Count-day surprises: eight scenarios and what to decide

On paper everything runs smoothly: start in the morning, finish by evening. In practice, a truck turns up during the count, the power fails or a needed item cannot be found. The problem itself does not stop the work. What stops it is that nobody knows who makes the decision when one is needed. Below are eight common situations and answers worked out in advance.

Rules first

Three agreements help in almost every scenario:

• inside the team the count leader decides on process, and the client's representative decides on goods and documents;
• nothing is settled "from memory": every deviation goes into a log;
• when in doubt, do not guess: mark the item "unconfirmed" and come back to it.

Eight scenarios

1. A truck turns up. Receiving or dispatch in the counting area is stopped, or a separate area is marked out for vehicles. The arriving goods go on a separate "after cut-off" list and are not mixed into the count result. So that trucks do not wait, arrival times are agreed beforehand.
2. The power fails or a device battery dies. Charged spare devices and paper sheets are ready in advance. Work resumes from the last saved point, and the last few recorded items are checked again.
3. An item cannot be found. The search gets a time limit agreed beforehand, say ten minutes. Then the item is marked "not found" and searched for again at the end of the day. A hypothetical example: 9 items out of 600 are missing. A team that hunts for each one at once loses hours, while a team following the agreed routine keeps counting.
4. An item is in a different place. It is counted where it really lies, an "elsewhere" note is written beside its book location, and a mark prevents counting it twice.
5. Goods without documents, or unknown goods, are found. They are set apart in a separate area, counted, photographed and added to an "owner not identified" list. How to bring them into the books is not the counter's decision.
6. Two counters write down different numbers. A third person, usually the supervisor, recounts. The disputed number does not enter the report, while both original records are kept. The reason for the difference (a mixed-up bin, a similar item) is noted as well.
7. The accountable person or the key is missing. Counting the locked area is moved to another time and the team moves to other zones. If the site rules provide an authorised deputy, he or she is called.
8. Damaged goods, or goods past their expiry date. They are counted too, but marked separately by condition and photographed. The decision on writing them off belongs to the client and the accountant.

The three people of the day

Three roles must be clear on count day. The count leader makes decisions inside the team and runs the day's schedule. The client's representative answers questions about site access, goods and documents, and can always be reached by phone. The supervisor settles disagreements between two counters and watches that the site's safety rules are followed. The names and phone numbers of these three people should be known to everyone before the count starts.

The log and the decisions

The log is a simple table: time, what happened, decision, who decided, result. For example: "11:40, truck arrived; the count leader stopped the receiving area; arriving goods listed separately". Such a log is useful in two ways. First, after the count it is clear why some items were counted later. Second, if the same thing happens the next day, the answer is ready. The log goes to the report as an appendix.

So that decisions do not stall the team, split them into two kinds: quick ones (the count leader decides and logs them) and deferred ones (reviewed at day's end with the client's representative or the accountant). Then the count keeps going and the question is not lost.

A short review at day's end

After the count, set aside 15 minutes: which scenarios happened, which answer worked, which did not? Update the sheet accordingly. At the next count the team starts with the updated sheet. After a few counts you will have your own list of surprises for your site, and it is more useful than any general list.

Conclusion

An unexpected situation cannot be predicted, but the way of answering it can be settled in advance. Inventory carries out counts at the agreed time, at night or on weekends if needed.