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Tier 2 meeting agenda and escalation sheet
A tier 2 meeting is the short daily stand-up where an area supervisor or area manager, the team leaders and the support functions (maintenance, quality, materials) go through what each tier 1 team escalated that morning, decide who owns each problem, and send up to tier 3 what the area cannot fix. It sits between the team huddles and the value stream or plant meeting, and it is where escalations most often stall. This template gives the meeting a 15-minute agenda in ten timed blocks, fixed roles and eight rules, the escalation triggers and time limits for each tier, and a decision for every escalation: own it at tier 2, take it to tier 3, or send it back to tier 1 with what the team needs. Page 1 of the PDF is the agenda, page 2 how the tiers connect, page 3 a blank action and escalation log, page 4 a metric card and a meeting check, and pages 5 and 6 a filled-in example. The Excel version ages every escalation, keeps the first due date and counts the days late, flags items over the tier 2 limit, repeats of the same problem and answers not given back, and sums up the week by tier 1 board, with an SQDCP metric card and a meeting discipline score.
Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.
Fields for area, date, leader and start time, a table of ten timed blocks from safety to close with what to cover and who speaks, a box for what goes up to tier 3, the attendee roles and the eight meeting rules.When to use it
When to use a tier 2 meeting agenda
- Every working day, straight after the last tier 1 huddle in an area with several teams.
- When tier 1 teams escalate problems and never hear back, or the same problems come up week after week.
- When the area meeting runs long, reads out every number and ends without owners or dates.
- When setting up tiered meetings, to agree what goes up, how fast and what comes back down before the first meeting.
How to fill it in
- 1
Set the time and the people
Hold tier 2 at the area board once every tier 1 huddle in the area has finished, at the same time every day. Name the leader, a team leader from each team, the maintenance, quality and materials reps, a scribe and a timekeeper.
- 2
Agree the triggers and the limits
Write down what goes from tier 1 to tier 2 and from tier 2 to tier 3, and how fast. In the template's example, tier 1 escalates what it has not fixed by its next huddle, and tier 2 sends up anything open more than 3 days or beyond its authority. Safety risks and quality holds go by the escalation matrix and never wait for a meeting.
- 3
Run the ten blocks to the clock
Safety, quality, delivery, cost and productivity, and people take 6 minutes, reds only. Then 4 minutes for the escalations from tier 1, 2.5 for the action review and the last 2.5 for what goes to tier 3 and the read-back.
- 4
Decide every escalation in the meeting
Own it at tier 2, take it to tier 3, or send it back to tier 1 with what the team needs. Write one owner and one due date on the log. The due date is never moved: a late item shows its days late.
- 5
Send every answer back down
The team that raised it hears the answer at its next tier 1 huddle; write the date on the log. Take escalations to tier 3 the same day, written as the problem and the ask.
- 6
Review the week
Once a week read the summary: what is over the limit or overdue, what repeats, which board escalates most, and the meeting check score. A repeat gets one owner finding the cause, not another action.
The agenda
The 15-minute tier 2 agenda, block by block
Ten blocks in a fixed order. The first five run the business and cover reds only; the last five are the escalations, the actions and what goes to tier 3. The minutes are example values: change them, keep the total.
| Block | Minutes | What to cover | Who speaks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety | 1 | Any injury, near miss or hazard in the last 24 hours, and open safety actions. A hazard still open gets an owner now. | Area supervisor |
| Quality | 1.5 | Reds only: first pass yield, scrap, holds and complaints against target, by team. | Quality rep, team leaders |
| Delivery | 1.5 | Plan against actual by team, the cause of each miss, and today's risk to the schedule. | Team leaders |
| Cost and productivity | 1 | Red lines only: downtime, OEE, overtime, material usage. | Team leaders, maintenance rep |
| People | 1 | Today's staffing: absences, who moves between teams to cover, training due. | Area supervisor |
| Escalations from tier 1 | 4 | Each new escalation in under a minute: the problem, the ask, then a decision (own at tier 2, up to tier 3, back to tier 1), one owner and a due date. | Team leader who raised it |
| Action review | 2.5 | Overdue actions first, then those due today. Done or not done. A late action keeps its due date and gets a new forecast. | Each owner |
| New escalations to tier 3 | 1 | What goes up today, written as the problem and the ask, and who takes it to the tier 3 meeting. | Area supervisor |
| Help needed from tier 3 | 0.5 | Answers due from tier 3, and decisions or resources the area is waiting for. | Area supervisor |
| Close | 1 | Read back every new owner and due date, and the answer each tier 1 team gets at its next meeting. | Scribe |
Safety
- Minutes
- 1
- What to cover
- Any injury, near miss or hazard in the last 24 hours, and open safety actions. A hazard still open gets an owner now.
