Yes, I am here -- kind of caught in the gears of a transition between a late-evening shift and an early-morning shift. Automation lets my employer do more -- a lot more -- with fewer people but the downside is that when someone is out on extended sick leave (the Ops side is down one) or vacation (one from Ops and two from Engineering), scheduling people to cover what needs covered gets complicated. With three sets of schedules -- Engineering and IS now babysit one another's kittens -- under two supervisors and one foreman, who are not on the same shifts themselves, "complicated" may be an understatement.
Could be worse -- maritime watchstanding schedules aim to screw over everyone equally while ensuring the ship gets looked after, and you end up with patterns that are far trickier to adjust to, especially if you don't start it young and fit.
BUILDING A 1:1 BALUN
4 years ago
4 comments:
Infinite number of variations, and having spent time on subs, it DOES take some getting used to.
When you are 6 and 6 is when things get tough. (6 hours on watch. 6 hours working, 6 hours on watch, 6 hours for personal needs and rest. Repeat for weeks.)
Add in to what Divemedic said is that the sleep time is often interrupted by things like General Quarters, and having to be in the engineering spaces for special things like moving an aircraft carrier through a narrow place like the Strait of Messina, or when the General Quarters alarm sounds and the bridge talker starts off with, "This is not a drill."
Forrestal had a three watch rotation and in one of the infinite number of variations the Old NFO mentioned you stayed on the watch pattern for seven days and then rotated without using a dog watch. You would spend a week on the four to eight, then change to the midwatch and after the mids you would go to the eight to twelves.
As a millwright in a steel mill we only worked a half day, yep, 12 to 12 for a week and then change to the other shift. I lasted only six months at the job and that included falling asleep at red lights a couple of times while driving home.
Navy Nuclear Power prototype training adds rotations to the mix. Students are on 12 hour shifts (staff only 8) but you rotate on a 28 day schedule: 7 days of Mids, 2 days off, 7 days of Swings, 1/2 day off, 7 days of Days, 5 days off. In Idaho where I trained you add in a hour transit time each way on the bus and you had a harsh schedule..
Staff shifts were traditional: Midnight- 8 AM, 4 PM - Midnight, 8 AM - 4 PM
Students got 4 more hours: 8 PM - 8 AM, Noon - Midnight, 8 AM - 8 PM
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