Why December is a high-risk month for operations

December is when many experienced people leave. Retirements cluster at year-end. Seasonal contracts expire. Operators who have been considering a job change often give notice before the holidays. By mid-January, the floor looks different.

That operator who knew how to coax the temperamental packaging line through changeovers? Retired December 20th. The material handler who always caught mislabeled pallets before they caused line stoppages? Took a job closer to home. The maintenance tech who could diagnose that compressor issue by sound? Left for a competitor.

Their replacements start in January. Training begins. Supervisors explain the basics. But the nuances—the small adjustments, the judgment calls, the workarounds that kept things running—often leave with the people who knew them.

Global timing creates compounding pressure

December does not affect just one site. Holiday schedules vary by region, but year-end transitions are global. European sites lose contractors whose agreements end on December 31st. Asian manufacturing plants see departures ahead of Lunar New Year preparations. North American operations face both holiday absences and Q1 reorganizations.

Multi-site operations feel this most acutely. When expertise leaves one location, other sites lose access to the person who understood how that process worked, who could troubleshoot remotely, who had seen the issue before. Knowledge gaps compound across the network.

What gets lost when operational knowledge walks out

Operational knowledge is the gap between what is documented and what actually keeps operations running. It includes:

Equipment quirks

That sensor that needs a tap before it reads correctly. The valve that sticks unless you cycle it twice. The conveyor section that jams if the product moves too fast.

Process nuances

Which tolerance truly matters, and which can float. The sequence that prevents rework, even though the SOP does not specify the order. The material that needs extra dwell time in humid weather.

Judgment calls

When to escalate a quality issue versus adjust on the fly? Which supplier batches tend to run smoother? How to prioritize when three problems surface at once?

Workarounds

The temporary fix became permanent because it worked. The unofficial sequence that saves time without compromising quality. The tool everyone uses that is not listed in the standard kit.

When this knowledge leaves, new operators are left to guess. They follow the documented method and wonder why it does not work as expected. They call for help more often. Supervisors spend more time troubleshooting. Quality dips. Throughput slows. Issues that experienced operators avoided become recurring problems.

The cost shows up in January and February

January brings new hires, returning seasonal workers, and teams adjusting to gaps left by departures. Performance often dips. Rework increases. Supervisors field more questions.

Operations that captured expertise in December recover faster. Those who did not take longer to stabilize. And the process repeats itself the following year.

Tactics for fast, effective knowledge capture

December is short. Teams are busy. Knowledge capture needs to be fast and practical. Three approaches consistently work well.

First-person video captures how work actually looks

Ask an experienced operator to record themselves performing a critical task. Use a phone, a chest-mounted camera, or smart glasses. Capture what they see: the equipment, the sequence, and the checks they perform.

First-person perspective works because it mirrors the operator’s actual viewpoint. Research in cognitive science shows that people learn more quickly and make fewer errors when instructions match what they see while performing the task.

Structure the recording into clear steps. Add callouts for critical checks, tolerances, or timing. This takes hours, not weeks (or months). One captured procedure can support dozens of operators.

Peer-driven SOPs document real-world execution

Formal SOPs often describe the intended process. Peer-driven SOPs capture how experienced operators actually perform the work.

Ask departing team members to walk through their method while someone documents it. Capture the small details: where they position themselves, which hand they use, and what they check first.

Review the draft together. Ask what feels automatic. Why is that step done that way? What happens if it is skipped? What is the fallback if the equipment behaves differently? This captures judgment and context, not just sequence.

Structured feedback surfaces hidden expertise

Not all operational knowledge is task-specific. Some of it lives in how people respond to issues.

Create a simple format for experienced operators to share:

• Common issues and fixes in their area
• Equipment behaviors that new operators should expect
• Quality warning signs that require immediate escalation
• Tips that took months to learn

This can take less than 30 minutes per person. The knowledge collected often prevents problems that would otherwise cause hours of downtime or rework.

Building a capture habit for 2026

December knowledge capture reduces immediate risk. A year-round habit prevents knowledge gaps from accumulating.

Embed capture into regular operations:

• Capture during onboarding. When training new operators, record the expert demonstrating the task and reuse that guidance consistently.
• Document process changes immediately. When a procedure changes, capture the updated method before the previous approach fades from memory.
• Schedule quarterly capture reviews. Identify high-impact tasks that lack documentation and prioritize based on complexity, turnover risk, and operational impact.
• Include departing employees in transition planning. When someone gives notice, schedule time for them to document their methods before their final day.

Teams that capture operational knowledge continuously spend less time in December trying to preserve what is about to leave.

If you’re reading this in January, you haven’t missed your chance. The same knowledge gaps will surface again unless you take action now. Every year offers another opportunity to build a better habit.

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