Handover between shifts: carrying on the count

When a large warehouse cannot be counted in one shift, the count moves to a second shift and sometimes to the next day. Most mistakes happen in exactly that move: between where the first shift stopped and where the second started, rows appear that were either not counted or counted twice. A shift handover is a ten-minute routine, but it saves many hours of work. Below is how to build it.

The biggest loss is at the seam

There are four typical losses: a zone is half counted and nobody knows which rows are done; goods were brought into a counted zone or taken out of it; data on the devices was not sent; the second shift does not know the rules.

An example. The first shift worked from 8:00 to 16:00 and the second from 16:00 to 22:00. The first shift counted zone C "about halfway". The second began from the other end. As a result, two rows were counted twice and one row was skipped altogether. In the table of differences this showed up at once as a large shortage and a large surplus, and finding the cause took half a day the next day.

The handover record: five lines

A handover should be written, not spoken. One sheet or one message is enough, showing five things:

1. Closed zones: the name, the closing time, who closed it.
2. The open zone: up to which row, after which bin the count stopped.
3. Doubtful positions: those needing a recount, and why.
4. Problems: unreadable labels, goods not on the list, a faulty device.
5. Movement: what was taken out of a counted zone or put into it.

The first shift's lead signs or sends the record, and the second shift's lead confirms receipt. That leaves no room for "nobody told me".

A sample of a filled-in record: "Zone C: rows 1-6 closed (13:40, Dilnoza). Row 7 counted up to bin 4. Doubt: 12 positions in row 3, cartons stacked two high. Problem: row 5 has no label. Movement: 12 cartons taken out of row 6 for return to the supplier."

Sealing the zone

What is written down is reinforced with a physical sign. A tape or sticker goes on the row of a closed zone: "Counted, 14:20, name". In the open zone a marker (a cone or a ribbon) goes at the last counted spot, and the second shift continues from exactly there. The rule is simple: until the count ends, no goods are brought into a closed zone or taken out of it. If that is impossible, every movement is recorded.

If the count pauses overnight, restrict access to a closed zone: tape off the aisle and name someone responsible for the key. If sales continue, every item leaving a counted zone is written in a log or on the device, so that the next day the count result can be adjusted for the movement.

The ten-minute meeting and the devices

The leads of both shifts meet not at a desk but in the zone itself. Together they walk to the stop marker and recount the three positions the previous shift counted last. This is a seam check: it shows whether the shifts have joined up correctly.

As for devices:

• before the shift ends, everyone sends their data, and the number of unsent entries must be zero;
• devices go on charge, and the list is not changed between shifts;
• a new shift's worker signs in under their own account, not the previous person's;
• every new item added to the list is noted.

At the end of the shift the lead saves a short copy of the result (how many positions are counted, which zones are closed) to a file with the time. The next day that copy settles arguments about how the process went.

Common mistakes

• The handover is spoken, and half of it is forgotten.
• The seam is not checked, so the error stays at the joint.
• A device stays logged in under the previous person's account, and new entries go to the wrong name.
• Goods are brought into the warehouse at night while the books for a counted zone are left untouched.
• At the end of the shift people rush through "one more row" and make mistakes.

Conclusion

What matters most in a shift handover is clarity: a written record, a physical sign, a seam check and data sent. If you want to count without stopping the warehouse, StockCheck works at night, at weekends or zone by zone, so the warehouse's usual routine is not disturbed.