Covering a Vending Route: Leave a Site-Specific Visit Checklist

A relief worker can know how to refill a machine and still lose time at an unfamiliar site. Add a short site-specific checklist to the normal training and procedures. It should explain local arrangements without assuming the cover person knows the regular driver’s routine.

Start with arrival and access

Provide the correct entrance, permitted visit window, receiving contact and any booking or escort arrangement. Explain where the vehicle and trolley may go using the site’s approved delivery plan. HSA delivery guidance highlights the importance of exchanging clear site responsibilities. Do not put access codes in a widely shared route sheet; use the organisation’s authorised method for sensitive access details.

Identify the machine and stock

Use the machine identifier, location and current product map rather than ‘the machine near the kitchen’. Include the prepared picklist and how to record unused stock or substitutions. Highlight site-specific restrictions that have already been agreed with the operator. A cover worker should not have to guess whether an unfamiliar snack is an approved replacement for a missing line.

Define the limits of the visit

List the authorised refill, inspection and cleaning tasks, with the relevant normal procedures available. State which faults should be reported and which work is reserved for a technician. Avoid turning a short cover note into an improvised repair manual. If access, stock or equipment differs from the plan, give the worker a named contact who can decide the next step.

Require a useful handback

Record arrival and departure, completed tasks, quantities, issues and any action still required. Ask the cover worker to identify instructions that were unclear so the checklist improves before the next absence. Keep the current version in one agreed place. The regular worker’s return should not depend on reconstructing the visit from several messages or discovering a missing task at the following refill.

Further guidance: HSA Delivering Safely guide. For a related practical checklist, see Vending Machine Refill Handover: A Checklist for New Staff.

For help planning an arrangement for your site, contact Vending-Machines.ie about your requirements and available managed vending services.