Effective communication is essential when a task and the responsibilities attached to it are transferred to another person or team at work. These circumstances might arise towards the end of a shift, between staff who work at night and those who work during the day, or during a shift that involves several organizational areas, such operations and maintenance.
A shift handover is the process of imparting information from one departing employee to another. The existing employee chooses whatever knowledge is crucial to impart so that the new employee can run the facility efficiently. This is often seen as a unidirectional process.
By precisely and reliably conveying task-relevant information across shift changes or across teams, handover aims to assure continuation of safe and effective functioning. the components required for a smooth handover are:
- Getting ready by departing workers
- The leaving staff and the new staff exchange hands. exchange information on a task
- Newcomers verify information when they take over responsibility for a task.
Numerous incidents have occurred as a result of poor communication during shift changeover or shift handover, the majority of which included planned maintenance work. Due to a failure in communication between shifts, highly radioactive waste liquor was unintentionally released into the sea, which was found in 1983. According to the Cullen Report, an error in information transfer during the digital shift transition contributed to the Piper Alpha tragedy.
At this critical juncture in day-to-day operations, there is a pressing demand for more effective, trustworthy, and exact data since insufficient shift handover protocols have led to tragic incidents. The dearth and complexity of shift-change technologies continue to increase company risk and inefficiency.
To ensure the safety of employees working on plants, communication between teams is essential. When one team passes responsibility to another, there is always a chance that a crucial element may be missed. A successful transition requires openness and transparency. Any discrepancy in this message might be dangerous. Accidents could happen as a result of a mistake that was easily avoidable.
By establishing a shift scheduling software and enabling a shift log software as well before the event, this kind of timetable enables individuals to operate in accordance with a predetermined schedule. Changeovers between shifts are scheduled well in advance. It is a reality of life that some jobs have their own time frames, such as crucial repairs or unloading huge quantities of raw materials. These activities can be completed over the course of two or more shifts and may include different teams. The completion of major repairs might take many weeks or even months.
To achieve consistency and reduce mistakes, a set method is followed for the shift handover software. Based on their operational needs, businesses will design their method. Due to this, we have noticed that these handover processes differ greatly amongst businesses, with some adhering to a highly rigid and defined process and others relying primarily on individuals to properly communicate with the new owner completely relying on shift software.
Changeover happens 1095 or 730 times a year with an 8 or 12-hour workday, resulting in 730 or 1095 high-risk possibilities for misunderstanding that might result in an incident. The changeover process must be well defined and effectively managed if there is any chance of increasing plant safety.
The authorization to work guarantees that everyone engaged in risky, non-routine jobs on the plant interacts with one another when working in a normal industrial setting.
What should happen to these permits when the next employee takes over the shift, then?
There are two methods to do this:
- The old permission is canceled, and the new shift issues a new one.
- A shift-handover process is in place on the authorization document itself, ensuring that accountability is transferred from departing to entering workers.
It takes longer, but it assures communication and forces a new perspective on the task. The second method is more effective, but there is a chance that something significant has changed and the accountable parties are unable to thoroughly explore it at the moment of switchover.
The goal of operations management is to increase productivity and guarantee workplace safety.
For this approach to lower the likelihood of accidents, efficient communication is essential. The permit to work system must be linked with the shift handover software protocols when teams change, so that tasks may be completed securely.
Keeping these guidelines in mind can help you create a shift changeover strategy that works with the help of shift scheduling software:
- This has to be recorded in a straightforward, safe, organized logbook—ideally an electronic one.
- Information shared between shifts should convey both the “what” and the “why,” in addition to both.
- Communication between competent individuals who are familiar with the procedure and the job being done should occur between shifts.
- All stakeholders must have easy access to pertinent information, whether it is via mobile devices, displays placed throughout the facility, etc.
- Support for continuing process audits and training.
- The handover and the short- and medium-term production objectives should always be connected.
- Coordination and linking are required for any open permissions, isolations, etc. The information would ideally be kept in a centralized system or database.
- communication between the characters is open and clear.
- During handover or production meetings, tasks are assigned, tracked, and communicated via a management system.
The goal of operations management is to increase productivity and guarantee workplace safety.