Marty here, and thanks for stopping by Warehouse and Operations as a Career! I had a listener comment that on several episodes I had said something like early is on time and on time is late, and if you’re on time you’re late. They stated that I placed way too much weight on the time clock. And I guess somewhere I had written or said that I had learned more by always being early, setting in the breakroom and listening to or talking with the other shift coming or going. They stated as long as they punched in a minute before the shift their manager shouldn’t be concerned with their schedule. They went on to share that their management wanted them on the floor, dressed out, and ready for the preshift meeting but the timeclock was in the breakroom. At least a two minute walk from the gathering point. Well, let me clarify my thoughts there. I think you should always be you. And you’ll probably be fine. But, if you are an early one, one collaborating with others, and being inquisitive, I assure you, you will earn more throughout your career. But seriously, everyone does have the right, at least to themselves, to, well, be you. And I support that 100%. 

So, after going down that path, it made me think about that first 30 minutes of our shift, and then the last 30 minutes as well! I’ve always believed that hour is the most important two pieces of my shift.  

Now a lot of people and managers think the middle of the shift is where everything happens. That’s where the work gets done, the trucks get loaded, the orders get selected, the freight gets moved, and the productivity numbers are at their peak. And that’s true. But I feel that experienced operations people know something else. You can usually tell how a shift is going to go within the first 30 minutes, and unfortunately, a lot of accidents and poor decisions happen during the last 30 minutes. Those two windows can determine the safety, productivity, morale, and professionalism, what am I wanting to say, Culture, of the entire operation. And it really doesn’t matter what position we hold. 

Whether we’re unloading trailers, selecting orders, operating forklifts, working sanitation, dispatching trucks, handling inventory control, or leading teams, how we start and how we finish matters. A lot. I’m going to say it defines the shift or its culture.  

Let’s start with the beginning of our day. And honestly, I think the shift actually starts before we ever clock in. It starts when the alarm goes off, and with how much sleep we get whether we prepared our lunch, laid out our clothes, filled up the gas tank the night before, or whether we woke up already behind schedule. We’ve all done it. Wake up late. Rush through traffic. Walk into the building frustrated. Grab a scanner or piece of equipment and jump right into the shift without mentally arriving yet. And when that happens, we carry our chaos into the operation with us. 

Now I know life happens. Kids get sick. Traffic backs up. Life is expensive. Some people are working two jobs. I understand all of that. But there’s also something to be said for preparation and routine. Professional associates learn that the shift before the shift matters. I really do believe that showing up ten or fifteen minutes early changes things. It gives us time to breathe. Time to mentally prepare, to stretch, to review assignments and to attend startup meetings without rushing through the door halfway distracted. 

And our startup meetings matter. I know sometimes we look at them as repetitive, and think oh no another safety topic again. We’re listening to the case counts, the trailer counts, and our productivity and error numbers again.  

But don’t those meetings set the tone? That’s where the communication begins and where the expectations are shared. And, in my opinion, strong startup meetings can prevent injuries and operational concerns before they ever happen. Here’s something I learned years ago. A chaotic first hour usually creates a chaotic day. When batteries aren’t charged, and equipment inspections aren’t completed, and maybe the dock doors are blocked with the previous shifts freight, or our assignments aren’t understood and our leadership is scattered trying to find everyone, or attitudes are negative. It’s going to be long day.  

We all know that one late start can affect productivity for an entire shift. That one missing pallet can create indirect time for us. And that one forklift issue not caught during our pre-trip can become a safety incident later. And oh my goodness, can’t attitudes spread quickly inside the warehouse. One negative or rushed person at startup can affect ten more people before first break. But positivity and preparedness spreads just as quick. I that’s why leadership being visible during startup matters so much. 

Associates notice when supervisors are engaged and they notice when leadership is walking the floor. And it’s easy to pick up on when management already looks stressed before the shift even starts. 

And new employees especially pay attention during those first thirty minutes. That’s when the culture gets introduced to them. All the posters and slogans are cool, but the new boot learns through our behavior. They watch how equipment gets inspected, and whether safety rules ar being followed, how people are talking to each other, and whether procedures actually matter. And many times, they’ll mirror what they see. 

Ok, now let’s move to the other side of the shift. The last 30 minutes. And honestly, this may be one of the most dangerous periods of the day inside warehousing and transportation. Because by then, fatigue has entered the picture. Our feet may hurt and our backs may ache. People are mentally tired. Production numbers are on our mind and the clock starts becoming everyone’s focus. We’ve all heard it, said it, or thought it before. Just one more pallet. Just hurry up and finish it. Ot thought I’ll clean it up tomorrow. Or it’s close enough. And that’s when shortcuts begin. Maybe someone skips wrapping a pallet correctly, or someone rushes backing out of a trailer or someone jumps off equipment instead of maintaining their three points of contact. Maybe someone ignores a spill because the sanitation team will get it later or a forklift operator stops paying attention to pedestrians because mentally they’re already in the parking lot. And unfortunately, many injuries happen right there, at the end of the shift. Not because people are bad employees. But because they’re tired. The scary part about fatigue is many times we don’t even realize how distracted we’ve become. That’s why experienced operations leaders are or should be walking the floor during the last hour of the shift. This is when our  energy levels change, our awareness and patience changes, and urgency can become dangerous. 

I was told once to watch my team and don’t let them mentally clock out before they physically clock out. Once that happens, safety and quality begin dropping fast. You can literally see it spread across the dock. People stop communicating. Housekeeping slips. People start parking their equipment anywhere. And paperwork gets rushed or not completed at all.  Sometimes people become so focused on leaving on time that they stop focusing on working safely. 

Now don’t misunderstand me. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to go home. We all work hard. But professionalism and us being That employee means finishing strong too. Not just starting strong. 

Oh and here’s another bullet point I wanted to throw in there. The last thirty minutes are not just about ending our shift, they’re about preparing the next shift. Remember another one of those quotes we’ve all heard at a start up meetings, how it’s our responsibility to set the plate for the next shift! And I’ll use another one of the words we learned 2 weeks ago, I think this says a lot about our ownership. Do we leave equipment plugged in? Do we report damaged the pallets? Do we clean up shrink wrap and debris, leaving our work areas clean and organized or do we leave chaos for somebody else to fix? We all know that if batteries are dead, or equipment is damaged, and replenishments weren’t completed, or if paperwork is missing or incomplete, the next team starts behind before they even begin. 

Often our teams are measured by what we leave behind for others. I think strong facilities operate like connected shifts, not separate teams competing against each other. 

And I want to add that leadership plays a huge role in both the first and last thirty minutes. Like we discussed earlier, a disengaged startup creates confusion, just like a disengaged close creates carelessness. I’m just going to say it. Associates need to see leadership on the floor, they need communication and consistency. Sometimes just seeing a supervisor engaged on the floor at the end of the shift changes the entire energy of a department. 

At the end of the day, warehousing and transportation are fast-moving environments. We deal with freight, equipment, deadlines, productivity, customers, and pressure. But sometimes the smallest moments create the biggest outcomes. The first thirty minutes. And the last thirty minutes. I think the best associates understand it, because the best leaders teach it. And the strongest operations build cultures around it. Because how we start creates momentum and how we finish defines our professionalism. And in our world, both matter. 

Did anything we talk about today change how you’re going to walk into or out of your shift tomorrow? If so or if you have any thoughts you’d like to share please do so on our Facebook or Instagram feeds and of course you can send us an email as well!  

Yall be safe out there this week and I hope you’ll join us again next week.