A five-minute routine for the first minutes of any shift: people, handover, equipment and priorities.
The first ten minutes decide how the rest of a shift goes. If nobody checks who actually showed up, what the previous shift left open or whether the equipment works, problems surface at the busiest moment.
This checklist is deliberately short so it gets used every day. Add two or three items specific to your site and remove what does not apply.
14 items. Use it on screen, or print it and fill it in by hand.
At 6 am the warehouse lead sees that two of nine pickers have not clocked in. One called in sick and one is running late. She moves a packer to picking until 7 am, reads the night shift report about a broken pallet jack, tags it out of service, and briefs the team on a large order due by noon.
Recording who actually clocked in at the start ties attendance to the time records employers must keep accurately for non-exempt staff under the FLSA. The walkway and equipment checks support OSHA’s general requirement to keep the workplace free of recognized hazards, such as a wet entrance floor at the start of a busy evening.
| Clocked in | 7 of 8, Lakeside Grocery, Spokane; Mia called out at 1:40 pm |
|---|---|
| Stations | Leo registers 1 to 3, Ana deli, Sam produce |
| Breaks | Staggered at 4:30, 5:00 and 5:30 pm |
| Handover | Day report: dairy cooler door sticking |
| Safety | Wet floor at entrance mopped, cone placed |
| Priorities | Pie pre-order pickups, truck at 6 pm |
| Manager on call | Jo, (509) 555-0191 |
Mia’s call-out time sits next to her name so the manager can later check it against the call-in policy. Breaks are spaced half an hour apart so the deli is never left alone during the after-work rush.
The shift lead or supervisor on duty.
An opening checklist prepares the site once a day. A start of shift checklist runs at every shift change.
Initials and time are enough for most teams.
Record it, fix it or escalate it before the issue grows.
Cover the stations that cannot close first, then work the call-in or on-call list your policy allows, and write down the gap with the times. Do not solve it by cutting breaks where your state requires them. If the gap lasts, tell the manager on call before the rush rather than after.
Keep it to a few minutes, standing at the work area, after everyone has clocked in. It is paid time, so it should never happen before people punch in. If it regularly runs long, move the detail into the written handover instead.
More for the same job
EZTime schedules include shift reminders and real-time labor costing, and the clock can refuse punches outside an assigned shift. Book a demo to see it with your team.