Execution
Shutdown Shift Handover: Checklist and Log for Turnarounds
A shutdown shift handover is the transfer of every job's state from one crew to the next: live and suspended permits, isolations and locks, temporary measures, part-done jobs with their as-left state, changes and the critical path, and people and hours. Do it face to face and in writing, walk the high-risk jobs, transfer locks before anyone leaves and have both supervisors sign. UK HSE notes most handover accidents involved planned maintenance.
How MaintWiz helps: In MaintWiz each work order carries a handover note and an as-left summary beside its permits and isolations, and every permit shows the hours it has left.
By Jai Balachandran · Technical review: Murali Nerur Pasupathy · Published · Last reviewed
What MaintWiz adds:Handover note on every jobAs-left summaryPermit hours leftShift log in the daily report
Why it matters
Why are shutdown shift handovers high risk?
UK HSE notes that many accidents have occurred because of a failure of communication at shift handover, and that the majority of these involved planned maintenance work.
A shutdown is planned maintenance on a large scale. 1 It concentrates the conditions that make handover hard: more live permits and isolations, more contractors, 12-hour shifts, vessels opened and left part done, temporary measures in place and new findings every shift. The incoming crew inherits all of it at once.
Assumed complete
A job reported as nearly done is taken as done, and the next step starts without the last check.
Permit expires mid-job
A permit valid for the outgoing shift lapses, and work carries on under it.
Lock not transferred
The outgoing worker removes a lock before the oncoming worker has applied theirs.
Change not passed on
A scope change, a bypass or a new hazard is agreed on one shift and never reaches the next.
What changes in a shutdown
Routine handover covers a running plant. Shutdown handover covers a plant in pieces: which equipment is open, which is isolated and by whom, which permits are live, which protections are inhibited, and what was found. HSE advises identifying the higher-risk handovers and planning maintenance work to finish within one shift where possible. 1 In a turnaround many jobs run for days, so the handover has to carry them across.
Checklist
Shutdown shift handover checklist
Six groups, in the same order every shift. HSE advises basing the content on what the incoming staff need to know; the DOE turnover guide has the checklist point to records that already exist rather than copy them.
Permits
- Every live permit, its job and its expiry time
- Suspended permits and the state the plant was left in
- Permits due to close or revalidate this shift
- Gas tests due, and their last results
Isolations and locks
- What is isolated, by whom, and how it was proved
- Group lockout: who holds primary responsibility
- Locks to transfer and the procedure for it
- Spades and blinds fitted, against the blind list
Part-done jobs
- As-left state: what is open, what is boxed up
- Next step and the hold point before it
- Tools, rigging and scaffold left in place
- Anything that must not be touched
Temporary measures
- Bypasses and overrides in place, and who authorised them
- Fire and gas detectors inhibited, and in which zones
- Temporary hoses, jumpers and blanks fitted
- Fire watches and standby persons posted
Changes and critical path
- New findings and scope changes: approved, rejected, pending
- Jobs on or near the critical path and what blocks them
- Parts, scaffold, crane or inspector waited on
- Tests and inspections booked for the next shift
People and hours
- Crews and contractors on site and where
- Hours worked against the limits
- Incidents, near misses and first aid
- Anyone new to the area this shift
Permits: live, suspended and expiring
Hand over the state of every permit, not just the list. A suspended permit can still have isolations in place, so the log records the condition the plant was left in. Issue, types and approval follow the site's permit-to-work system during a shutdown; at shift change the log carries each permit's state and expiry.
Isolations and locks
OSHA 29 CFR 1910.147(f)(4) requires specific procedures at shift or personnel changes to keep lockout or tagout protection continuous, with an orderly transfer of devices between off-going and oncoming employees. Under (f)(3), when a crew works under group lockout, one authorized employee holds primary responsibility and each worker adds a personal lock when starting work. 3
Temporary measures
Bypasses, inhibited detectors, temporary hoses and fire watches are the items most easily forgotten, because they sit outside the job list. Give them their own group, so each one is either carried forward with a named owner or removed.
Part-done jobs and as-left state
Write down what is open, what has been inspected, what is waiting for parts and what is boxed up. Mark the hold point before the next step, so the incoming crew neither repeats a test nor skips one.
Changes, critical path and people
Pass on new findings with their status, the jobs on the critical path and what blocks them, and the crews on site with the hours they have worked. Shift length and rest rules for a stop are set out under night shifts and fatigue in a shutdown.
How to run it
How do you run a shutdown shift handover?
HSE asks for handovers that are face to face, two-way, verbal and written, with as much time as they need. The DOE turnover guide adds a walkdown of the work station and a formal transfer of responsibility.
- 1Prepare the logThe outgoing supervisor updates the handover log for every job: permit, locks, as-left state, next step.
- 2Walk the high-risk jobsOutgoing and incoming supervisors walk the jobs with open vessels, live permits or partial isolations.
- 3Talk it throughFace to face, two-way: the incoming supervisor reads back the critical items and asks questions.
- 4Transfer the locksLocks and tags pass to the oncoming crew under the site's lockout procedure, before anyone leaves.
- 5Sign and briefBoth sign the log; the incoming supervisor briefs the crews before work restarts.
DOE-STD-1038-93 describes the turnover checklist as a guide that takes the on-coming person through the turnover step by step, a pre-shift walkdown that works best when the off-going person goes too, and a discussion of status before a formal transfer of duties ends the outgoing person's responsibility. 2
Which handovers need a walk to the job
Walk the jobs where a mistake cannot be seen from the log: open vessels and confined spaces, partial isolations, jobs under hot work, lifts left rigged, inhibited protections and anything between two tests. Hand over the rest at the board.
