We create optimised shift operations to the exact needs of each of your departments.
A series of books covering the most common problems encountered in shift operations.
We have set up the most popular shifts patterns, ready to use
We all need to set up a Migration Plan to move workers to a new operation.
Banked Hours, sometimes known as ‘Reserved Hours’ is a powerful tool for managing unexpected events
How To Manage Your Shift Pattern
Workloads are hardly ever simple but are often made to fit into established preconceptions. Most workloads vary with time and they need constant attention to keep them optimised: 1. There are annual variations where the workload goes up and down on a seasonal basis. 2. There are weekly variations where weekdays and weekends have different workloads. 3. There are daily variations where the work changes over the 24-hours. 4. There are unpredictable workloads that vary randomly. 5. There are the one-off workloads that occur during the day, or for a day, or a week. We create shift operations that match these exacting requirements. Creating a perfect shift operation is never going to be a simple task. There are 12 steps in the process and these are: 1. We create the perfect shift pattern that works for you. 2. We analyse your workload so that the operation does what it is supposed to do 3. We set up a Holiday Management Plan so staff holidays are no longer a problem 4. We show you how we do it all so you can do it yourself in future 5. We show you how to run the shift pattern 6. We analyse and organise cover for absences 7. We make sure you can include training so you are future proofed 8. We set up the plans for a reward structure that works for everyone, the company and the staff 9. We organise the negotiations between you and the unions and staff 10. We set up the migration plan to move staff onto the new operation. 11. We set up new terms of employment 12. We can set up the right shift allowances for any shift operation
If you would like to discuss your operation and find out how we can help, please contact us.
T:(+44) 01636 816466 alec@visualrota.co.uk angelamoore@visualrota.co.uk
C-Desk Technology
Every shift operation has to be built to stingent criteria of: purpose, internal and legal employment rules, costs and to create a good work/life balance. However very few operations remain static year on year. Whether it is a Production facility, security, health, control room, utilities or university, things will change. There will be new skills, new equipment, new and different work and products. How we live and work has changed a great deal in the last few years because of the pandemic. The next jolt may be AI and robots. We continually evolve and adapt, and your shift operation needs to too. We aim to maximise the lifespan of your new operation by designing features that can change as your needs change. We can repurpose an existing, but inefficient, operation into an exciting new operation that brings many benefits to you and your employees. A ‘4-day week’ (see below). How to give your employees12 weeks of time off, see our selection of holiday included shift patterns. Need to re-assess any shift premiums for the next operation, choose your method. Need to mitigate the effects of holidays and absences, read our book. Would you like to read a few books on setting up efficient, self-suffient, nice shift operations, see our range of books. Trying to fit a new operation into an old way of working is never easy, so we design Migration Plans. How can we help you? Drawing on our cross-sector experience, we work with you to analyse your requirements and create the most efficient and sustainably resilient solution.
We are based in the UK, specialising is shift scheduling, but our clients are worldwide. Our consultants work with public, private and nonprofit organizations across all industries and regions. We help our clients build teams, assess workloads and create operations that can meet today’s challenges and anticipate the digital, economic and political trends that are reshaping the global business environment. From helping boards with their structure, culture and effectiveness to identifying, to assessing and defining the best response and determining the optimal staffing levels required. Our consultants bring their decades of expertise to help clients address their most complex staffing issues. We exist to improve the way the world works. We immerse ourselves into your business so we can share know-how and solve problems. Our experience and understanding of your business brings a fresh perspective to the operation and will often be a catalyst for change by providing strategic advice, coaching, training and solutions
Who uses shifts? Industry Automation & Robotics, Lean & Continuous Improvement, Supply Chain & Logistics, Pharma, Printing, Quality & Safety, Packaging, Control Rooms, Police & Security, Utilities, Power, Water, Phone, Tourism & Hospitality, Hospitals & Universities, Government agencies.