- Who speaks
- Area supervisor
Quality
- Minutes
- 1.5
- What to cover
- Reds only: first pass yield, scrap, holds and complaints against target, by team.
- Who speaks
- Quality rep, team leaders
Delivery
- Minutes
- 1.5
- What to cover
- Plan against actual by team, the cause of each miss, and today's risk to the schedule.
- Who speaks
- Team leaders
Cost and productivity
- Minutes
- 1
- What to cover
- Red lines only: downtime, OEE, overtime, material usage.
- Who speaks
- Team leaders, maintenance rep
People
- Minutes
- 1
- What to cover
- Today's staffing: absences, who moves between teams to cover, training due.
- Who speaks
- Area supervisor
Escalations from tier 1
- Minutes
- 4
- What to cover
- Each new escalation in under a minute: the problem, the ask, then a decision (own at tier 2, up to tier 3, back to tier 1), one owner and a due date.
- Who speaks
- Team leader who raised it
Action review
- Minutes
- 2.5
- What to cover
- Overdue actions first, then those due today. Done or not done. A late action keeps its due date and gets a new forecast.
- Who speaks
- Each owner
New escalations to tier 3
- Minutes
- 1
- What to cover
- What goes up today, written as the problem and the ask, and who takes it to the tier 3 meeting.
- Who speaks
- Area supervisor
Help needed from tier 3
- Minutes
- 0.5
- What to cover
- Answers due from tier 3, and decisions or resources the area is waiting for.
- Who speaks
- Area supervisor
Close
- Minutes
- 1
- What to cover
- Read back every new owner and due date, and the answer each tier 1 team gets at its next meeting.
- Who speaks
- Scribe
Rules and escalation triggers
The meeting rules, and what goes up, how fast
Eight rules for every meeting, then the triggers for each step up and the time limit for the answer back down. The time limits (one shift, 3 days, 14 days) are example values this template sets: agree yours with the people in each role. Anything that cannot wait goes by the escalation matrix, not the meeting.
Meeting rules
Every meeting
- 1Stand at the area board. Start on time even if someone is late, and stop at 15 minutes.
- 2Team leaders update the board before the meeting: their results, misses and escalations.
- 3Reds only. Greens are not read out.
- 4Problems, not stories: what, where, how much, since when, and what is needed.
- 5No problem-solving in the meeting. Assign it; the people needed meet straight after.
- 6One owner (a name, not a department) and one due date per action. The due date is never moved: a late action stays late and gets a new forecast.
- 7Overdue actions are reviewed first, then the ones due today.
- 8Every escalation gets a decision in the meeting: own it at tier 2, take it to tier 3, or send it back to tier 1 with what the team needs.
Do not wait for the meeting
Call now, as the escalation matrix says, then log it
- 9Someone is hurt, or could be hurt by a hazard that is still there.
- 10A quality hold, or suspect product that may have shipped.
- 11A customer shipment is at risk today.
Escalate from tier 1 to tier 2
Raised at the next tier 2 meeting, about one shift or 24 hours after it was found
- 12It is not fixed by the next tier 1 meeting.
- 13It needs another department, spend, overtime or authority the team leader does not have.
- 14It affects another team's work.
- 15The same problem has come up twice in 14 days.
Escalate from tier 2 to tier 3
Raised at the same day's tier 3 meeting
- 16It has been open more than 3 days at tier 2.
- 17It needs spend over the area's limit, capital, headcount or a priority call between areas.
- 18A customer delivery or customer quality is at risk.
- 19The same problem shows up in two or more areas.
Send the answer back down
Every escalation, whatever the decision
- 20Tier 2 answers each tier 1 escalation by that team's next tier 1 meeting.
- 21Tier 3 answers each tier 2 escalation the same day.
- 22The team leader gives the answer at the team board, and the log records the date it was given.
A filled-in example
Illustrative, not a benchmarkAn example: one week of tier 2 escalations in a molding and assembly area with four tier 1 boards (illustrative, the same as the Excel worked example).
