Coronavirus (COVID-19): Planning shift work in a crisis Shift patterns, rotas and rosters

Planning shift work in a crisis

Shift patterns, rotas and workforce rostering

This article is based on our recent webinar where two members of our senior team provided advice on adapting shift patterns, rotas and rosters to support employee wellbeing and operational capacity during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Whilst this contains advice around key steps and example patterns, it is a broad and condensed overview.

If you want to discuss your specific situation confidentially with one of our experts, please book a remote 1-2-1 session.

Key takeaways from this article include:

Ensure you have a workable, manageable approach

• Meet demand in line with current constraints around Coronavirus (COVID-19).
• Remain responsive to changes in supply and demand.
• Monitor workforce activity and working time regulations.
• Plan for phased lifting of restrictions and return to ‘business as usual’.

Look after your workforce and communicate throughout

• Focus on employee health and wellbeing and consider the impact of changes on pay/conditions.
• Use innovative approaches to involve, engage and collaborate with employees where possible.
• Consider Health and Safety Executive best practice (HSG 256) and fatigue and risk.

Deliver Demand-Led Rostering

• Understand what options are desirable and feasible.
• Adapt shift patterns, rotas and rosters to optimise resources and maximise cover.
• Consider changing schedules and team structures to meet social distancing guidelines.

Understand ‘true’ demand & key supply factors

• How has your demand changed?
• What do you need your workforce to do at this time?
• What is your critical staffing level?
• How much labour is available?
• What adaptations need to be made?

The dynamics created by Coronavirus (COVID-19) has created a sudden and significant range of operational and workforce issues that can be addressed through a better balance between labour supply and demand. These include:

• Supporting the health and wellbeing of employees both in terms of managing the additional threat posed by Coronavirus (COVID-19) and the hours they are working.
• Meeting core demand efficiently and effectively.
• Maintaining output or service levels against a backdrop of reduced supply of labour and skills due to illness or self-isolation.
• Incorporating new factors around social distancing, enhanced hygiene protocols or additional workforce resilience.

While short term adjustments need to be made to shift patterns, rotas and rosters to overcome these immediate challenges, a phased return to ‘business as usual’ will also require a level of flexibility that places a sustained focus on shift work planning and management.

By gaining better visibility and control over the fundamentals, organisations will be in a better position to navigate the changing landscape…anticipating and responding to volatility in demand and factors influencing the supply of labour.

However, it’s crucial that employee wellbeing, communication and engagement remain at the heart of your approach to shift work planning, as co-creating solutions with your workforce will further enhance responsiveness and lead to better outcomes.

Totalmobile has adapted our proven methodology to respond to the challenges posed by Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Contact us to gain remote access to our specialist consultancy and workforce planning and management software so you can align labour supply and demand over the short and medium term.

What makes up demand?

What about your workforce? 

Is there an opportunity to re-organise?

Now more than ever it’s imperative that you meet actual organisational demand in the most efficient and effective way possible. Understanding the constituent parts of overall demand and what has to be done right now to keep critical services going is key.

To help customers during this difficult period Totalmobile’s consultants are providing remote demand data analysis and modelling support as well as a ‘fast track’ methodology which helps organisations with limited demand and supply data.

We’re also helping maintain demand models and scenarios so that organisations can continuously adapt their shift patterns, rotas and rosters in line with the latest information.

Contact us if you’d like to know more.

Ask yourself:

Have we got a handle on the basics? 

How are absence rates effected?

How about working practices? 

Now more than ever it’s imperative that you meet actual organisational demand in the most efficient and effective way possible. Understanding the constituent parts of overall demand and what has to be done right now to keep critical services going is key.

To help customers during this difficult period Totalmobile’s consultants are providing remote demand data analysis and modelling support as well as a ‘fast track’ methodology which helps organisations with limited demand and supply data.

We’re also helping maintain demand models and scenarios so that organisations can continuously adapt their shift patterns, rotas and rosters in line with the latest information.

Contact us if you’d like to know more.