We design bespoke shift operations since T&C’s are rarely identical and the workload always has one-off features. Some ‘one-offs’ have really been ‘one-offs’. As a UK example. We were asked to design a 365 day operation for 150 employees that ran for exactly one calendar year, January 1st to December 31st. The catch was that no one could take a holiday between January 1st and December 31st. The employees would be hired before January 1st to train them and the operation would stop dead on December 31st and the employees would be released. However the Working Time Directive (WTD) stated that all employees were entitled to the minimum amount of holiday each year. Hence the problem. The solution was to use the Working Time Directive rules to resolve this conundrum. One of the rules is that the employer can set the dates of the holidays. Another of the WTD rules is that the employer can set the year start dates. We set the working year as two separate years, one that ran up to Jun 30th and one that started July 1st. All the pro-rata holidays that would have accrued in the first year had to be taken before December 31st in the previous calendar year. All the accrued holidays in the second year had to be taken after January 1st in the following calendar year. It was very successful.
The 4-Day Week This is the current ‘big idea’ in the UK, let’s move everyone onto working 4 days in the week with each day being longer. For some businesses and some employees this isn’t possible, however for everyone of those there are many that can move to a 4-day week, and for many they can provide a improved customer experience. There are two main types of organisations, those that operate on a time-critical basis and those that aren’t. So, if your work can be done at any time, such as making frozen meals, approving mortgages, builders, and so on, then moving to a 4-day week can be advantageous. For those that need to make a speedy response to their customer demands on a long established time frame, not so much. Who can’t move? Well if we take Managers, school teachers, unique skills, hard labour, heavy mental activity, TV presenters, then we might be looking at about as little as 1% of employees not being able to move to a 4-day week. Now that’s amazing! Why haven’t we done this a long, long, time ago? Possibly it is just about supervision. If an operation has run forever on a Monday to Friday basis and a Manager has to be present, or a key skill such as a First-Aider has to be present, then the requirements of the one control the flexibility of the whole operation. But what happens if the Fire Marshall goes on holiday or is off sick for a few days, the whole operation doesn’t shut down, it overcomes this issue. We have set up a lot of operations based on employees working a 4-day week and covering a 5-day operation. The way it works is that 4/5ths of the employees are scheduled to work each day of the Monday to Friday week. 1/5th have the day off. Hence. Joe might be scheduled to work Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and Josie is scheduled to work Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Over a 5-week period they all get a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and a Friday off. Of course, if you don’t have a multiple of 5 in the employee numbers, some days will have fewer employees on duty, but that happens all the time anyway due to holidays and sickness. The means of getting over the absence of a key skill remains the same as now, just more often. What this means in effect is, employees will ask for the 4-day week and for 99% there is no work related reason why they can’t have it. However, not everyone can move to working 4 days for personal reasons. If you would like to discuss moving to a more employee friendly operation, please give us a call.
Shift Patterns and Consultants Dr Angela Moore & Alec Jezewski
50
100
NO LIMIT
VisualrotaX Software designed to create, test, simulate and run new and existing shift operations
No more holiday problems and all employees love it.
Flexible working that gives employees a great work/life balance.
All about finding out how many people to employ.
All about removing problems caused by absence.
Explains about Fatigue and shift work and how to mitigate it.
Banked Hours, a powerful tool for managing unexpected events
300 shift patterns in 15 volumes
Business stategy and pandemics
Being a successful shift manager is about managing people,
Driving success through change
How to use Erlang C for your call centre
How to give everyone the holidays they want.
We set up private courses for our clients from over 1,000 videos
How to swing the move to Holidays Included Shift Patterns
Explaining how to use VisualrotaX
The basics of how to run a shift operation.
What to do if everyone is off sick.
Staff scheduling made easy
A few of the most popular shift patterns.
A one-time cost.
