However, if this is not an issue, the 24-hour shift is very attractive for both employees and employers. Some agencies that run a large number of structure fires are not able to use 24-hour shifts because of the amount of fatigue placed on the employees. In other words, there is no way to adjust the number of personnel on duty to correlate with the typical call volume experienced throughout a 24-hour period.Īnother significant downside that should be considered is fatigue. On the organizational side, a significant downside of the 24-hour shift is the fact that staffing levels cannot be adjusted according to the workload. Another reason why the 24-hour shift is popular with employees is because employees are usually afforded downtime while not training, responding to emergencies or conducting other fire department related duties. This explains why employees who live greater distances away from their fire stations prefer 24-hour shifts. Although the total number of hours worked per week is actually more, the 24-hour shift described above results in an employee working approximately eight to 10 shifts per month. One reason for this is that, as a result of working 24 hours in a single shift, employees work fewer shifts throughout the month. The 24-hour shift is also very popular with employees. In addition, the 24-hour shift provides employees who understand and accept that they are required to work every third day regardless of whether their shift falls on a weekend or holiday. As a result, the 24-hour schedule provides fire departments with more hours of coverage per employee compared to the more traditional work week. Federal law allows firefighters to work up to 53 hours per week without requiring overtime pay. For example, firefighters who work a 24-hour shift followed by 48 hours off and receive a Kelly Day every seventh shift work a 48.46-hour work week. In these situations, the less frequent shift exchanges occur, the less chance there is that a crew will be busy on scene of an emergency, which would delay and disrupt the shift exchange process.Īnother way the 24-hour shift benefits the organization is that it provides employees who can work in excess of 40 hours per week. In the case of a medical response, patient treatment and transportation can also be a lengthy process. The same holds true for other types of emergencies, such as complex automobile extrications and hazardous material leaks and spills. In the case of a working structure fire, fire crews can be on scene for several hours, if not longer. The benefit of infrequent shift exchanges is a result of the significant amount of time required to handle emergency calls. The 24-hour shift provides several benefits for the organization: infrequent shift exchanges, employees who can work more than 40 hours per week, and consistent coverage throughout the year, including weekends and holidays. The Kelly Day usually occurs every six to 10 shifts depending on the agreed upon and/or negotiated work week. There are many variations of the 24-hour shift, but for the purpose of this discussion, we will focus on a schedule where an employee works 24 hours on duty and gets 48 hours off along with a Kelly Day (a day off occurring at a prescribed interval required to keep an employee from working too many hours during a pay cycle). Why is that? Let’s dig into the answer by first addressing the 24-hour shift. In contrast, many utilize some form of a 12-hour shift. Other fire departments as well as other public safety organizations, such as police, 9-1-1 communications and those in the medical community, have the same requirement to provide services 24 hours a day but few, if any, utilize a 24-hour shift. To accomplish this, many fire departments utilize a 24-hour shift. The nature of public safety establishes a need to provide services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. In essence, I was being asked, what is the most efficient work schedule for the fire service? The exercise proved to be quite interesting and may shed some light on an interesting topic. Recently, I was given an assignment to conduct a comprehensive review of various shift schedules and ultimately submit a proposal for one that was more efficient than our current 24-hour shift.
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