Shift Patterns

A collection of shift patterns and how they are used.

6-4 6-4 6-4 Ten Hour Rotating Shift Pattern| 24/7 Shift Coverage

The 6-4 6-4 6-4 Ten Hour Rotating Shift pattern uses 5 teams (crews) and 3 overlapping ten-hour shifts to provide 24/7 coverage. It consists of a 30 day cycle where each team works six consecutive 10-hour first shifts, followed by 4 days off duty, works six consecutive 10-hour third shifts, followed by 4 days off duty, works six consecutive 10-hour second shifts, followed by 4 days off duty. The overlapping… Read More »6-4 6-4 6-4 Ten Hour Rotating Shift Pattern| 24/7 Shift Coverage

5-3 5-4 5-3 Ten Hour Rotating Shift Pattern

The 5-3 5-4 5-3 Ten Hour Rotating Shift schedule uses 5 teams (crews) and 3 overlapping ten-hour shifts to provide 24/7 coverage. It consists of a 25 day cycle where each team works five consecutive 10-hour first shifts, followed by 3 days off duty, works five consecutive 10-hour third shifts, followed by 4 days off duty, works five consecutive 10-hour second shifts, followed by 3 days off duty. The overlapping… Read More »5-3 5-4 5-3 Ten Hour Rotating Shift Pattern

4-2 4-3 4-3 Ten Hour Rotating Shift Pattern| 24/7 Shift Coverage

The 4-2 4-3 4-3 Ten Hour Rotating Shift pattern uses 5 teams (crews) and 3 overlapping ten-hour shifts to provide 24/7 coverage. It consists of a 20 day cycle where each team works four consecutive 10-hour first shifts, followed by 2 days off duty, works four consecutive 10-hour third shifts, followed by 3 days off duty, works four consecutive 10-hour second shifts, followed by 3 days off duty. The overlapping… Read More »4-2 4-3 4-3 Ten Hour Rotating Shift Pattern| 24/7 Shift Coverage

Panama Plus Shift Pattern | 24/7 Shift Coverage

This shift pattern uses 5 teams, two 12-hr shifts, and one 8-hr weekday shift to provide 24/7 coverage. The weekday shift is usually provided for training purpose or other administrative tasks. Overall, each team works 2 weeks on an 8-hr weekday schedule for every 8 weeks of shiftwork. The day and night shifts are both 12-hrs long. For every 40 weeks, each team works the following shift sequences: Repeat the… Read More »Panama Plus Shift Pattern | 24/7 Shift Coverage

2-2 3-2 2-3 Rotating Shift Pattern | 24/7 Shift Coverage

The 2-2 3-2 2-3 rotating shift schedule uses 4 teams (crews) and 2 twelve-hour shifts to provide 24/7 coverage. It consists of a 4-week cycle where each team works 2 consecutive day shifts, followed by 2 days off duty, works 3 consecutive day shifts, followed by 2 days off duty, works 2 consecutive day shifts, followed by 3 days off duty, 2 consecutive night shifts, followed by 2 days off… Read More »2-2 3-2 2-3 Rotating Shift Pattern | 24/7 Shift Coverage

DuPont Schedule for 24/7 Shift Coverage

The DuPont schedule follows a 12-hour rotating shift pattern that uses 4 teams (crews) and 2 twelve-hour shifts to provide 24/7 coverage. During a 4-week cycle, each team works 4 consecutive night shifts, followed by 3 days off duty, works 3 consecutive day shifts, followed by 1 day off duty, works 3 consecutive night shifts, followed by 3 days off duty, works 4 consecutive day shift, then have 7 consecutive… Read More »DuPont Schedule for 24/7 Shift Coverage

Pitman Shift Pattern | 24/7 Shift Coverage

The Pitman fixed shift schedule uses 4 teams (crews) and 2 twelve-hour shifts to provide 24/7 coverage. It consists of a 2-week cycle where each team works 2 consecutive shifts, followed by 2 days off duty, works 3 consecutive shifts, followed by 2 days off duty, works 2 consecutive shifts, followed by 3 days off duty. Two teams are assigned day shifts while the other two are assigned night shifts.… Read More »Pitman Shift Pattern | 24/7 Shift Coverage

24-48 Shift Pattern | 24/7 Shift Coverage

The 24-48 shift pattern uses three teams (i.e. platoons) and three shifts to provide 24/7 coverage. It consists of a 3-day cycle where each team works one 24-hour shift followed by 2 consecutive days (48 hours) off duty. This shift pattern is very popular with fire departments in the United States and is also known as ABC shift pattern.   Characteristics Plan ID C3TF24-4 Name 24-48 Shift Schedule Applicability 24/7… Read More »24-48 Shift Pattern | 24/7 Shift Coverage

48-96 Shift Pattern | 24/7 Shift Coverage

The 48-96 work schedule has been gaining acceptance from fire departments and emergency medical services in the United States as a way to reduce the number of work days and the associated long commutes. This work schedule uses three teams (i.e. platoons) and three shifts to provide 24/7 coverage. It consists of a 6-day cycle where each team works two consecutive 24-hour shifts, followed by 4 consecutive days off duty.… Read More »48-96 Shift Pattern | 24/7 Shift Coverage

Kelly Shift Pattern | 24/7 Shift Coverage

Very popular with fire departments and emergency services agencies, the Kelly shift pattern uses three teams (i.e. platoons) and three shifts to provide 24/7 coverage. It consists of a 9-day cycle where each team works one 24-hour shift, followed by 24 hours off duty, works another 24-hour shift, followed by 24 hours off duty, then works a final 24-hour shift, followed by 4 consecutive days off duty. Personnel work an… Read More »Kelly Shift Pattern | 24/7 Shift Coverage