The example week's 9 escalations
- Owned and closed at tier 2: 6 escalations
- Sent to tier 3, answered: 1 escalation
- At tier 3, due tomorrow: 1 escalation
- Open past the limit, not sent up: 1 escalation
Days open, against the 3-day limit
- Leak tester giving false fails4 daysover the limit
- Worn robot gripper (at tier 3)2 daysinside the limit
Of 9 escalations from four tier 1 boards, 6 were owned and closed at tier 2, 1 went to tier 3 and was answered, 1 is at tier 3 and due tomorrow, and 1, a leak tester giving false fails, has been open 4 days against the 3-day limit with no decision to send it up.
- 9 escalations came up from the four boards. 6 were owned at tier 2 and closed within 2 days: short shots, a broken pallet jack, a failing hot runner heater, cover for the leak test station, and the central dryer alarm, twice.
- 2 went to tier 3: a carton shortage that needed the purchasing manager, answered in 2 days, and a worn robot gripper over the area's spending limit, still waiting and due tomorrow.
- 1 is flagged: a leak tester giving false fails, open 4 days against the 3-day limit and 2 days past its due date, with no decision to send it up.
- The dryer alarm came back on a second press 2 days after it was fixed, so the sheet counts a repeat, and that answer has not yet gone back to the team.
- Meeting check: 23 of 30 checks met (77%). On Tuesday the meeting ran 18 minutes, the board was not ready and a problem was solved in the meeting.
Closed this week: 7, of which 6 at tier 2 (86%), and 6 of 7 by the original due date. Average age at closing 10 ÷ 7 = 1.4 days; the 2 open items average (4 + 2) ÷ 2 = 3.0 days. The metric card shows 21 of 30 days on target (70%), with OEE red on Friday.
Common mistakes
Re-running tier 1
Tier 2 hears each team's reds and escalations. Reading every team's numbers again fills the 15 minutes before the first escalation is heard.
Solving problems in the meeting
Eight people watching two solve one problem is how 15 minutes becomes 40. Give it an owner; the people needed meet straight after.
Moving due dates
A date that moves every time it is missed hides the late work. Keep the first date, show the days late, and write the new forecast beside it.
Answers that never come back
A team that never hears what happened to its escalation stops raising problems. Record the date the answer was given at the team board.
A repeat treated as a new action
The same problem twice in two weeks needs one owner finding the cause with 5 whys or an A3, not another reset or another reminder.
The manager running the area meeting
When the tier 3 leader runs tier 2, the area leader stops owning it. Visit, listen, and talk to the area leader afterwards.
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
In LeanSuite tiered meetings run on Lean Studio boards: owners and due dates are assigned during the meeting, an unresolved item is escalated to the next tier with its photos, notes and history, and the reply is sent back down to the tier that raised it.
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- Cost deployment matrixCost deployment on paper and in Excel: loss quantities by process, causal and resultant losses, the cost of each loss, a Pareto and the projects that recover them.
- Equipment criticality analysisAssets scored 1 to 5 on six criteria with your own weights, ranked and sorted into classes A, B and C with a safety override and a suggested maintenance strategy.
- QA matrix templateDefect modes against stations in flow order: where each is made and first caught, a weight × occurrence × detection score, an AA to C class and the escapes flagged.
- Fault tree analysis templateA drawing area with the FTA symbols, an event table with probabilities and minimal cut sets, and the gates worked out bottom-up in Excel.
- Is / is not analysis templateWhat, where, when and extent with is, is not, distinctions and changes, then each possible cause tested against every pair and ranked.
- 5G investigation sheetConfirm the facts before naming a cause: 5W1H, the five G's with 20 prompts, the gap against the principle and the standard, and the countermeasures.
- Yokoten tracker (horizontal deployment)Copy a proven improvement line by line: the source result, each candidate's own before and after, its share of the source's improvement and the standard updated.
- Coaching kata template (improvement kata storyboard)The learner's storyboard (target condition, current condition, obstacles, PDCA cycles) and a fold-over card with the coach's five questions.
- Lean readiness assessment templateTwenty statements in four factors, scored 1 to 5 by several people on their own, with averages, the spread between them and the actions.
- Nemawashi template (stakeholder plan)Plan the one-to-one conversations before a decision: who to talk to in what order, their concerns, what changed and where they stand.
- Breakdown analysis reportOne equipment breakdown from the stop to the 90-day check, plus a breakdown log with repeat flags, MTBF and MTTR by asset and a Pareto of causes.
