Glossary · Operator documentation
Shift instruction
Also known as: Shift handover instruction
German: Schichtanweisung
In company practice, a shift instruction is an operator instruction for shift-related routines: the checks at the start of a shift, recurring tasks during it and the information that has to be passed on at shift handover.
- Technical documentation
- German source term
In one sentence
A shift instruction sets out shift routines: checks at shift start, recurring tasks and what must be passed on at shift handover.
Example
The shift instruction of a continuous extrusion line lists the start-of-shift checks of guards and emergency stops, the hourly quality samples and the handover log entries: open faults, changed set points, pending maintenance.
How it applies
- Content: Start-of-shift checks — often a pre-use check of guards and safety devices —, recurring tasks, and the handover: open faults, changed settings, deviations, pending work.
- Handover: The handover is the part most prone to loss of information. A team task analysis shows which information one shift needs from the other and in what form, which a shift instruction can then fix as a log or checklist.
- Legal status: A shift instruction is a company document. Where it covers the hazards of work equipment, it does not replace the Betriebsanweisung unless it contains the required content.