Board notes
Handoff Mail
A floor note on handoff mail covering board status, shortages and machine changes.
Handoff Mail is our note on the messages that move a job between sales, stores, production, service and dispatch, with the board name, machine, urgency and attachments stated clearly from the start.
Handoff Mail must read like a shift handover, not a sales note. State the board name, current stage, missing parts and any machine swap in plain terms so stores, production and dispatch can act on one message. Our contact form takes attachments, so include the board reference.
First lines every handover needs
- Board code and build stage
- Photos of placement issue, label, or hold area attached
- Gerber, BOM, or drawing revision referenced correctly
- Sender role shown as sales, stores, production, service or dispatch
Use this note with the rest of the journal when one board moves between teams more than once in a day. The useful record is the one that names the machine, feeder change or shortage without forcing the next shift to phone around for context.
What Handoff Mail looks like across a live factory week
Handoff Mail covers the message that moves a board build from one team or shift to the next. It should state board status, shortages and machine changes clearly enough for the next person to act without guessing. Use this note where email is still the handover record.
Open with the board identifier, customer urgency and exact point where the build stopped. Johannesburg and Pretoria sites may be waiting on inland stock moves, while Durban and Cape Town teams may be working around courier collections and coastal storage conditions. Load-shedding, overtime changeovers and late component arrivals should be named in the message, not left for someone else to discover at the line.
Attach the first evidence while the board is still in its held condition. A feeder position photo, reject sample image or screen capture from inspection gives the next person a fixed reference before reels are moved or labels are replaced. That matters most on mixed-model days when several assemblies share the same line.
What the next team can act on
A good handoff leaves one clear action for the next department. Stores can issue shortages, production can resume with the correct setup, service can inspect a fault, and dispatch can hold or release packed boards against the same record. Short mail with exact facts is better than a long chain that hides the decision.
Link Handoff Mail to the matching board note when a stoppage affects more than one shift. Before packed product leaves, check labels, quantity and hold status against the latest message so dispatch is not working from an older instruction. SMT line enquiries should name the board type, the placement volume and the machines already on the line.
- One record across all departments
- Fault evidence captured before reels move
- Reply trail kept with the job
Factory conditions that change the message
South African electronics teams often hand over work across sales, stores, production, service and dispatch in the same day. OR Tambo collections, regional stock transfers and customer demo requirements can all change whether a board must ship, wait, or return to the line. Write the handover for the site you have, not for an ideal plant with spare stock and open machine time.
Coastal humidity can affect storage comments for paste, labels and moisture-sensitive parts. Inland dust and older factory services may need extra mention when sensors, feeders or conveyors have been cleaned or reset. Power cuts also matter because first-article approval, oven recovery and restart times may alter the board status.
Operated by Astros Marketing (Pty) Ltd from 2 Makro Place, Sunnyrock 1401.
Useful wording for board transfers
A floor note on handoff mail covering board status, shortages and machine changes.
Send Handoff Mail on the day the status changes while the machine, material and hold area are still easy to verify. Include the board name, revision, quantity affected and next required action so the message can sit in the job record without extra explanation later.