botminds.aiRequest a demo
WorkflowProduction Operations & Oil Sands

Shift Handover

Shift handover software that compares the day's log with the plant's records, asks the off-going operator about each gap while he is still on site, and lets nothing cross until the on-coming lead accepts it.

See the demoBook a demo
Follow one shift change from 17:40 to 17:43 ↓
The problem

A shift handover carries what reached the log, and nothing else

The off-going operator writes the handover from his own log, and his log holds what he did and what he heard. Maintenance can suspend a permit at the desk, an instrument tech can bypass a switch, and an alarm can sit on the shelf without anyone calling the control room. None of it reaches the night lead.

Permits, bypasses, shelved alarms and work orders each live in a different system with a different owner. The lead arrives early, they talk at the console, and she signs a sheet. The signature shows the sheet was signed, and nobody can say later who knew what.

Built forControl room operatorsShift leadsField operatorsSuperintendentsProcess safety auditors

The Problem Today

A handover carries only what reached the log, so a permit or bypass can vanish at shift change.

1,095
hours a year writing them up, at 15 minutes each our estimate

Gathered from four systems

  • Logs
  • Permits
  • Bypasses
  • Alarms
  • Two permits, one machineOnly one of them says the relief valve is out
  • Signed is not understoodA signature does not show what the lead took in

The Solution

  1. Items built from the logShorthand read and each line tied to its permit, alarm or work order
  2. Gaps foundEach open record is checked for a log line that covers it
  3. Asked while on siteThe operator answers in his own words; the agent never writes it
  4. Accepted one at a timeThe lead opens each item and reads it back before it crosses

Built-in controls

  • A hold stops the task it applies to
  • Nobody accepts their own item
  • Two signatures on the largest decisions

What You Get

The night shift starts with what the records knew and the log did not.

6,570
such questions a year at that pace, across 4,380 handovers our estimate
  • A clock on each areaLate handovers and missing people raised before shift change
  • Both people's words on recordWho said what, who read it back, and when
  • An evidence file in one clickEach step of a handover, ready for an auditor
One shift change, by the clock

Shift handover software at work: the permit the log never mentioned

Sales gas and condensate, day shift to night shift at 18:00. The flash gas compressor ran hot three times today, and its standby is the machine the crew would reach for tonight. Nobody in the control room knows its relief valve is at the shop.

demoInvented for the sample: the gas plant, its tags and permits, the crew and every count.

  1. 0117:40

    All 10 log items have crossed, and the operator does not leave yet

    Off-going control room operator

    The screen splits into his day side and the lead's night side, with a clock to 18:00 on the line between them. Each item from his log crossed only when she opened it and accepted it. The records checker still has to read six more sources against his log, so he stays at the console.

  2. 0217:41

    13 records against 31 log lines, and 3 things the log left out

    Off-going control room operator

    Agents read the permit system, the bypass register, the alarm system, work orders and standing orders against what he wrote. Four records have no line that covers them, about three things: two permits on the standby compressor, a flash drum alarm on the shelf and a tank valve bypass. Each comes back to his side with how sure the agent is, from 97% down to 71%.

  3. 0317:41

    A permit pulled the relief valve at 08:10, and operations was never called

    Off-going control room operator

    The item puts the sources beside each other. The desk issued the permit at 08:10, relying on isolations already held under another permit on the same machine, so the area operator never countersigned. At 15:20 the mechanic suspended it with the valve at the shop until Thursday and an untested blank on. The other permit says work not started.

  4. 0417:42

    The answer box starts empty, and the words are his

    Off-going control room operator

    The agent asks one plain question: is that still how it stands? He writes that it is still out and the shop has it till Thursday. If he wanted to say the record was wrong, he would need a reason and evidence, and the field operator would have to confirm it on site. An open permit cannot be cleared on his word.

  5. 0517:42

    She reads it back by tag and writes the hold herself

    On-coming shift lead

    The lead opens the item, sees his words under the agent's question and reads it back in hers: relief valve out of C-2823, blank on. A read-back must name the tag or its state, so filler or a copy of his words is refused. She then writes what must not be done tonight, which becomes the hold: do not start C-2823.

  6. 0617:42

    The line-up on the standby compressor stops on the field screen

    Area field operator

    Until she accepted the item, the task to line up the standby compressor if called was live on his round. Now it reads stopped, with her name and her words, and the start button is off. The stop reaches the person it applies to, where he works, instead of a clipboard in the control room.

  7. 0717:42

    The bypass the agent is least sure of, at 71%

    On-coming shift lead

    The register shows a tank vapor valve limit switch bypassed at 09:30, with no removal entry. A stuck indicator is often cleared on the same shift and written up late, so the agent says it is less sure. The operator confirms it is still on. Had he said it was off, he would need evidence and a field check before it crossed.

  8. 0817:43

    13 of 13 crossed, and only then can she take the shift

    On-coming shift lead

    She reads back the bypass and the shelved alarm in her own words, one at a time; the alarm comes back from the shelf at 19:10. Every item now sits on her side, the three the agents found marked as found. There is no accept-all and no accept on the row. The take button appears once nothing is left on his side.

