Shift labour is required for continuous operations. These shifts must convey crucial information in order to maintain performance and comfort. All forms of communication are prone to misunderstandings and errors. As a result, the handover of a shift is a very essential operation that is conducted often with limited chance for error-proofing.

In addition to the records of existing information, the present plant condition, and difficulties for future shifts, the handover process might cover a wide range of information and documents. If the handover occurs on a daily basis, this is accurate. If the handover occurs on a weekly, monthly or longer basis, this is also true.

To promote the handover process, the remedy has a multitude of components including the opportunity to examine logs across any timeframe and flagging vital information, the ability to add log entries into manageable lists in order to address issues across shifts, and the opportunity to produce, designate, and pitch logbook tasks across shift teams through employee shift handover system.

Communication Theory

If you’re looking for intercultural communication tips that can be applied to shift handover, there are many of them.

As a result of this tendency, people tend to overestimate their capability to interact successfully and underestimate the complexity of the communication process. Because communication is fundamentally ambiguous and confusing, mistakes are a natural and unavoidable component of development.

If the individual receiving the information understands it precisely as the one who transmitted it intended, then the communication was successful

This procedure can be hampered by the following reasons:

• Direct meaning transmission from one person to another is not feasible.
• He or she constructs his or her own interpretation of the message in his or her head.
• Any communication, whether it is intended or not, should be considered.
• The only thing that counts is the message received; Unintentional meaning and possible misunderstanding are the norm, if all of the above factors are taken into account.

In order to avoid misunderstanding, both parties must make an effort to communicate well. A face-to-face conversation is typically the most trustworthy form of communication, even when it is not flawless.As a result, written communication is typically seen as being less trustworthy.

The importance of a properly thought out and carefully implemented handover procedure cannot be overstated. Considerations of a broader nature include those of business culture and operational discipline. Computerised systems can support a culture of open communications, constant learning and constant monitoring of process quality, but they cannot manage it. The whole thing starts and ends with the organisation’s most important commodity – its employees.

As with any action in any system, there are always possible negative consequences.

Support staff and service teams should be integrated:

Technical staff that have nothing to do with real shift procedures include maintenance and service personnel as well as shift teams. Individual handovers are required for these professionals in most cases. As an example, a boiler must be allowed to cool and disinfected before maintenance can be carried out properly.

Achieving Priorities in order of Preference:

When a project manager comes to work on a Monday morning, his or her inbox is stuffed with fresh emails. This is a common scenario. How do you decide what to do first? 5 reports with 50 lines of shift information may be delivered to the engineer every weekend. Two or three phrases each report, on average, demand the reader’s whole attention. Anyone that has tried to scan their email for priority understands how time-consuming and tiresome it can be, and worries about perhaps missing anything important. Software can automate email reporting that can be initiated cyclically or in response to preset circumstances. It is also possible to get real-time incident reports at any time, allowing individuals responsible to get a daily update on particular incidents, complete with priority and status.

Guiding The Transmission Of Communication In The Best Possible Way:

A person’s words may not be understood by another person. In shift operations, this is the number one source of communication errors. Based on accurate data gathering, an interactive shift handover automation facilitates goal-oriented communication. Information might be gathered and stored in a meaningful fashion by the system, which would act as an assistant, asking the correct questions at the right moment.

Recurring Actions are Visualised:

Staff shift scheduling software may also digitalise and incorporate recurring instructions from the areas of environmental protection, health and safety into a digital shift log, for example inspecting safety showers. As a result, many firms rely on paper documentation or spreadsheets.

Conclusion:

However, with a more contemporary piece of software, these duties might be logged and shown to the necessary staff, along with a reminder feature. In addition, escalating tasks might remain on the system interface and be shown as “yet to be finished” for the following shift crew. It should be a no-brainer to have tools in place to handle your paperwork and communication throughout shifts.