Depot Throughput Improved 38% by Restructuring Shift Overlap

The Challenge

The depot processed between 1,400 and 2,100 inbound consignments per day across two primary shifts. Peak inbound volume arrived between 06:30 and 09:00, which aligned precisely with the end of the night shift and the beginning of the early shift. During this window, throughput routinely dropped by 30–40% as the outgoing shift reduced engagement and the incoming shift required 45–60 minutes to reach full operational pace.

A secondary issue was task reassignment: when absence occurred during the overlap window, there was no documented protocol for which roles covered which responsibilities. Supervisors were making ad-hoc decisions under pressure, leading to inconsistent coverage and periodic processing failures at the inbound dock.

The operation had attempted to address this through overtime incentives and verbal briefings at handover. Neither produced durable improvement.

The Intervention

Teamworx4 was engaged to map the overlap period as a distinct operational phase rather than a scheduling problem. Using the Workforce Coordination module, the depot mapped actual task ownership during the 60-minute transition window, identifying three roles where handover was undefined and four tasks that routinely fell through the gap.

The Process Optimization module was used to redesign the handover sequence: a 20-minute structured overlap was introduced for dock coordinators and inbound supervisors, with a documented digital handover log replacing the existing verbal briefing. Cover protocols for the five most common absence scenarios were documented and loaded into the coordination system.

The redesigned overlap structure was rolled out over a 6-week period, beginning with documentation, then supervisor training, then a 2-week live monitoring phase before full operational adoption.