Supervisor handover and control-room handover
A shutdown has two handovers at each shift change: the control room hands over the plant state, and the maintenance and contractor supervisors hand over the jobs. Agree in the plan which items each one covers, so permits, isolations and bypasses are not left between them.
Worked example
Worked example: one exchanger at shift change
ILLUSTRATION: a heat exchanger with its bundle pulled at the end of the day shift.
| Item | Written in the log | Said face to face |
|---|---|---|
| Permit | Cold work permit live until 19:00; confined-space permit suspended at 17:30 | The confined-space permit needs a new gas test before anyone re-enters |
| Isolations | Inlet and outlet spaded, spade numbers on the blind list; group lock box holds the keys | Day crew locks come off only after night crew locks are on |
| Temporary measures | Area gas detector GD-14 inhibited for the bundle lift; fire watch posted | GD-14 goes back in service as soon as the bundle is on the pad |
| As-left state | Bundle on the cleaning pad; shell open; nozzle covers fitted | Do not start the hydrotest set-up: the shell inspection is not signed |
| Changes and critical path | Finding raised: pitting near the inlet nozzle, awaiting the inspector; exchanger on the critical path with no float | If the repair is approved, box-up moves past tomorrow noon; the crane is booked for 06:00 |
Handover log
Shift handover log: the fields to record
One line per job, so the incoming supervisor can scan the log before the walk.
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Job and area | Work order or package, equipment tag, area or zone |
| Permit | Number, type, state (live, suspended, closed) and expiry time |
| Isolations | Isolation reference, locks on, spades and blinds fitted |
| Temporary measures | Bypasses, inhibited detectors, temporary connections, fire watch |
| As-left state | What is open, inspected, waiting or boxed up |
| Next step and hold point | The next task and the check that must come before it |
| Findings and changes | New findings, approved and pending changes |
| Blockers | Parts, scaffold, crane, permit, inspector |
| Crew | Crew or contractor on the job, hours worked |
| Sign-off | Outgoing and incoming supervisor, date and time |
Keep permit and isolation details in one register, and point to it from the log line for each job: the permit and isolation register template holds them for every job.
Which record is which
Shift handover, daily meeting and daily report: which does what?
Three records, three jobs. Keeping them apart keeps each one short.
| Record | Purpose | When | Who |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shift handover | Pass the state of each job, permit, lock and temporary measure to the next crew | Every shift change | Outgoing and incoming supervisors |
| Daily meeting | Decide on safety, the critical path, blockers and discovered work | Once a day, fixed time | Shutdown manager and leads |
| Daily report | Record progress, float and cost against the baseline | Once a day, after the meeting | Planner, published to all |
In MaintWiz
How does MaintWiz record a shutdown shift handover?
The handover sits on the job, so the next shift reads it where the work is.
- Each work order carries a handover note and an as-left summary next to its permits and isolations.
- Every active permit shows the hours it has left, so expiring permits are on the handover before they lapse.
- Technicians record ticks, readings and photos on the job's checklist, and findings go straight to the planner.
- The field daily report keeps the shift log notes, and a package cannot close while a permit or isolation on it is open.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What should a shutdown shift handover include?
Every live and suspended permit, the isolations and locks in place, temporary measures such as bypasses and inhibited detectors, part-done jobs with their as-left state and next step, new findings and the critical path, and the crews on site with their hours.
Is a shift handover the same as a shift turnover?
Yes. UK and Indian sites usually say handover; US refining, DOE and nuclear sites usually say turnover. Both mean transferring the duties and the state of the work to the oncoming person.
Should a shift handover be verbal or written?
Both. UK HSE advises handovers that are face to face, two-way and use both verbal and written communication. The log carries the facts; the conversation carries the warnings.
How long should a shutdown shift handover take?
As long as it needs: HSE advises giving handover as much time and resource as necessary. Build an overlap into the shift pattern so the walk of high-risk jobs is not squeezed.
Does a permit to work carry over to the next shift?
Only as the site's permit procedure allows. Hand over each permit's state and expiry; a suspended permit can still have isolations in place, and many permits need revalidation or a new gas test before work restarts.
What happens to lockout locks at shift change?
OSHA 29 CFR 1910.147(f)(4) requires procedures that keep lockout continuous, with an orderly transfer of devices between off-going and oncoming employees. Standard practice is that the oncoming locks go on before the off-going locks come off.
How should bypasses and inhibited detectors be handed over?
As their own group in the log: what is bypassed or inhibited, where, who authorised it and when it is due back in service, so each one is either carried forward with a named owner or removed.
How do you hand over a job left half done?
Write the as-left state and the next hold point in the log, walk the job together if it is open, isolated or between tests, and have the incoming supervisor read the critical items back.
Who signs the shift handover?
The outgoing and incoming supervisors for each area or contractor crew. The DOE turnover guide ends the turnover with a formal transfer of duties, which the signatures record.
Can a CMMS hold the shift log?
Yes. MaintWiz keeps a handover note and as-left summary on each work order beside its permits and isolations, and the field daily report holds the shift log notes; the face-to-face walk and read-back still happen at the job.
Sources
Sources
UK HSE, US DOE and OSHA sources read on 7 November 2026.
Hand over every job from the work order
Book a demo and bring last shutdown's permit list. We will show the handover note, the as-left summary and permit expiry on your own jobs.