InShift Journal
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Practical guides for teams that run shifts, count hours and want less chaos in the rota.
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5How to make a rota: seven steps that keep it from falling apart
Cover first, people second. The order that stops a rota collapsing in week two, and the checks worth running before you publish it.
8 min readHow many staff do you need per shift: the cover maths
Covering one post around the clock takes 4.2 people, not 3. Here is where that number comes from and how to get yours.
7 min readContinental shift pattern explained: cycle, hours and rota
One name, two very different rotas. Here is what continental usually means, what it costs in hours, and when fast rotation beats long blocks.
6 min readThe 4 on 4 off shift pattern: hours, rota and how to run it
The eight-day cycle explained: how many hours 4 on 4 off really works out to, how day and night teams rotate, and where it fits.
7 min readThe Panama shift pattern (2-2-3): how it works and who it suits
Two on, two off, three on: the 2-2-3 rota that keeps a site covered around the clock with four teams, and where it beats 4 on 4 off.
6 min readCompare and choose
312 hour shift patterns for 24/7 cover: four that work
With four teams on 12-hour shifts every pattern averages 42 hours a week. The choice is not how much time, it is how the time is arranged.
8 min readRota in Excel vs rota software: when a spreadsheet stops paying
Excel is not the problem. The fourth version of the same week sitting in a group chat is. Six signs it is time to move, and what changes when you do.
7 min readShift patterns compared: 4 on 4 off vs Panama vs Continental
Four rotas, one table: hours per week, teams needed and the trade-offs, so you can pick the pattern that fits how your site actually runs.
8 min read