Covering a 12-hour vacancy

There is no doubt that shiftworkers prefer 12-hour shifts over 8-hour shifts. It's not that they like being at work for an extra four hours. They like the additional 91 days off a year.

Therein lies the problem.

With so many days off, it seems that the crew you need to get in touch with for absentee coverage is always gone.

8-hour shifts offer the following two conveniences: First, you can always ask an 8-hour person to stay over. They are already at work so contacting them simply means walking out to their work station and tapping them on the shoulder. Secondly, they are at work on 75% of the days of the year. If you need to change their schedule on a specific day, the chances are good that you just go out onto the work floor and tell them. They are probably there.

12-hour shifts have neither of these advantages. You don't want to ask a 12-hour person to stay over for 4, 8 or even 12 hours. Also, they only work 50% of the days in the year. So, if you want to go out on the floor to tell them their schedule is changed, there is a 50/50 chance that they are on a day off and not on the floor.

The single biggest reason, by far, that companies on 12-hour schedules contact us is because of problems with absentee coverage.

People are on their days off when you need them. Your supervisor makes one call after another until someone answers their phone and is willing to come in. This is a time consuming process that takes your most expensive asset and turns it into a telemarketer.

There is a solution.

Shiftwork Solutions and Shifthound have partnered together to develop software that greatly simplifies absentee coverage on 12-hour shifts. While it works with all types of shifts, 12-hour schedule tend to have the biggest problem and would thus have the biggest benefit.

The program takes advantage of the overwhelming prevalence of cell phones, text messages and the internet.
For example, if there is a last minute opening, a supervisor can send out an overtime request to an entire crew that is schedule off. Instead of making one call after another, everyone is notified in moments.

We know that about 20% of all shiftworkers will work all of the overtime they can get. If an entire crew is notified of an overtime opportunity, the positive responses should come in quickly. They can accept overtime via text messages, email or online through the Open Shift Management program.

For more information about this product, call our office at (415) 472-3688 or visit our website at www.shift-work.com.

Absentee Coverage

Over the last 20 years, the use of 12-hour shift in the United States has taken off.  About the only place you see 8-hour shifts when 12's would work just as well is in California.  The reason for this is that California law states that you must pay overtime after 8 hours in a day.  More on that another time.

Twelves are popular for one reason - They have a lot more days off than 8's.

For example: If you were to work a 24/7 schedule, you would probably be on some sort of 4-crew system.  This means that you would work 2,184 hours in a year.  To work this many hours, you need to have either 273 8-hour shifts or 182 12-hour shifts.  This means that 12's, while longer, give you 91 more days off a year.

There are several downsides associated with 12's.  No schedule is perfect.  However, the problem that we hear about the most is Open Shift Management.  How can you fill an opening on a shift when the only crew available to do so has been away from work for 2 or more days?  How can you get in touch with them?  You can't ask a person to stay after 12 hours in a day.  If they work a double, that is 24 hours and if they have to work the next day as part of their regular shift, that is now 36 hours!

You have to bring in someone that is not already there.


There is a solution.  Shiftwork Solutions now offers Open Shift Management software.  This is the answer you have been looking for to solve the number one problem with 12-hour shifts.

To find out more about this software, visit us at www.shift-work.com or call us at (415) 472-3688.

Jim