment, scrap, downtime and handover length by shift. An action raised again and again belongs in problem solving, not in every handover.

What is inside the files

Every page of the PDF and every tab of the Excel file

The shift handover template files are free after a short form. This is what you get: the blank pages, then the same pages filled in with a made-up example.

  1. Page 1 of 3 of the shift handover template PDF: The handover sheet, safety first
    PDF page 1 of 3The handover sheet, safety first
  2. Page 2 of 3 of the shift handover template PDF: Worked example: night shift to day shift
    PDF page 2 of 3Worked example: night shift to day shift
  3. Page 3 of 3 of the shift handover template PDF: How to run a handover and the open actions list
    PDF page 3 of 3How to run a handover and the open actions list

The tabs of the Excel file

  • HandoverThe sheet the outgoing lead fills in during the last hour: safety first, then production against plan, holds, downtime, people and open actions.
  • Handover logOne row per shift, so you can see attainment, scrap, downtime, safety events and handover length over time.
  • Open actionsEvery action handed over until it is done. Late, carried too long and repeat issues are flagged.
  • Example handover, log and open actionsNight shift to day shift on a made-up packaging line, the last eight shifts and two weeks of actions.

The blank handover is also included as an editable Word (.docx) file, for sites that keep handovers in Word.

The sections

What goes in each section, and why

Safety comes first because open lockouts, permits and hazards are the information whose loss does the most harm. HSE cites a handover failure as a contributor to the Piper Alpha disaster in 1988.

  • 1. Safety

    What to hand over
    Near misses and injuries (report no.), lockouts and permits still in place, hazards left
    The Excel works out
    Whether the section is filled in or marked nothing to hand over
  • 2. Production

    What to hand over
    Plan and actual for good output, scrap, rework, downtime and changeovers, with the reason; running now and next
    The Excel works out
    Difference, % of plan, scrap rate
  • 3. Quality

    What to hand over
    Holds and suspect product: tag, product or lot, quantity, reason, where it is
    The Excel works out
    Number of holds and units on hold
  • 4. Equipment

    What to hand over
    Each stop: time, machine, what happened, minutes, how it was left
    The Excel works out
    Event minutes against the downtime logged, machines left with a fault
  • 5. Materials and people

    What to hand over
    Shortages, deliveries due, headcount planned and present, moves
    The Excel works out
    People short
  • 6. Open actions

    What to hand over
    Issue, done so far, next step, owner, by when
    The Excel works out
    Actions handed over, actions with no owner

A filled-in example

Illustrative, not a benchmark

An example (illustrative): night shift to day shift on packaging line 3. PDF page 2 and the Excel Example sheets hold the same handover, the last eight shifts and two weeks of open actions.

The example night shift against plan

  1. Night shift18,400 (92.0%)−1,600

Downtime: 45 minutes against 15 planned

  • Film splice: 5 min
  • Labeler jam: 32 min
  • Glue nozzle: 8 min

18,400 good units against a plan of 20,000, 92.0 percent, with 260 scrapped and 45 minutes of downtime against 15 planned: film splice 5 minutes, labeler jam 32, glue nozzle 8.

The handover says why the plan was missed and what is open. The labeler jam was raised for the third time in 14 days, so it is flagged as a repeat and goes to problem solving instead of into the next handover.
  • Safety: one near miss at 02:40 (a stretch-wrap roll fell from the wrapper shelf, report NM-118, shelf taped off), no lockouts or permits open, a wet floor by the case packer.
  • Production: 18,400 good units against a plan of 20,000 (−1,600, 92.0%), 260 scrapped, so a scrap rate of 260 ÷ (18,400 + 260) = 1.39%, and 45 minutes of downtime against 15 planned.
  • Downtime events: film splice 5 minutes, labeler jam 32 minutes, glue nozzle 8 minutes. 5 + 32 + 8 = 45, matching the downtime logged; the labeler was left running with a fault.
  • Quality: two pallets on hold for a smudged date code, 960 units each, 1,920 in all. People: 9 planned, 8 present.
  • Open actions: 4, each with an owner and a time: re-inspect the held pallets by 09:00, change the labeler peel plate at the 10:30 changeover, fix the wrapper shelf, confirm the shrink film for the next order.

The handover took 11 minutes at the line. Over the last eight shifts attainment was 97.0% and 2 shifts fell below the 95% target the site set for the example. The open actions list shows the labeler jam raised for the third time in 14 days, so it is flagged as a repeat and goes to problem solving instead of into the next handover.

To see a shift pattern on real dates, with the hours in each workweek, use the free Shift schedule planner.

Common mistakes

  • A note left on the desk

    A written note without a conversation leaves no room for questions. Hand over face to face at the line.

  • Only the numbers

    Output and scrap say what happened, not what the next shift must do. The open actions are the most important part.

  • Safety at the bottom, or not at all

    Open lockouts, permits and hazards go first. Work left open across a shift change is where handovers fail most dangerously.

  • Filling it in at the last minute

    Written in a rush, the sheet leaves out the things that matter. Start it in the last hour of the shift.

  • Actions with no owner

    An action handed over without a name and a time becomes everyone's and no one's. The Excel counts actions with no owner.

  • The same issue every shift

    A problem handed over day after day is not a handover item any more. Take it into problem solving; the open actions list flags repeats.

From this worksheet to a running system

LeanSuite runs the shift huddle on a live board: KPIs, actions with owners and the issues the next shift needs to know about.

  • Automated shift handover surfaces open issues and key events from the previous shift.
  • Live notes pinned to the board give the next shift or tier the context.
  • Assign owners and due dates during the meeting, and escalate unresolved items to the next tier with one click.
LeanSuite Tier 3 plant daily review board with safety hazards by status, quality issues by line and line-stopping breakdowns per week

Download the template

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Run this template in LeanSuite

LeanSuite runs tiered meetings on live Lean Studio boards, where notes pinned to the board give the next shift the context and an automated shift handover surfaces open issues and key events from the previous shift.

See it in a 45-minute demo

Next step after the shift handover template

In the product

Tiered Meetings

LeanSuite runs tiered meetings on live Lean Studio boards, where notes pinned to the board give the next shift the context and an automated shift handover surfaces open issues and key events from the previous shift.

See Tiered Meetings

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See it on your own process

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FAQ

Shift handover template: common questions

  1. Safety first (near misses, lockouts and permits still open, hazards), then production against plan, quality holds, downtime events and machines left with a fault, materials and staffing, and the open actions the next shift takes over, each with an owner and a time. This template has a section for each.

  2. Both. UK HSE guidance asks for handovers that are face to face, two-way and both spoken and written. The sheet makes sure nothing is left out and keeps a record; the conversation at the line lets the incoming lead ask questions and see problems for themselves.

  3. Long enough to go through the sheet and walk anything unusual: 11 minutes in the example, when the sheet was filled in before the end of the shift. Plan the shift overlap for it, allow longer after days off, and if handovers keep running long, move the repeat issues into problem solving.

  4. Yes. The Excel file has the handover sheet with the sums and checks, a handover log with one row per shift for trends, and an open actions list that carries each action from shift to shift and flags late and repeat items. The PDF is the same handover for writing by hand.

  5. The handover passes information from one lead to the next. The huddle then passes it to the team, and the open actions, holds and plan for the shift go onto the tier board. Many teams hold the handover just before the huddle for that reason.

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