Night Shift Handover Procedures

Shift handover is the transfer of safety-critical information between outgoing and incoming work teams.
Poor handover is a recognised cause of incidents — critical information is lost between shifts.
The handover must cover work completed, work outstanding, active permits, hazards, and plant status.
A written handover log should be used to ensure nothing is missed during the verbal briefing.
Night-to-day handovers are particularly risky because fatigue affects the outgoing night shift's recall.
All active permits to work must be formally transferred or cancelled and re-issued at handover.
Plant and equipment status — including defects, isolations, and fuel levels — must be communicated.
Environmental conditions that have changed overnight — water levels, ground stability — must be reported.
The incoming team must physically walk the work area with the outgoing team where practical.
CDM 2015 requires effective coordination and communication between all parties on a construction project.

Prevent incidents	Information lost at handover causes workers to encounter unknown hazards.
Permit continuity	Active permits must be formally transferred — working under an expired permit is dangerous.
Fatigue risk	Night shift fatigue degrades memory — written handovers compensate for this.
Legal duty	CDM requires effective communication and coordination between all site teams and shifts.

Do

Don't

Complete a written handover log covering all safety-critical information.
Brief the incoming team on work completed, hazards found, and work remaining.
Walk the work area together with the incoming team where practical.
Transfer or cancel and re-issue all active permits to work at handover.
Report any plant defects, isolations, or fuel status changes to the incoming team.
Communicate any changes in environmental conditions since the shift started.
Allow adequate overlap time between shifts for a thorough handover.
Confirm the incoming team understands all hazards and controls before they start.
Record the handover time, attendees, and key items in the site diary.
Highlight any outstanding actions that the incoming team must complete.

DON'T leave site without completing a formal handover to the incoming team.
DON'T rely solely on verbal handover — use a written log to capture key items.
DON'T rush the handover because the outgoing shift wants to leave quickly.
DON'T assume the incoming team knows what happened during your shift.
DON'T leave active permits in place without formally transferring responsibility.
DON'T forget to report plant defects or isolation status during handover.
DON'T skip the joint walkover of the work area between teams.
DON'T hand over incomplete or inaccurate information due to fatigue.
DON'T allow the incoming team to start work before the handover is complete.
DON'T ignore environmental changes that occurred overnight — report them all.

See also: Night Working Safety Awareness | Fatigue Management for Night Shifts

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