It expands to fit all businesses
Labour laws vary around the world - what works in one country……. When it comes to organising shifts, each country has a different way of working. Each country has it’s own laws and regulations. Laws which were written by office workers for office workers and then shift managers have to find a way to adapt their working requirements to fit in. The USA has some interesting laws which were obviously about ensuring that people were not over worked. In an office environment or a Monday to Friday days only arrangement it’s easy to apply. When it comes to 24/7 working, it is very limiting. The USA labour laws dictate that the maximum working hours in a week is 40 hours at basic rates of pay. Hours worked in excess of 40 are paid at overtime rates There are some ‘ifs’, ‘ands’ and ‘buts’, but that this is the general rule to use. The general ground rules to use are: Working hours in a week are limited to 40 hours at basic rates of pay. Any working hours in excess of 40 hours are to be paid at overtime rates of at least 1.5. No limit on the hours that can be worked in a week as long as they are paid. The week can start on any day and at any time. Once the week starts it cannot easily be changed without good reason especially if the reason is to avoid the extra hours being paid at overtime rates. We cannot average working hours over a longer time period than a week. Short breaks on shift count as working time, so 30 minutes is the minimum break time that does not count as working time. This is an imprecise definition by the way (see Fact Sheet #22, FLSA) Breaks that are used for duty purposes do not count as breaks No daily limit on working hours Compensating time for hours worked in excess of 40 hours can be given at overtime rates. Every week has a day of rest of 24 hours but no limits on the number of consecutive working days up to 12 days The USA is not the only country with these sorts of rules on working time, Canada is similarly restrictive. In the UK we have no such restrictions. This means that people can work 12-hour shifts and have a flexible work/life balance. These US rules limiting each week are very restrictive. If they allowed averaging then it’s easy to work well and have a flexible working arrangement. So, our problem when creating an operation in the USA is: how do we cover a week of 168 hours if our maximum working week is 40 hours? As 40 does not go into 168 as a whole number, we have a problem if we want to optimise the operation at a minimum cost. We could just pay for all hours over 40 worked hours in a week at overtime rates. This would mean paying 172 hours for a 168 hour week, a cost increase of 2.4%. Now, if we can’t avoid the extra 8 hours paid at overtime, our aim is to not increase the overtime payment to more than 8 hours. The second objective should be to make sure that the overtime is given fairly to everyone on the rota. Could we use the breaks as a way of reducing the overtime? Say we had a one hour unpaid break in every 8 hour shift, then the person working the extra 8 hours would start from a lower base. A very common 24/7 arrangement using 8- hour shifts is the 6on-2off. It uses 4 teams and each week 3 teams work 5 shifts in the week and log 35 hours of working time. The 4th team works 6 shifts of 7 hours and logs 42 working hours. This reduces the overtime from 8 hours to 2 hours. Ideally when setting up a 24/7 operation, we would move some of the hours from the 42 hour week into the 35 hour week. If our working week is defined to start on a Sunday morning at 4am and that means that the Saturday Night shift is split over two working weeks with some hours being in each of the two weeks. Problem solved.
What sort of workload do you have? Flat or Variable? Understanding your workload is the key to reducing your costs. So what sort of workload do you have, flat or variable? Flat Workloads A ‘flat’ workload means that every hour, or whatever time period we select, we have the same amount of work to do. The time period can be any appropriate time relevant to the work, so it could be a day, a 24-hour period, 5 days, or a week. Generally, the organisations use ‘a day’ which mean 8-hours, 12-hours, 16-hours, 20-hours or 24-hours. And then every day is the same for a period of 5-days, 6-days or 7-days. This translates into a simple requirement. For instance, a production line requires 10 Operators at all times, and these are split into the different jobs along the line, say 2 to load the materials (so one can have a comfort or lunch break), 5 to work on the line, and 3 to pack the product. The production company can sell all it can produce and so it decides to operate 24- hours a day for 364 days (Christmas Day is a day off) and employs 50 Operators to give them 10 operators on duty for an output of 24/364. This is often thought of as a ‘flat’ workload. Flat Workload or Flat Staffing? In manufacturing, 10 operators 24/7 is not a flat workload, it’s flat staffing. The difference is that no workload is ever ‘flat’, that is impossible to achieve. The workload even in this environment changes, as demand changes. Production is partly flat as there is a limited number of machines and limited product that can be produced. So the company could make more money if they produced more product. We have analysed hundreds of workloads for hundreds of organisations and never have we seen a ‘flat’ workload. Whether it is ‘trains and boats and planes’, burglaries, lap dancers, parking tickets, apples and pears, bread butter and milk, ATMs and banks, satellites, phone networks, energy production, transport and storage, brewing and DIYing, they are all variable workloads that often have flat staffing. This flat staffing can only have two effects: your customers have to