Shift handover is a process. Treat it like one.

Every factory running more than one shift has a handover. Very few treat it as a process.

Usually it's a quick chat at the door. Maybe a few lines in a logbook, or a note on the whiteboard. The outgoing supervisor is tired and wants to go home. The incoming one is trying to take in five things at once.

Details get lost. And the new crew starts the shift partly blind.

What a handover needs to answer

A good handover answers a short list of questions, every time:

• What's running, and how is it going against plan?
• What stopped, why, and is it fixed?
• What's waiting: orders, material, quality results, maintenance work?
• Are there any quality issues or holds the next shift needs to know about?
• Any safety concerns?
• What's coming up that needs preparation: changeovers, trials, new products?

None of that is complicated. The problem is that most of it lives in different places, and in people's heads.

Why verbal handovers fail

Memory is selective. People remember the dramatic breakdown and forget the material shortage that will stop the line in two hours.

Handovers also vary by person. One supervisor gives a thorough brief. Another says "all good" and leaves. On paper, both shifts handed over.

And nothing is recorded in a way anyone can search later. When a customer complaint arrives three weeks on, nobody can find out what was said at the 10pm handover on the 4th.

Build the handover from real data

This is where a digital handover changes things. Instead of relying on memory, start from what actually happened:

• Orders run and quantities produced, against plan
• Every stop, with its duration and reason
• Quality checks completed, failed or outstanding, and anything on hold
• Material shortages and pending replenishment requests
• Open maintenance requests on the line's equipment

If your MES/MOM is capturing the shift, most of this already exists. The handover becomes a summary generated from the data, which the outgoing supervisor reviews and adds to.

The supervisor's job changes from remembering everything to adding the things only a person knows. "The new operator on Line 2 needs keeping an eye on." "That noise on the filler is back."

Make it structured, not just digital

A free-text box on a screen is barely better than a logbook. Structure is what makes handover consistent:

• The same sections every time, so nothing gets skipped
• Required sign-off from both the outgoing and the incoming supervisor
• Open actions carried forward until someone closes them
• Links straight to the order, stop or inspection being discussed

That last one matters. "See the stop at 02:14 on Line 3" is far more useful when the incoming supervisor can tap it and see the detail.

Why it belongs inside MES/MOM

You can buy standalone handover tools. They're better than paper. But they don't know what happened on the shift unless someone types it in again.

When handover is part of the same platform as production, quality and maintenance, it's informed by real operational data rather than a standalone form. That's the theme of Connected worker: one app, not five. One system, one source of truth, no re-keying.

Where AI fits

Generative AI is genuinely useful here. Give it the shift's data and it can draft a clear, readable summary in seconds. The supervisor checks and edits it rather than writing it from scratch.

It's a good first AI use case: frequent, time-consuming, low-risk if a person reviews it, and easy to measure. More examples in Practical GenAI for the shopfloor.

Start this week

You don't need new software to improve handover tomorrow. Agree the six questions above. Use them every shift. Make both supervisors sign it.

Then, when you're ready, make the system fill in most of the answers for you.

How does handover work in your factory today, and when did it last go wrong?