Overview

Your shift pattern is downloaded as a Microsoft® Excel file. It will help you plan your workforce deployment strategy or define staff schedules for the workplace. You can use the common editing tools in Excel e.g. Copy, Cut & Paste to select and modify the content of your shift pattern. It is strongly recommended that you make a copy and save your original shift pattern and store it safely before doing any modifications.

Day-On-Day-Off Pattern

This view enables you to see the allocation of days off in the context of work days. This is the Day-On-Day-Off (DODO) ratio. This is what employees are usually most interested in. Generally longer shift hours mean shorter daily rest periods but more days off. Shorter shift hours mean longer daily rest periods but fewer days off. Most legislation defines a day as 24 hours – not necessarily midnight to midnight.

What is the Day-On-Day-Off stacked column chart telling me?

The graph is a stacked column chart. Any Day-On-Day-Off pattern changes you make will be updated in the chart. It displays the staff supply as a percentage for each day of the shift pattern cycle. The green column is the percentage of staff deployed at work and the yellow column is the percentage of staff scheduled a day off. An unallocated category may be displayed for staff not at work but not scheduled a day off e.g. part-time working.

Shift Category Pattern

This view enables you to see the allocation of shift categories in relation to each other. For convenience shifts are defined by the categories: Early, Day, Late, and Night. The shift categories have the following general context:

        • Early defines shifts that start and work a substantial period after 4am;
        • Day defines shifts that start and work a substantial period of 9am office hours;
        • Late defines shifts that start and work a substantial period after 12 noon; and
        • Night defines shifts that start and work a substantial period after 10pm.

Two important concepts for a shift pattern are the direction of rotation (DOR) and the speed of rotation (SOR). These two characteristics will affect how staff “feel” about the shift pattern they work.

Direction of rotation (DOR) The direction of rotation (DOR) may be clockwise i.e. the following shift start times are later, in the direction of the clock movement. Alternatively the start time may be anticlockwise i.e. the following shift start times are earlier, in the contra-direction of clock movement. For example an Early-Late-Night pattern has a clockwise rotation because shift start times get progressively later; and a Night-Late-Early has an anticlockwise rotation because the shift start times get progressively earlier.

Speed of rotation (SOR) The speed of rotation (SOR) may be fast or slow i.e. changing from one shift to another over two to three days is a faster SOR than changing over a week or longer. Many believe a fast clockwise rotating shift pattern is to be preferred. Experts are divided between social and biological factors influencing staff preferences.

What Is The Shift Periods Stacked Column Chart Telling Me?

The graph is a stacked column chart. Any shift category pattern changes you make will be updated in the chart. It displays each shift category as a percentage of the total staff supply for each day of the shift pattern cycle. There can be more than one shift period in each shift category, especially where shift periods overlap. The yellow column is the percentage of staff scheduled a day off. An unallocated category may be displayed for staff not at work but not scheduled a day off e.g. part-time working.

Shift Time Pattern

Two views are available; a 24 hour (military) time format and a 12 hour (traditional) time format. This view enables you to see the duration of shift periods and how many different shifts are used each day. This is referred to as the staff supply. A flat staff supply is delivered when shift times do not overlap. A variable staff supply is delivered when shift times overlap.

Shift Production Hours

This view enables you to see the total number of hours that the combined shift times deliver each day. This is referred to as the shift production hours. Generally it is important to make sure the combined shift hours match the elapsed business hours requiring a staff supply e.g. if the business operates for 10 hours but staff are only available for 8 hours then the business will have no staff supply for two hours.

Individual View

This view enables you to see the weekly work hours of an individual allocated to the shift pattern.