wait and you haven’t maximised your profit (or service level). All the above workloads are naturally variable workloads but are artificially manipulated to fit in with a flat staffing arrangement because a variable staffing arrangement is difficult to construct. Now the organisation might be happy with a simple flat staffing model, but are hospital patients happy, is the victim of a crime happy, are passengers happy, are water, phone, electricity and gas customers happy? Your Workload If you want to make your staff happy, if you want to make your customers happy, if you want to maximise your profits and/or service level, you first need to analyse what your workload really is. Only then can you construct a staffing model that does all those things. You might be working flat out but you are also probably not meeting any of the above criteria. Your staff are overworked, your customers are not happy with you, you don’t know how to fix it without spending more money on more people. That’s where the analyses come into their own. Time and again, we have reorganised the way the work is handled and the way the staff are aligned to the actual workload, rather than the workload imposed on them by having the wrong staffing model, to create a better more efficient and productive operation. If you pay a person £10ph (I know no one pays that any more but this is just to give you a rule of thumb) and you could save one hour a day for one person out of the 10 on duty, that is a saving of £3,650 per year. Well of your 10 operators, 2 are not needed 24/7 for loading the product. One is there for breaks and to reduce lifting and handling. Most likely where there are five slots on the production line, not all are needed depending on the product mix on the line. The packers again are most likely needed when product is shipped to the warehouse and not necessarily doing packing 24/7. Then we add a couple of extra Operators on each shift to allow for holidays and absences. If we could analyse each job, most likely we would find that 10 people were needed for part of the time but often 8 or 9 were really needed to do the work. An hour here, an hour there and before you know it you don’t need 50 people, you need 45 people. Or maybe you really need 55 people and then you can run another line when needed and match your real variable workload.
Revolutionise Your Shift Operations with VisualrotaX50 Software
Unlock the power of seamless shift planning, testing, and simulation with our cutting-edge software. Get your download now to raise your shift management to new heights.
Streamline your shift scheduling and planning process for increased productivity.
Test different shift scenarios in a realistic virtual environment to optimize operations.
Run your shift operations seamlessly with VisualrotaX Software's intuitive interface.
Experience the Future of Shift Management
VisualrotaX Software is your key to revolutionizing shift operations. This cutting-edge tool empowers you to create, test, simulate, and run shift schedules with ease. Say goodbye to manual errors and inefficiencies – embrace a new era of streamlined shift management.
Meet the Creator of VisualrotaX
Hi there! I'm Dr Angela Moore, the creator of VisualrotaX Software. With over 25 years of experience in shift planning and operations, I understand the challenges you face. I'm excited to share this innovative solution with you to simplify your shift management and drive efficiency in your operations.
Optimize Your Shift Operations Today
Take the first step towards seamless shift management. Download VisualrotaX Software now and transform the way you plan and run shifts.
oUr range of books will stay with you for the whole of your professional life. they will never be out of date
oUr LIBRARY of VIDEOS COVER EVERY ASPECT OF creating and running SHIFT OPERATIONS. 25 amazing YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN 1,000 FILMS
First a couple of free courses to get you started The Successful Shift Manager podcasts on optimising shift operations.
Operation Change is a series of videos on designing a shift operation and typical problems caused by absences. There is also a sneak preview of how we can create 8 different shift patterns in less than 5 minutes using VisualrotaX. Over 2 hours of expertise to illustrate what is involved in creating a successful operation.
Who do you want to help YOU set up a new operation?
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
The organisation always expects its Managers to know if they don’t know something important for their job and then expects them to do something about it! That’s the way it is. Thank you for looking at our site and we hope you can look at your state of knowledge with a fresh light once you see what we can offer. Whatever problems you may have with running your operation, I am sure we will have the solutions available here, and available now. Holidays a problem? We have 12 different commonly used solutions. The onus is passed down to each manager to manage their facilities and manpower resources. It assumes continuing self-assessment and for them to act accordingly to ensure they have the expertise and knowledge to hand to ensure the expertise in their area is second to none. Reward structure not working? We show how to set the right Shift Allowances. Our videos and books redress any areas of your expertise that require refreshing or new knowledge, new techniques and new practices. Don’t know what the future holds? We show you how we predict the future. At the next Staff Appraisal, show them what you have just learnt to change and thereby improve the company. IMPROVEMENT MEANS CHANGE
How To Manage Your Shift Pattern: CDT02 Seminar
An essential management reference book that no manager should be with out.