• Where can you maximise contractual flexibility – what options does this rule in or out?
• Can you stagger start and finish times to reduce the maximum number of people on site or in specific locations within your workplace at any one time?
• Can team handover protocols be modified so can they be conducted remotely from separate rooms? Would this require additional time to be factored in?
• Should you off-set breaks so employees do not congregate in shared spaces? What knock on effect would this have on other aspects such as catering?

• Would it be sensible to split out key skill groups across different rosters to reduce the risk of disruption caused by absence in this cohort? Can you consider teamed rosters for multiple skill groups so the same people stay together whilst minimising their contact with others?
• Can the number of team handovers within a roster be minimised (e.g. Keep Team 1 with Team 3 and Team 2 with Team 4 etc) to minimise risk?
• Could any over-cover (within teamed structures) be re-distributed across other teams?

• Would introducing temporary work arrangements help maximise the use of key assets and consequently increase your capacity? If so, you could consider temporary patterns for certain areas of operations.
• Could capacity be expanded by spreading key skills across more teams or across revised geographical areas?
• Is there the potential to introduce temporary arrangements based on alternative team structures? For example, in the event of a drop in demand, rather than moving from 3 teams down to 2 teams, could a 2.5 team structure meet requirements?
• How do we effectively transition into and out of the interim arrangements?

Most of these adaptations rely on proven Demand-Led Rostering techniques which will ensure that an organisation operates within critical staffing levels whilst maintaining a focus on employee health and wellbeing. The algorithms in Totalmobile’s unique shift pattern design software can help you model the best shift patterns, rotas and rosters to meet evolving labour demand and supply.

Below are a few simple illustrative examples of shift patterns that could support your response to Coronavirus (COVID-19).

We’ve created a remote mechanism to ensure you and your colleagues can remotely collaborate with our experts, using the software to model and shortlist options in a real-time environment.

Contact us if you’d like to know more.

Supporting social distancing within shift working environments

These shift pattern examples will help organisations comply with social-distancing guidelines:

Example shift pattern 1:

• This shift pattern delivers a significant reduction in interactions and overlap.
• It’s based on a 24/7 pattern with 12-hour shifts.
• A ‘traditional’ 4 team structure is split down into 8 smaller teams to minimise contact.
• Pairing of teams will further reduce risk (Team 1 and 5 work opposite each other, as do Teams 2 & 6).
• The new shift pattern runs over an 8-week cycle instead of 4 to meet demand.
• A stagger of 30 minutes is factored in to ensure different start times/briefings and reduce footfall at changeover/breaks etc.

Example shift pattern 2:

• This shift pattern meets demand but reduces contact.
• It’s based on a double day shift pattern working early and late shifts in rotation over a two-week cycle.
• The new shift pattern spreads the required hours over a full week.
• It also introduces night shifts and splits 2 teams into 4 to reduce the number of assets being run, and therefore the number of people onsite at any one time. ​
• Health and wellbeing must be considered around the introduction of night shift and weekend working.

Optimising resources to deal with unplanned absences within shift working environments

These shift pattern examples will help organisations deliver the same workload with fewer people:

Example shift pattern 3:

• This shift pattern maximises the amount of cover from skeleton crews.
• It’s based on an adaption of a traditional 4 crew, 12-hour pattern delivering 36 hours per week across a 4-week cycle.
• The new shift pattern utilises ‘half-team’ structures to cover the same number of hours with less people.
• The same demand is covered by 3.5 teams now averaging 41.1 hours per week (well within working time regulations).
• On each shift two half-teams are rostered to provide the same cover.
• The skills mix needs to be considered given the re-structuring of teams.

Example shift pattern 4:

• This shift pattern reduces the risk of unavailability in an on-call environment.
• It’s based on an adaption of a traditional ‘on-call’ arrangement where 12:00-18:00 shifts are followed by periods of on-call, but with the likelihood of unavailability on the Monday following the last on-call shift.
• The new shift pattern maintains the same 7 consecutive on-call shifts, but these now end on a Friday.
• The last period rolls into a rest day which helps minimise absences.
• Extending into weekends requires considerations around pay and work-life balance.

The team at Totalmobile wishes you and your family the best at this difficult time…please take care, stay safe and look out for each other.