Shift Work Models from Around the World

VentMonkey

Family Guy
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Modified Kelly Schedule. The worst of all possible worlds.
Hardly the worst, IMO. It works well for our volume/ lifestyle:

XOXOXOXOOOOXOXOXOXOOOOOO

This is also flight, however. The county FD’s schedule here is also pretty sweet:

XXOOXXOOXXOOOOOOOO
 

DrParasite

The fire extinguisher is not just for show
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lets see..... there are 24 on 48 off
c3tf24-4.png

, 24 on 72 off (my personal fav), or you can look at the kelly schedule, which is used by FDs
c3tf24-2.png


then you have the 12 hour ones (with pictures from https://www.bmscentral.com/learn-employee-scheduling/category/shift-patterns/

this is the pittman schedule
c4tf12-1.png


or you can do a rotating pittman schedule

c4tr12-4.png


you can also do 10/14s, which is two 10 hour days followed by two 14 hour nights and then 4 off.

24s are great if it's slow, or if you typically get to sleep, but if you are busy, and you don't get sleep on a regular basis, they are downright dangerous.
 

KingCountyMedic

Forum Lieutenant
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KCM1: (24's) 1 on 1 off, 1 on 5 off
Seattle M1: (24's) 1 on 2 off, 1 on 4 off

X days (debit days) around 8 or so a year used to fill vacations etc. are assigned at the beginning of the year.
 

Jim37F

Forum Deputy Chief
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this is the pittman schedule
c4tf12-1.png
This is what I'm pretty sure our EMS guys do (just 1200-2400/0000-1200). Someone described it in e and I wasn't quite following, or sure how to re-describe it back lol, but that image, that's what they were saying I'm pretty sure. At least a modified version of that (the rotating one also seems familiar)
 

johnrsemt

Forum Deputy Chief
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Working Private EMS my favorite shift was (12 hour shifts) Thursday-Saturday, off Sunday; Monday-Wednesday (36 hours each week, but always a little OT, so closer to 40) then you were off 7 days. 3 days on Sunday off, 3 days on, 7 days off. Plenty of time to work OT, and still have days off.
Here we work 48 hours straight then 5 days off. but it is slow.
 

Tigger

Dodges Pucks
Community Leader
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KCM1: (24's) 1 on 1 off, 1 on 5 off
Seattle M1: (24's) 1 on 2 off, 1 on 4 off

X days (debit days) around 8 or so a year used to fill vacations etc. are assigned at the beginning of the year.
Ah, the mythical four group schedule. Seattle region and the east coast got it right, the rest of us are stuck with 56 hour work weeks :(.
 

CCCSD

Forum Deputy Chief
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My old shifts were: 24s, 1 on, 1 off, 1 on, 2 off, 1 on, 3 off. Of course, during the Hostage Holdover Days, we worked 5-7 days straight...
 

SandpitMedic

Crowd pleaser
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I utterly despise our 2 day, 2 night “four off”. - but we rarely get all 4 off with extra shifts, training and OT. I don’t flip very well between day and night shifts and it’s getting brutal.
This is what 999 trucks in Abu Dhabi had. Switching days/nights is just awful.
On the mil contract side we were 2 weeks on/ 2 weeks off. Lots of time for travel!
 

Jim37F

Forum Deputy Chief
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This is what I'm pretty sure our EMS guys do (just 1200-2400/0000-1200). Someone described it in e and I wasn't quite following, or sure how to re-describe it back lol, but that image, that's what they were saying I'm pretty sure. At least a modified version of that (the rotating one also seems familiar)
Yeah, I'm working OT at a station with an EMS station co located (separate building, same parking lot), and the EMS crew came over for lunch and I had the opportunity to ask. There's is essentially the same, just a little different.

Specifically they have a 2 week cycle, work Sun-Mon, Off Tues-Wed, work Thurs-Fri-Sat, week 2 flips so off Sun-Mon, work Tues-Wed, off Thurs-Fri-Sat, flip back to week 1 and so forth.

They stay either noon to midnight or midnight to noon unless working OT or get a new shift the next year (yearly shift bids)
 

hometownmedic5

Forum Asst. Chief
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At my FT job(private, municipal contract), the owners want you to have two days in between 24s. I work Sunday Thursday. I think 24s are wrong and should be abolished, and if you try to take mine away I'll fight you. I recognize the hypocrisy.

At my part time gig, 24s are a rarity(as I'm working a 24). You normally either get the day or night 12, chaotically assigned loosely based on seniority and who pissed the schedulers wife off less this week.
 

DrParasite

The fire extinguisher is not just for show
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I work Sunday Thursday.
set 24s? only Sunday and Thursday? that's it? and full time? how many runs per shift? that's amazing, I would kill for a schedule like that. heck, I would even go back to EMS full time for a schedule like that.
I think 24s are wrong and should be abolished, and if you try to take mine away I'll fight you. I recognize the hypocrisy.
at least you recognize and acknowledge the hypocrisy. There is nothing wrong with 24s in EMS, provided your UHU is low (think under 0.5, including move ups and post changes), you have adequate downtime to sleep, you aren't shifting posts all night, and you can nap whenever you want.
 

Tigger

Dodges Pucks
Community Leader
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set 24s? only Sunday and Thursday? that's it? and full time? how many runs per shift? that's amazing, I would kill for a schedule like that. heck, I would even go back to EMS full time for a schedule like that.
It has been a pretty good recruiting tool for that agency, that's for sure. I too would be way into it, rotating schedules are just a pain in the life.
 

hometownmedic5

Forum Asst. Chief
806
612
93
set 24s? only Sunday and Thursday? that's it? and full time? how many runs per shift? that's amazing, I would kill for a schedule like that. heck, I would even go back to EMS full time for a schedule like that.at least you recognize and acknowledge the hypocrisy. There is nothing wrong with 24s in EMS, provided your UHU is low (think under 0.5, including move ups and post changes), you have adequate downtime to sleep, you aren't shifting posts all night, and you can nap whenever you want.

My full time, set schedule is those two 24s weekly. There is plenty of overtime available statewide(in context) if you hate yourself, or you can stick to those two shifts and nothing more.

We do 3-7 on average per shift, with 10 calls being a day we'll talk about for two weeks. Other trucks in the system are busier, but those stats are representative of my truck.
 
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