Most 24/7 schedules use shift lengths that divide evenly into 24 hours, such as 8, 12 or 24-hour shifts. 10-hour shifts are rarely used because you are really covering 30 hours a day (three 10-hour shifts) which requires at least 25% more staff than the other shift lengths.

12-hour and 24-hour shift schedules normally use 3 or 4 crews. The 4-crew schedules require working an average of 42 hours a week, whereas the 3-crew schedules require working an average of 56 hours a week. The 3-crew schedules are primarily used by fire departments and remote mining facilities or offshore drilling rigs.

Most 8-hour rotating shift schedules use 4 crews and average 42 hours a week. Most 8-hour fixed shift schedules use 9 crews (3 per shift) or 12 crews (4 per shift). The 9-crew schedules average 37.3 hours a week. They can be bumped up to 40 hours, but this creates extra coverage on one day every week. The 12-crew schedules average 42 hours a week. It's possible to create an 8-hour schedule with 40 hours every week, but this requires additional staff and creates extra (unnecessary) coverage several days a week.

Other websites often show examples of popular 24/7 work patterns, e.g., Continental, Pitman, DuPont, 6-on-3-off, 4-on-2-off, etc. You get the impression that these schedule templates are good for any group that works around-the-clock. All you need to do is choose the option you like best. Unfortunately, this is highly misleading if you want to have an effective schedule. Here are the reasons why:

• Coverage. Many organizations don’t need the same number of people working at all times. Yet the free templates found on the Internet produce constant coverage.
  
  
• Staffing. If your staff size doesn’t match the number of crews in the schedule, this will result in uneven coverage. Although a template looks attractive, it might require more employees than other, more efficient patterns.
  
  
• Pay Week. Each template works best for a certain overtime / pay week, e.g., Sunday to Saturday. Some schedules can be modified, but some can't. This can result unbalanced work week hours and a loss of weekends off for employees.
  

So, if popular work patterns aren't always the best 24/7 shift schedule, what should you do? Here are the steps we follow:

• Start with the workload and coverage requirements. How many people do you need at work on each shift? Does this stay the same all week? This is the starting point for all schedule design efforts. 
   
• Do you have enough staff? Overtime often may need to be built into the schedule to avoid additional hiring. If there is more staff than necessary, we'll show you different ways to utilize them.
  
  
• We then evaluate your schedule preferences to see if they're feasible. If the resources are adequate, we start the actual shift schedule design. We always try to show you multiple approaches as well as multiple patterns for each approach. The goal is to satisfy your specifications and explore possibilities you may not have considered.

Don't be fooled by free schedule templates. Yeah, they're cheap and look appealing, but they're not necessarily going to make the best use of your staff. And they may not give them as many weekends off as other approaches. Please check with us first. You and your employees will be glad you did.