Reflow
Handoff Pack
An SMT handover path for South African production teams, set out for people who already know the boards and the floor.
How Handoff Pack fits into a normal production week
Use Handoff Pack when a board build moves between operators, shifts, or sites and the next team must pick up with the same oven profile, feeder layout, and inspection focus. The pack captures what was running, what was adjusted, and which defects still need watching before the next batch starts.
Board code, shift handover time, and any current stoppage should sit at the top of the pack. Conditions around South African sites change what the next team needs to read first, from Highveld dust in Johannesburg to coastal humidity in Durban and Cape Town. Add planned power downtime, courier pickup windows, and any customer demo run so placement, reflow, and inspection records match the day.
Photograph the line exactly as it stands before reels are moved, nozzles are swapped, or the oven recipe is edited. A printed handover card can sit at the line PC, inside the job file, or with the traveller so the next operator sees the same key points first. That record is especially useful on early starts when the previous team is no longer on site to explain a placement exception or a reflow concern.
Contents of the handover file
A useful Handoff Pack normally includes feeder positions, stencil ID, paste batch, oven settings, AOI concerns, and the reason a board was stopped or held. Keep the wording short and exact. One page that names the live issues on the line is more helpful than a long note that leaves the next shift guessing.
Link the pack to the matching Reflow note and the Board notes record so process changes can be traced back to one board build. Before cartons leave dispatch, recheck labels, counts, and any boards separated for review after rework or suspect joints. SMT line enquiries should name the board type, the placement volume and the machines already on the line.
- Oven recipe, feeders, and hold points
- Line photos taken before any changes
- Notes shared by email with operators
Production conditions across South Africa
A handover for an East Rand factory will not read the same as one prepared for a coastal contract manufacturer or a small assembly cell in the Western Cape. Some teams are working around dispatch bookings at OR Tambo, others around courier runs, landlord generator rules, or restricted access hours at industrial parks. Write the pack for the site that exists, not for an ideal line layout that nobody has on the day.
Coastal air can shorten the window between board prep and placement, so storage and exposure details matter in the pack. Inland workshops often fight dust on covers, rails, and sensors, which changes cleaning notes and restart checks after a stop. When power is unstable, record the exact stage where first-article approval, reflow verification, and inspection images were captured.
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What to include before changeover
Send the Handoff Pack brief with line photos, timing, and a note on issues already seen. Name the subject line for the board or line being handed over.
Complete the Handoff Pack while the run details are still visible on the line screen and the operator can confirm what was changed. Attach it to the job record when purchasing, quality, or the customer asks for the process trail behind a delayed batch, a rework lot, or a settings change.
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