How the three-shift system works

The roster

One row per team, one column per day of the cycle. The cycle then repeats.

Shifts per 28-day cycle

How the 28 day cycle works

Set three 8 hour shifts: morning 6 am to 2 pm, afternoon 2 pm to 10 pm and night 10 pm to 6 am. Team A reads a full week of mornings, then afternoons, then nights, then a week off, shown as MMMMMMMAAAAAAANNNNNNNOOOOOOO. Teams B, C and D run the same string starting a week apart. On every date one team is on mornings, one on afternoons, one on nights and one resting, so all three shifts are staffed. The weekly blocks are easy to grasp and let people settle into one shift before they change.

• M is morning, 6 am to 2 pm.
• A is afternoon, 2 pm to 10 pm.
• N is night, 10 pm to 6 am.
• O is a rest day; each team gets a full week off a cycle.

Hours per week worked out

Each team works three weeks of six or seven shifts and rests one week. Over the 28 days a team works 21 shifts of 8 hours, which is 168 hours, or 42 hours a week on average. The eight hour shift matches the OSH Code ordinary day, so a normal cycle carries little overtime; only extra hours called beyond the roster are paid at twice the ordinary wage rate with consent. If you run six day weeks with a weekly off instead of the week off block, keep the weekly total within the notified limit.

Who the pattern suits

The three shift system suits manufacturing, textiles, food processing and any steady production line that runs day and night. Weekly rotation is simple to explain and lets staff plan around a known shift. The whole week off each month is a real benefit. The cost is a heavy week of nights before the rest, which can tire people, and the slow rotation means longer spells on nights than a fast rota. Women may work the night week with their consent and the safety conditions the government sets.

Pros

• A full week off every 28 days for each team.
• Weekly blocks are simple to explain and plan.
• Eight hour shifts match the ordinary day.
• Four teams cover three shifts around the clock.
• Average of 42 hours a week stays under 48.

Cons

• A full week of nights is tiring before the break.
• Slow rotation means longer night spells than a fast rota.
• Four teams are needed, more than a two shift plan.
• Sleep takes time to adjust at each weekly change.

Set it up in ZeniaHR

1. In the shift catalogue add the morning, afternoon and night 8 hour shifts with code, timings, break, full and half day hours, grace, and the night flag with a colour.
2. Build a rotation template with a 28 day cycle of weekly morning, afternoon, night and off blocks, offset the four teams by a week.
3. Assign in bulk over up to 92 days and use the live board filtered by department and shift to confirm all three shifts are staffed each day.
4. Set attendance rules with grace at shift start and end, and the late and missed punch out alerts so supervisors know when a shift does not close.
5. Keep the overtime policy ready to count any hours beyond the eight hour roster at or above twice the ordinary rate for working days, weekly offs and holidays.
6. File night punches that cross midnight to the shift day so the night week is counted correctly in the payable days that feed payroll.

Frequently asked questions