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Rotating Shift Schedules without the Built-In Overtime?

JohnKJohnK 5 Posts
in HR & Employment Law Vote Up0Vote Down
I’m seeking information about rotating shift schedule which do not have the built in overtime. As with all businesses, we are looking at ways to reduce cost, and we operate 24-hours a day, 7-days a week. Currently our hourly employees in the manufacturing areas work a rotating 12-hour shift. We have four work crews who are scheduled to work 4-days on first shift, from 7 am to 7 pm and the second shift works from 7pm to 7 am. The crews are them scheduled off for four days (the 4-on, 4-off work schedule). On a 48-hour week there is the built in 8-hours of overtime, which I would like to eliminate.

The Rules:
• Maintain the current hourly headcount.
• Open to considering work schedule consisting of 8 or 10-hour shifts.
• Open to considering work schedules which would change from our current two-shifts a day operations.
• Open to changing from our current four work crews.
• Willing to think out of the box, to eliminate the built in overtime.

Do any of you folks who work in a manufacturing facility with 24-hour a day operations have a work schedule we could adopt?

Thanks in advance for Your Help....

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Comments

  • 6 Comments sorted by Votes Date Added
  • Don DDon D 9,834 Posts
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    [font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 11-20-02 AT 04:24PM (CST)[/font][p]If you stay with the 4 on - 4 off schedule, if my math is accurate, over the long haul, you will wind up with the same number of 48 hour work weeks as you do 36 hour work weeks. So, if you pay 8 hours of overtime for 26 weeks on a $10 an hour job it will cost you an additional $1040. The long weeks will cost you over a year's time, $13520. But, for the 26 weeks that you are paying only 36 hours @ $10 an hour, you will pay out only $9360. If my math's not wacky, the worker will cost you a total in wages of $22880 in a rolling year. A $10 an hour guy for a 40 hour week, paid 52 times will cost you $20,800, a difference in overtime of only $2080 or $1.00 per hour for a standard 40 hour work week. A twelve hour schedule, unless you really mess around with people's days, will force overtime roughly half the pay periods in a rolling 12 month period.
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  • JohnKJohnK 5 Posts
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    Don D.,

    Thanks for your response to my question and yes your math is correct. With the current 4/4 schedule, our folks work 48 hour week for one month and the next month all 36 hour weeks. In an effort to reduce costs, one of our manager asked me to see if there were any manufacturing plants, who have rotating shifts schedules without the built in overtime.

    And so far I'm not making a lot of headway.

    Again, Thanks for your comments....

    JohnK
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  • bamahrbamahr 208 Posts
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    We work the same shift 4 on 4 off. Most of our employees who are on this shift really enjoy it. I would probably get a lot of grief it we tried to change it. Good Luck!

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  • JohnKJohnK 5 Posts
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    bamahr,

    Yes it is a great schedule. I worked the schedule when I was a Production Supervisor, with the 4/4 schedule working 1/2 the year and having the other 1/2 of the year off was great.

    I wish I had that option in my current position. If we have to change our hourly employees current schedule (to something other than the 4/4) I know folks will be standing in line to take a ticket to use the Open Door (complaint procedure).

    Thanks for your response...
    JohnK
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  • Don DDon D 9,834 Posts
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    During 24x7 periods when we are really bustin' it, we have tried every conceivable shift rotation conceivable. We opt not to choose one that will, to the employees, be perceived as trying to reduce what they can make. If we stick with a 12 hr shift there is no way to avoid the overtime. Psychologically, your manager may want to consider this: If the company is doing well enough with orders to be on a 24x7 schedule we should accept the fact that we are going to roll part of that good fortune into the cost of overtime.
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  • JohnKJohnK 5 Posts
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    Don D.

    Yes, you are correct, if we indeed implement a shift schedule change it will be perceived as a "take-a-way" to our hourly folks.

    And . . ., Point Well Taken, with your suggested message to our management folks.

    Again Thanks for your input
    JohnK

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