- Kaizen project plan (Gantt chart)One improvement project as a Gantt chart: tasks by phase with owners, predecessors and working days, a 16-week grid, milestones and a status from planned against actual % done.
- Histogram templateReadings, bins set by the square root rule, a tally and counts, the spec limits drawn and the share out of spec, with the common shapes explained.
- Scatter diagram templateUp to 50 pairs with a group code, r and R², the least squares line, the quadrant count and r for each group.
- Gauge calibration logA gauge register with next due dates and status, a calibration record with as-found and as-left readings, and the steps when a gauge fails.
- Visual management audit checklist29 checks of whether anyone can tell normal from abnormal at a glance, scored by group, with a trend and actions.
- Quality alert formA quality alert to post at the line, a sign-off sheet for every shift, and a log of open, expired and closed alerts.
- TQM self-assessment templateThe eight TQM principles in 24 statements you can check on the floor, scored 0 to 4 by several people, with the spread, the top 3 gaps and an action plan.
- Employee recognition program templateDesign a recognition program on one page, then run it: points per action, prizes, budget, a points ledger, a monthly leaderboard and a fairness check by team and shift.
- Continuous improvement software evaluation scorecardCompare CI software vendors: a must-have gate, eight weighted criteria scored 1 to 5, points out of 100 and a rank, with a demo script and reference questions.
- Employee engagement survey templateA short anonymous pulse survey for shop floor staff: 14 statements in six drivers, two open questions, results by driver and team, and the actions.
- Hansei reflection sheet (lessons learned)A written look back at one finished project, event or launch: goals against results in numbers, causes rather than blame, lessons to keep or change, and where else they apply.
- Safety cross calendarA month drawn as the green cross, colored each day by the most serious safety event, with totals and days since the last injury.
- Daily kaizen routine boardA team's 10 to 15 minute daily routine at the board: one problem from each person, small fixes with one owner, counted every week.
- Quality circle meeting recordA circle's charter, a one-page record for each meeting and a problem register that follows every problem from selected to closed or escalated.
- Weekly maintenance schedule templateNext week's maintenance jobs, scheduled only when ready, loaded against each craft's hours by day, with schedule compliance and break-ins at week end.
- Process capacity sheet templateEach machine in a part's routing with manual, auto and tool change time, its capacity per shift, and the step that limits the cell against demand.
- Team charter templateA one-page charter for a standing team: purpose, scope, roles, the KPIs it owns, which decisions it makes itself, norms and cadence.
- Standard operating procedure (SOP) templateA full SOP in the hierarchical step format, from purpose and scope to the steps, records, revision history and approvals, with review checks and an SOP register.
- Process improvement method selectorEight questions about one problem, an example rule that suggests a method and a matrix of nine methods: when each fits, the usual team and time, and the template to start with.
- X-bar and R control chart template25 subgroups with means and ranges, control limits from A2, D3 and D4, signal flags, both charts and a reaction log.
- Gage R&R study sheet10 parts, 2 or 3 appraisers, 2 or 3 trials: EV, AV, GRR, PV, %GRR and ndc by the average and range method.
- Root cause analysis templateOne report from problem statement to proof: containment, evidence, analysis, verified causes, actions and the effectiveness check.
- Safety pillar 90-day model area planThirteen weeks from the incident pyramid to safety standards on one model area, a KPI board, the day-90 gate and expansion waves.
- Quality control pillar 90-day model area planThirteen weeks from the QA matrix to the QM matrix on one model area, a KPI board, the day-90 gate and expansion waves.
- Autonomous maintenance 90-day model area planAM steps 0 to 3 on one model machine in 13 weeks, a KPI board, the day-90 gate and expansion waves for months 4 to 12.
- Professional maintenance (PM) 90-day model area planThirteen weeks from breakdown analysis to a running PM calendar on one model machine, a KPI board, the day-90 gate and expansion waves.
- Environment and energy pillar 90-day model area planThirteen weeks from waste and energy maps to area standards on one model area, a KPI board, the day-90 gate and expansion waves.
- Focused improvement 90-day model area planThirteen weeks from the loss Pareto to standardized fixes on one model line, a KPI board, the day-90 gate and expansion waves.
- People development pillar 90-day model area planThirteen weeks from the skills matrix to trained cover on critical tasks in one model area, a KPI board, the day-90 gate and expansion waves.
