Shift Work Re-Schedule

            Being recently “hired” onto the MQ-1B UAS Squadron as a consultant for Human Factors, I immediately see a few things wrong with the current operating schedule that can lead to the crews’ exhaustion complaints. The first of which, being that each of the four crews alternates between three vastly different shifts every single week. One week they start their shift at 0730, the next at 1530, and the last at 2330; lather, rinse, repeat. This causes the body to be completely unable to fall into their natural circadian rhythm, a problem known as Circadian Dysrhythmia (Orlady, 2008). Adjusting an individual’s sleep schedule so drastically and so frequently causes that individual to constantly feel as though they are trying to catch up on sleep. It takes an individual several days to a week to fully adjust (Orlady, 2008), which using this current schedule is just in time to switch to the next shift.

            The next issue I notice is the fact that this schedule overworks team members every week before they get a “rest” time in the form of a two-day weekend. Not accounting for lunch or other breaks, this current schedule works members for 51 hours a week before they get a day off. This leads to a “burnout” of the team members by the end of the week.

            What I would like to propose is a “Panama” schedule (still using a four-team set up), where we eliminate the third shift, and instead operate under two 12-hour shifts; days and swings. Team members would work as follows: two days on, two days off, three days on, two days off, two days on, three days off. See below for an example using this month.

            While making this switch does call for slightly longer work days, using this schedule still has several advantages. The first of which being that depending on what team you are on, you are always on the same actual shift. This leads to less of a disruption of an individual’s Circadian Rhythm, leading to less degradation of performance due to fatigue. This can, however, be modified if crews do not wish to always be on the night shift (or day shift for that matter) my adding a slow rotation – every month, or every full work cycle, etc. – into the mix. This would allow for crews to take turns on the less desirable shift if needed, while still allowing time to adjust their circadian rhythm. In my experience, however, it is usually not difficult to find individuals who prefer one shift to the other and schedule them accordingly.

            Additionally, this Panama schedule reduces the number of days an individual must work before getting a break in the form of a weekend. Members never have to work more than three consecutive days, or 36 work hours, before getting time off. This allows them to “recharge” on a more frequent basis, allowing them to be better rested for the upcoming work week. On top of more frequent weekends, members work fewer days in general when compared to the prior schedule. In any 14-day period on the Panama schedule, members will work no more than seven days, whereas in the original schedule members will work 10-12 days out of every 14-day period.

            Minor adjustments can be made to this schedule, such as allowing for turnover shift-overlap by adjusting the schedule for a number of members on a team forward or backward by an hour (i.e. a few members of day shift work 0600-1800 and a few from swing shift work 1800-0600). This allows for proper communication between shifts, and ensures there is no “lapse” in coverage as one shift leaves and another comes on.

            Another, more personal, benefit to this shift is that members being able to receive seven days off while only using two days of leave (or eight days off for 3 days of leave depending on the week). While this may not affect fatigue, it can have a positive effect on unit morale, ultimately decreasing stress of team members (Business Management Systems, 2017).