The shift handoff checklist: a copy-ready template for delivery fleets

Use this template to record the handover. It combines a vehicle photo set with process checks; it is not a substitute for the vehicle safety checks required in your operation.

The checklist

Start of shift:

End of shift — same discipline:

Print it, laminate it, hang it at the key board. Or run it digitally — more on that below.

The rules that make it work

The checklist itself is ordinary. The rules around it are what produce results:

1. Keep the routine clear. Remove unnecessary steps, but leave enough time to inspect the vehicle and take usable photos. A time target must not replace a completed check.
2. Make missing records visible. Define who follows up when a required photo or check is missing, and how a driver reports an obstacle.
3. Same photo set, every time. Four exterior views, the dashboard and the cargo area provide a consistent comparison. Keep the framing clear.
4. Both ends of the shift. Start and return photos provide separate condition records. The inspection routine explains how to compare them without assuming responsibility from a timestamp alone.
5. A named reviewer. Set a routine review target, such as the next working day, and handle urgent findings immediately through your operating process. Fleet’s photo review queue guide explains the review steps.

Paper vs WhatsApp vs app

Choose the format your team can maintain, then check how records will be retrieved and reviewed:

• Paper sheets. Keep an indexed archive and a way to connect each sheet to its photo set.
• WhatsApp group. Agree how vehicle, driver and shift are identified and who transfers relevant records into the incident file.
• An inspection app. Check the actual capture flow, missing-photo handling and review process before rollout.

Whichever format you choose, test whether a dispatcher can retrieve one complete handover record and identify its outstanding actions.

Adapting it to your fleet

• Rental or leased vans: add fuel level and cabin cleanliness emphasis at end-of-shift — that's what return assessments bill you for.
• Multi-driver vehicles: the end-of-shift photo set doubles as the next driver's baseline. The handover is the inspection.
• Winter: wipe snow off panels before photographing. Photos of snow-covered vans are weak evidence — the panel under the snow is what matters.

In Fleet by Elevera, the in-app vehicle photo set is fixed: four exterior views, the dashboard and cargo area. Drivers cannot add or swap those views. The additional checks above belong in your surrounding process. For issuing scanners and keys, use the separate equipment ledger workflow.

Running it digitally

Fleet by Elevera connects vehicle photos with the shift record and the dispatcher’s review. Check the shift inspection workflow and current plans and included modules against your checklist before introducing it to the team.

Related reading on the Fleet journal:

• Photo evidence at handoff: the claims cost model
• A practical vehicle inspection routine for Amazon DSPs
• Onboarding a new DSP route: the first 30 days, in order