BOOKS
VIDEO COURSES YOUR TIME:YOUR PLACE:YOUR PACE ONE DAY ONE YEAR
In order to optimise your operation we use your data and run different simulations to create a range of solutions to match your different criteria: Productivity; Cost; SLAs; Quality; Customer Service; Work/Life Balance; Recruitment & Retention; Locations; Fatigue; Best Shifts; Zero Failure; Short/Long Term; Constraints; Absence/Holiday Control; or any combination. The following methods are used to create, test and simulate a range of options. Game Theory: Help predict price variations and selling and buying targets Statistical Models: Creating supply & demand profiles Linear Regression: Supply & demand relationship to events Simulation/Monte Carlo: Model options to match demand and supply profiles Stochastic Analysis: Combining probabilities and predictions to create better profiles Trend Extrapolation: Using the past to predict the future Bayesian Statistics: Updating models with new data for better predictions Delphi Method: Expert knowledge when data is absent Queuing Theory: When to turn operations on and off Supply Theory: Storage profiles and optimal use of storage facilities Production and Batch Theory: Optimum length of time to run systems Life Cycle: infrastructure costs and maintenance and repair
HOW WE PREDICT THE FUTURE
Managing Shift Patterns Workshop London 18th June 2025
Previous Attendees
Bord Gais | Borough of Merton | CSM | Chelsea Royal Hospital | Crown Prosecution Service | Croda | Coors Brewery | Dairy Crest | Glasgow Museums | Hillarys Blinds | HJ Heinz | Metropolitan Police | Northampton University | SOCA | Twinnings Contact us to register your interest in our workshop

Location: The Clermont,

Charing Cross, The Strand,

London, WC2N 5HX

Length: 1 day Date: 18th June 2025 Time: 9:30 AM – 4:30 PM Cost £550+vat per person Discounts available for group bookings.
C-Desk Technology The Old Vicarage, Rolleston, Newark, Notts. NG23 5SE alec@visualrota.co.uk angela@shiftpatterns.com (+44) 01636 816466
Managing Shift Patterns Workshop Many organisations managing shift operations face similar issues, such as accommodating staff holidays and handling absences. Our expertise lies in helping organisations develop systems that allow employees to take holidays without disrupting operations, as well as providing effective solutions to cover both expected and unexpected absences. Course Overview This workshop combines our deep knowledge of shift pattern design and operational policies to deliver a comprehensive course tailored to tackle these challenges. Participants will gain practical tools and strategies for optimizing shift management, ensuring smoother operations and improved productivity. This course is expertly developed for HR professionals, managers at all levels, and operations coordinators. It is ideal for anyone seeking to enhance their understanding of shift pattern operations and effective management of operational processes.
What’s Included? ✔ 1-Day In-Person Course – A hands-on, interactive session with limited spots for personalised attention ✔ Refreshments & Lunch – Enjoy refreshments throughout the day, plus a working lunch ✔ Exclusive Book – How to Manage Your Shift Pattern: Holidays and Absence (valued at £100) ✔ Notes Workbook – A companion guide with slides and reference notes ✔ Supplementary Online Video Course Access – One-month access to an extensive video training program (over 16 hours of content) ✔ Downloadable Software – A management tool designed to streamline shift operations for teams of up to 25 employees
This practical and insightful course is designed for HR professionals, managers, and operations coordinators, equipping participants with essential tools to: Master holiday management strategies for seamless operations Develop effective coping mechanisms for staff absences Identify and resolve common shift management challenges Mitigate fatigue and enhance productivity in shift-based environments
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This is a great opportunity to gain expert insights and refine workforce management strategies. This is the only course available on shift work in Europe. If you’d like to reserve your spot or need more details, just reply to this email or contact me directly. If you want to explore the details further, you can visit my website for the full workshop information: https://shiftpatterns.com/services/managing-shift-patterns- workshop/
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