3 shift system
Also called 3x8 or rotating 8 hour shifts
A 3 shift system splits the day into three 8 hour shifts, early from 6 AM to 2 PM, late from 2 PM to 10 PM and night from 10 PM to 6 AM, with one crew on each. Three crews cover Monday to Friday around the clock and change shift every week. Each crew works 5 shifts a week, 40 hours, and has the weekend off.
One cycle
| Crew | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9 | Day 10 | Day 11 | Day 12 | Day 13 | Day 14 | Day 15 | Day 16 | Day 17 | Day 18 | Day 19 | Day 20 | Day 21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew A | E Early shift | E Early shift | E Early shift | E Early shift | E Early shift | · Off | · Off | L Late shift | L Late shift | L Late shift | L Late shift | L Late shift | · Off | · Off | N Night shift | N Night shift | N Night shift | N Night shift | N Night shift | · Off | · Off |
| Crew B | L Late shift | L Late shift | L Late shift | L Late shift | L Late shift | · Off | · Off | N Night shift | N Night shift | N Night shift | N Night shift | N Night shift | · Off | · Off | E Early shift | E Early shift | E Early shift | E Early shift | E Early shift | · Off | · Off |
| Crew C | N Night shift | N Night shift | N Night shift | N Night shift | N Night shift | · Off | · Off | E Early shift | E Early shift | E Early shift | E Early shift | E Early shift | · Off | · Off | L Late shift | L Late shift | L Late shift | L Late shift | L Late shift | · Off | · Off |
- Crew A: a week of early shifts, then a week of late shifts, then a week of nights
- Crew B: starts on lates, crew C on nights, in the same order
- Nights start Monday to Friday at 10 PM, so the week runs from Monday 6 AM to Saturday 6 AM.
- Crews
- 3
- Shift length
- 8 hours
- Cycle
- 3 weeks
- Hours a week
- 40
- Longest stretch
- 5 shifts in a row
- Weekends
- Every weekend off
Make it your team's
- Rename the crews to your people, in the list on the left (the menu button at the top left on a phone). Or open a shift and add more people to a crew.
- Change a shift's hours or first day: every shift of that series moves with it.
- Click Share and send the link, or print a month per page. It saves in your browser as soon as you change something, no sign up.
Forward rotation
The calendar rotates forward: early, then late, then night. Each change gives people a longer break and follows the body clock, which is why occupational health guides recommend it over the other way round.
Weekends and continuous work
Three crews only cover the working week. To run every day of the week too, sites add a crew: open the 4 crew 8 hour schedule, or plan five crews to bring the hours back under 40.
Questions
- What is 3x8?
- 3x8 is the French name for this pattern: three 8 hour shifts a day, worked by crews that take turns on each one. It usually means Monday to Friday, with three crews.
- Can I start crews on another shift or another day?
- Yes. Open one of a crew's shifts and change its day: the whole series moves with it. Or rename the crews in the list on the left so the right people are on each one.
Other shift patterns
- 2-2-3 schedule
- Pitman schedule
- DuPont schedule
- 4 on 4 off schedule
- Kelly schedule
- 9/80 schedule
- 2 shift system
- 4 crew 8 hour schedule
Reminders in Slack
TurnShift is this calendar for teams on Slack: each person gets a message before their shift, and books their own shifts from there.