Method guide · Arrange people and ideas
Handoff Stations
Walk through actual handoffs to locate waiting, returns, and unclear receipt rather than blaming individual attention.
- People
- 4–30
- Base procedure time
- 45 minutes
- Recording
- Shared record
Purpose: Reflect and learn; Build working relationships.
English guide
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How this method works
A conversation that recreates actual handoffs by walking between stations on the floor. Use it when repeated handoff omissions are blamed on a lack of attention and nobody can see where information or outputs stop. Participants carry an output through the process stations and check what is passed, what is received, and the stopping conditions at each point. Waiting and return routes that verbal explanations conceal become visible in the route people walk. The result is a handoff route with stopping conditions and the first station to change. Do not use it for processes whose actual items cannot be brought out safely.
Phase schedule
Minutes are cumulative from the start of the base plan, not a live timer. Read scaling for any additional time. Phase controls do not advance automatically.
Use the arrow keys, Home or End while these controls have focus. The complete phase schedule remains below, including without JavaScript.
- Place the stations0–8 minutes from the start (8 minutes)
Action: Place. Participation: Groups of 3–6.
Shared record
- Pass the actual item8–18 minutes from the start (10 minutes)
Action: Pass. Participation: People assigned roles.
Shared record
- Walk the route18–28 minutes from the start (10 minutes)
Action: Walk. Participation: Groups of 3–6.
Shared record
- Test stopping conditions28–38 minutes from the start (10 minutes)
Action: Test. Participation: Groups of 3–6.
Shared record
- Choose a station to change38–45 minutes from the start (7 minutes)
Action: Choose. Participation: Everyone.
Shared record
Facilitation steps
- For 8 minutes, place a station card for each process stage on the floor and assign the sending role, receiving role, and output at each station.
- For 10 minutes, people in the assigned roles carry the actual item through the stations, recreating the words used to hand it over and confirm receipt.
- For 10 minutes, observers write waiting, backtracking, and unclear-receipt points on stopping-condition cards and place them on the floor.
- For 10 minutes, another participant walks the same route and tests whether the stopping conditions alone allow them to stop and return.
- For 7 minutes, everyone compares the number of stops and chooses one station to change first and one receipt confirmation to alter.
If something changes
If
Five minutes after the recreation starts, the output has not left the first station.
Then
Replace it with a substitute card stating only the item’s name and completion condition, then resume.
If
During the second walk, the route returns to the same station 2 or more times.
Then
Add the return station number to the stopping-condition card and retry the return just once.
If
Four minutes into selection, 3 or more possible stations to change remain.
Then
Keep only the station with the longest stopping time and focus on changing receipt confirmation there.
Preparation
Materials
- One output or substitute per group for each process stage
- One station card per group for each stage, approximately A3 size
- 3 stopping-condition cards per group for each station
- One dark-coloured pen per person
- One roll of floor tape per group
Room and setup
- Groups of 3–6; 1–5 groups
- 3–6 floor stations per group, in process order and at least 3 m apart
- One passage per group, at least 1 m wide, allowing people to carry the output through all stations
Adjust for people and time
With fewer than 4 people, one person alternates between sender and receiver and recreates just 3 stations. With 4–30, form groups of 3–6 with no more than 6 per group and sizes differing by no more than 1. Each group walks a separate route and brings only its station with the most stops to everyone. Do not reenact the stations at the whole-group level; merge common stopping conditions.
Safety and non-applicable situations
Do not use actual items that cannot be brought out safely. Preserve stopping conditions, return locations, and receipt confirmation. Limit the specified return retry to once.
Manuscript's recorded references
These translate the original manuscript's source and rights claims. They remain separate from any current-page notice below; they do not establish new verification.
- Taiwa no Fumen editorial team: Handoff Stations
Original description and illustrations
Diagram, print, and video language
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Editorial provenance
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