12 - 8 - 4 Shift Schedule
Scheduling questions keep popping up on the 911 Console and I generally reply off-line because my schedule is a bit hard to explain. It's an FLSA-compliant variation of the more common 12-hour schedules. It mixes 12, 8, and 4-hour shifts to total 40 hours a week for 4+supervisor or five dispatchers. It's most suitable for small departments but can be adapted for larger centers. I know that quite a few departments have adopted it or their own variation.--"Tree" Greenwood 7-30-2001Since we are never up-to-strength, we usually work on a four-week rotation with a combination of 8 and 12-hour shifts with a 4-hour kicker to make 40 hours a week. The schedule has passed FLSA/NLRB muster. Our supervisor works evenings on Tuesday and Wednesday or fills-in for vacations. When the boss isn't available, those working Wednesday must work four hours of overtime.
-1- Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Adam off D6-6 *D2-6 off off D6-6 D6-6 Bob off N6-6 *E6-10 off off N6-6 N6-6 Chas D6-6 off D6-2 D6-2 D6-6 off off Dave N6-6 off N10-6 N10-6 N6-6 off off Boss E2-10 E2-10 -2- A D6-6 off D6-2 D6-2 D6-6 off off B N6-6 off N10-6 N10-6 N6-6 off off C off N6-6 *E6-10 off off N6-6 N6-6 D off D6-6 *D2-6 off off D6-6 D6-6 Boss E2-10 E2-10 -3- A off N6-6 *E6-10 off off N6-6 N6-6 B off D6-6 *D2-6 off off D6-6 D6-6 C D6-6 off D6-2 D6-2 D6-6 off off D N6-6 off N10-6 N10-6 N6-6 off off Boss E2-10 E2-10 -4- A N6-6 off N10-6 N10-6 N6-6 off off B D6-6 off D6-2 D6-2 D6-6 off off C off D6-6 *D2-6 off off D6-6 D6-6 D off N6-6 *E6-10 off off N6-6 N6-6 Boss E2-10 E2-10 |
D6-6....days, 6 a to 6 p N6-6....nights, 6 p to 6 a N10-6...nights, 10 p to 6 a D6-2.....days, 6 a to 2 p E2-10...evenings, 2 p to 10 p A2-6....afternoons, 2 p to 6 p etc. |
* We're encouraged to use 4 hours of comp time on 4-hour days
The City of Falls Church (Virg.) didn't want to pay overtime all the time. Since civilian personnel, including dispatchers, don't fall under the FLSA exemption for public safety, they came up with the following for our five-person crew--a five-week rotation.
Five week, five person rotation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
{A = afternoon | D = day | E = evening | N = night}
-1- Sun Mon *Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
A off N6-6 *E6-10 off off N6-6 N6-6
B off D6-6 *A2-6 off off D6-6 D6-6
C N6-6 off N10-6 N10-6 N6-6 off off
D D6-6 off D6-2 D6-2 D6-6 off off
E off off E2-10 E2-10 off N4-4 N4-4
-2-
A N6-6 off *N10-6 N10-6 N6-6 off off
B D6-6 off D6-2 D6-2 D6-6 off off
C off D6-6 *A2-6 off off D6-6 D6-6
D off off E2-10 E2-10 off N4-4 N4-4
E off N6-6 *E6-10 off off N6-6 N6-6
-3-
A off D6-6 *A2-6 off off D6-6 D6-6
B off off *E2-10 E2-10 off N4-4 N4-4
C D6-6 off D6-2 D6-2 D6-6 off off
D off N6-6 *E6-10 off off N6-6 N6-6
E N6-6 off N10-6 N10-6 N6-6 off off
-4-
A D6-6 off *D6-2 D6-2 D6-6 off off
B off N6-6 *E6-10 off off N6-6 N6-6
C off off E2-10 E2-10 off N4-4 N4-4
D N6-6 off N10-6 N10-6 N6-6 off off
E off D6-6 *A2-6 off off D6-6 D6-6
-5-
A off off *E2-10 E2-10 off N4-4 N4-4
B N6-6 off N10-6 N10-6 N6-6 off off
C off N6-6 *E6-10 off off N6-6 N6-6
D off D6-6 *A2-6 off off D6-6 D6-6
E D6-6 off D6-2 D6-2 D6-6 off off |
See the shift explanation in the table above |
This schedule complies with FLSA, combining 4, 8, and 12 hour shifts so that each person works 40 hours in a week. Two weeks of days, a week of evening to night, then two weeks of night shift. Everyone gets two out of five weekends off, plus a Sunday in between. After ending days, there's a 4-day mini-vacation before going to evening->night. The asterisks (*) indicate 4-hour shifts where we take our "comp time" so we get two 3-days-in-a-row weekday breaks for every 8-hour comp day (we get compensatory time off for working 40 hours in a week when there's a legal holiday).
We prefer the times specified to avoid the traffic around the Washington (DC) metro area. Other folks may prefer D7-7, E3-11, etc. if rush hour traffic isn't a serious problem in your area.
If you look at it, adjustments are pretty obvious. If you take the two evening shifts off, the day and night folks each work 4 hours of overtime. The swing person can get seven straight days off by taking only two days of vacation. The swing can fill in for illness or vacations, too. Neat, huh? We like it. We have double coverage on weekend evenings when we're busiest and lots of time off in between.
I've worked rotating shifts similar to this for over 11 years and like them. There are lots of advantages to having time off during the week (cheaper motels for mini-vacations in the summer, shopping when stores are empty, and going on field trips with my kids, for example). So I vote for 12 hour shifts, even if they're not all 12 hours long.
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