Daily Tier 1 Huddle Meeting Template
A Tier 1 huddle is the short daily meeting at the work area where the team reviews yesterday's results, today's plan and the problems blocking them. This template gives the meeting a repeatable agenda and a record.
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Daily Tier 1 Huddle Meeting Template
Tier 1 Daily Huddle: Cell 3, Machining
Company: Northfield Precision Ltd Date: 2026-10-20 Shift: Day Leader: A. Singh, Cell supervisor Target duration: 10 to 15 minutes, standing at the board.
S - Safety
No injuries. One near miss: coolant on floor at lathe 04, cleaned and drip tray fitted. Focus today: lockout during chip clearing.
Q - Quality
Scrap 6 pieces yesterday on part PN-48213, bore undersize. First-pass yield 96 percent against 98 percent target.
D - Delivery
Planned 420 pieces, produced 395. Shortfall due to 40 minutes of unplanned downtime on lathe 02. Today's plan: 420 pieces.
C - Cost
Overtime 3.5 hours. Downtime 85 minutes. Scrap cost within weekly budget.
P - People
One absence. Cross-trained operator moved from cell 2. Training: setup of new fixture, two operators.
Problems and escalation
Recurring spindle fault on lathe 02, third time this month. Need maintenance root cause by Friday.
Action log
| No. | Action | Owner | Due date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||||
| 2 | ||||
| 3 | ||||
| 4 |
Actions agreed today
1. Maintenance to inspect lathe 02 spindle, owner: B. Okafor, due Thursday. 2. Fit drip tray on lathe 04, owner: setter, done. 3. Add chip clearing lockout reminder to board.
Sign off
Keep it short, standing and at the place of work. Update the results before the meeting. Anything the team cannot solve within a day or two goes to the Tier 2 meeting.
Feed the huddle board from ERP data
Optional review of which huddle measures can come straight from ERP and MES.
Optional. The tool and every export work without this. No spam.
How to use the template
Hold the huddle at the same time and place each shift, standing at the visual board. The supervisor updates the results beforehand so the meeting does not spend time collecting data. Walk through safety, quality, delivery, cost and people, then discuss problems and agree actions with an owner and date. Fill in the template, export it and save or print it. Escalate items that need help to the Tier 2 meeting rather than letting them sit.
- Start with safety every day
- Show results against target with red and green
- No problem solving in the huddle, assign it
What good looks like
A good huddle lasts 10 to 15 minutes, people attend because it helps them, and open actions are closed quickly. The board shows trends and not just today's number. Leaders listen and remove barriers rather than ask for explanations. Track the percentage of actions closed on time and the number of escalations that were answered within a day. If actions pile up, the huddle will lose credibility.
Connecting it to systems
The numbers on the board often come from your ERP or MES: pieces produced against schedule, scrap postings, downtime reasons and overtime hours. Where the data is manual today, start by agreeing on a definition for each measure, so Tier 1 and Tier 2 compare like with like. Automate the data later, once the habit is firm and the team trusts the measures.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Tier 1 meeting?
It is the first level of a tiered accountability or lean daily management system. The team that does the work meets at its own area daily. Problems the team cannot solve go to Tier 2, which is usually the area manager's meeting.
How long should a huddle last?
Ten to fifteen minutes. If it runs longer, items are being solved in the meeting instead of being assigned. Move discussion to a separate follow-up with the people involved.
What does SQDC stand for?
Safety, quality, delivery and cost, often with people added as SQDCP. The order puts safety first. Some plants use other letters such as inventory or morale, but the idea is the same: a small set of daily measures against target.
Do we need a physical board?
Many teams start with a whiteboard at the cell because it gets people together and visible. Digital boards help with multi-site reporting, but only after the meeting routine is working.
Netray can help populate huddle boards from ERP and MES data, such as plan versus actual and scrap by cell, while keeping the data read-only.
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