- Early equipment management 90-day model area planThirteen weeks from lessons on current machines to a tracked start-up on one model equipment project, a KPI board, the day-90 gate and expansion waves.
- Cost deployment pillar 90-day model area planThirteen weeks from the loss map to costed, ranked projects in one model area, a KPI board, the day-90 gate and expansion waves.
- Prioritization matrix templateScore up to 20 improvement ideas on weighted criteria, rank them, test the ranking with equal weights and place each one on an effort and benefit grid.
- Cost per unit worksheet (manufacturing cost per good unit)One product's cost per good unit by materials, labor, machine and overhead, the gap to target, and which cost lever is worth most a year.
- RCM worksheet (failure mode and task selection)Failure modes classed as hidden, safety, operational or non-operational, then a task chosen for each: condition-based, discard, failure-finding, redesign or run to failure.
- Error-proofing verification log (daily master-sample check)Each poka-yoke device proved every day or week with a known-bad sample, with missed checks counted and the hours and parts at risk worked out when one fails.
- Training matrix template with expiry datesPeople by required trainings with expiry dates, OK, due, expired and missing flags, compliance by person and area, cover per training and a renewal list.
- Defect catalogue template with boundary samplesEvery defect with a definition, a class and the reason for it, measured accept and reject limits by zone, boundary samples, a defect log with DPU and Pareto, and an inspector agreement check.
- I-MR chart template (individuals and moving range)Up to 100 single readings with moving ranges, limits from a baseline, five run-rule flags, both charts, a second phase and a reaction log.
- Kaizen event preparation checklistEverything that has to be ready before a kaizen event and done after it: 44 items with owners and due dates from 6 weeks before day 1 to 30 days after, five go or no-go gates and a day-by-day agenda.
- Attribute control chart template (p, np, c and u charts)p, np, c and u charts in one workbook: a chart selector, a sample size check, limits for each subgroup, signal flags and four worked examples.
- Critical spare parts list and stocking levelsAssets ranked by consequence, each part classed and given a stocking policy, and min and max worked out from usage and lead time, with the downtime each stock-out would cost.
- HACCP plan template: hazard analysis and CCP worksheetThe Codex 12 steps in one workbook: team and product, process steps checked on site, hazard analysis with the CCP decision tree, the CCP table with completeness checks, an allergen matrix and a verification schedule.
- Forklift operator training and evaluation recordPer-operator training and evaluation record, a register with three-year due dates and refresher triggers, and a weighted practical evaluation scoresheet.
- REBA worksheet (Rapid Entire Body Assessment)Score up to six postures with REBA: body-part drop-downs, Tables A, B and C as lookups, final score and action level, and a before and after comparison.
- Mock recall template: traceability exercise worksheetTrace a finished lot back to every input lot and forward to every first customer, reconcile the quantities against a tolerance and time it against your target.
- ISO 9001 internal audit checklist (production area)46 audit questions for the production floor in 11 processes, each with its ISO 9001:2015 clause, what evidence to look for and the sample to take, plus five defined grades, a findings log, a finding report and a summary by clause.
- ISO 45001 internal audit checklist44 audit questions for the plant floor in 16 safety topics, each with its ISO 45001:2018 clause, the evidence to look for and the sample to take, plus 12 worker interview prompts, a findings log and a summary by clause.
- Food plant GMP inspection checklist (21 CFR 117 subpart B)55 checks in the order of 21 CFR 117 subpart B, each citing its paragraph and saying what to look at, with a grade, finding, owner and due date; results by section and grade, a walk route and a bakery example.
- Master sanitation schedule with pre-op verificationA master list of cleaning tasks by area and equipment with frequency, chemical, lockout, who and next due date, a weekly on-time count, and the pre-operational verification log with a release step.
- Overhead crane inspection checklist: frequent and periodic34 crane checks tied to OSHA 1910.179: an operator's pre-shift card, frequent and periodic inspections with signed records, a deficiency and tag-out log, and a register of next due dates.
- Measurement uncertainty budget templateA GUM uncertainty budget: Type A and B rows, divisors by distribution, sensitivity coefficients, uc, νeff, k from the t-table, U, TUR and a guard band check.
- Maintenance job plan templateOne job planned on one sheet: steps and craft hours, parts checked against stock, tools, lockout and permits, documents, a ready check for the schedule, and technician feedback.
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A shift handover sheet, a red tag log, a changeover checklist for one machine: if your team uses it on the floor, ask.