  9. 0917:43

    She holds the shift with 3 items the log left out and 1 hold on

    On-coming shift lead

    At 17:43 the clock closes. On the night side: 13 items crossed, 3 the log left out and 1 hold on, with the hold above them all. Only now is the off-going operator released, and the evidence clerk seals the record with both people's words and the time of each.

Three records the day log left out, each in its own system

Each sat in its own system with its own owner, and each mattered for the night.

A relief valve at the shop

Pulled under a permit that relied on another permit's isolations, so nobody called the area operator.

An alarm on the shelf until 19:10

The flash drum's first warning if the duty compressor trips, silent for the first 70 minutes of the night.

A bypass with no removal entry

A tank valve limit switch bypassed at 09:30. The register still shows it active.

demoSample data, from the working solution.

Around the handover

The shift handover log, the holds and the record behind each crossing

What the lead, the superintendent and the auditor read before and after the shift changes.

The log beside the recordsEvery line of his log next to the 13 records, the 4 with no line marked. This year: 1,214 questions in 810 handovers, by kind of record.
Holds and what falls due tonightThe hold stays until the permit closes and the shift lead lifts it. Below, the alarm back at 19:10 and a bypass due off at 20:00; beside, carried items.
Standing ordersEach order in force carries two signatures. A new one crosses to the next lead as its own item, and the screen shows who accepted it.
Six areas tonightEach area as a line of items crossing: one operator asking to leave, one item refused, one area with no lead badged in. Five areas are read-only here.
Past handoversSearch what crossed before by tag, permit or any word someone wrote. An empty search proves nothing, and the screen warns about that.
The audit trailEvery confirmation, read-back, hold and agent step by the minute, and the evidence file for this handover. Nothing here can be changed.

demoSample data, from the working solution.

What the agents leave to the people changing shift

Agents read the log and the records, ask and keep the clock. These stay with people.

No statement written for himThe gap asker asks. The off-going operator answers in his own words, and an empty or one-word answer is refused.
No accept-allEach item crosses only when the on-coming lead opens it and reads it back by tag or state.
No permit cleared on one wordAn open permit cannot be marked no longer true. Any other record needs evidence and a field check.
No hold lifted by softwareThe hold keeper keeps holds in front of the right person. Only the shift lead lifts one, once the permit closes.
Nobody released early by an agentLetting an operator go with items not accepted takes the superintendent and the plant manager, while he is still on site.

Who states, who reads back and who decides at shift change

An item does not cross on one person's word.

Off-going control room operator
Sees
His log, each gap with its sources and the agent's question
Signs
States each item in his own words; cannot accept his own
On-coming shift lead
Sees
Every item with its sources and the operator's words
Signs
Reads back and accepts one at a time, writes holds, takes the shift
Area field operator
Sees
His round, with any stop in the lead's words
Signs
Confirms a record on site before it can be called out of date
Operations superintendent
Sees
Late areas, refusals, stand-ins and carried items past their limit
Signs
Settles refusals, names stand-ins, issues standing orders
Plant manager
Sees
The largest decisions and any settings change
Signs
The second signature on each of them

Seven places a night shift's surprises sit before the handover

Each is read, and none is changed. A source that cannot be read is named on the item.

Control room logThe operator logbook, shorthand included
Permit systemOpen and suspended permits, with their isolations
Bypass registerActive bypasses and their removal entries
Alarm systemShelved and repeating alarms
Maintenance systemOpen work orders on each tag
Standing ordersOrders in force and who accepted them
Field notes and badge-inWhat the round saw, and who is on site

What operations managers ask about shift handover software

What is shift handover software?

Shift handover software builds the handover between an off-going and an on-coming crew. This one compares the operator's log with permits, bypasses, alarms, work orders and standing orders, asks about each gap while he is still on site, and lets each item cross only when the on-coming lead accepts it.

Is this an electronic shift log?

It reads the log you already keep, paper or electronic, and turns its lines into items with their sources. What it adds is the comparison with the other records, and a record of both people's words.

Why does a digital shift handover need a read-back?

A signature shows a sheet was signed. A read-back in the lead's own words, naming the tag or its state, shows what she took in. Filler and a copy of the operator's words are refused.

What happens to a permit that is still open at shift change?

It stays an item until the lead accepts it, and the operator cannot mark it no longer true. If she writes a hold, the task it applies to stops on the field operator's screen, and only the shift lead lifts the hold once the permit closes.

What if the off-going operator wants to leave before everything has crossed?

He stays until the lead takes the shift. Letting him go with items not accepted is the largest decision here, and it takes the superintendent and the plant manager, each after opening the items, while he is still on site.

What does a process safety auditor get?

Read-only access to every handover, a trail of each step by person or agent, and an evidence file per handover that holds both people's words and the time of each.

Production Operations & Oil Sands

More for control rooms and production operations

All 8 solutions →
Production Deferment Management

Many wells, one cause: the trip signed as one event, measured against real potential.

1-min demoSimultaneous Operations Planning

Conflicts the combined list cannot show, found in the job plans and settled before the day.

1-min demoSafety System Bypass Management

Every bypass on the control system has a key and a named person watching it, checked every shift.

1-min demo

Bring a week of logs
and your permit list.

We will lay your logs beside your permits, bypasses and alarms and show you what did not reach the night shift.

Book a demoBrowse solutions