# Emergency Services schedules



## mariomike (27 Oct 2017)

Interesting discussion regarding CAF Firefighter scheduling in another forum.

Emergency Services schedules can be posted here.

Toronto Police deploys officers on a 10-hour day shift, a 10-hour evening shift, and an 8-hour night shift. 
The midnight and evening shifts overlap for four hours.

Toronto Firefighters work a four-platoon system, each working 24-hour shifts. Shift change occurs at 07:00 hours.
http://gtmaa.com/shift-calendar/

Toronto Paramedics work twenty 12-hour shifts every six weeks.

Your platoon, station and partner are permanent.

My platoon worked,

0700-1900 Mon, Tues, Weds, Thurs, Fri.
0700-1900 Weds, Thurs, Fri.
0700-1900 Mon, Tues.

Repeat.

24-hour shifts were determined to be unsuitable for Paramedics due to call volume.

There was only one city-wide bid ( platoon, station and partner ) during my career, and one after I retired.

Everything is driven by the Senior Qualified Process.


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## brihard (28 Oct 2017)

I'm on a 28 day cycle, in which I work two training days, 7 day shifts, 7 night shifts. All 10 hours.

On: Mon-Wed days, Thurs-Fri nights (5 shifts)
Off: Sat - Mon (3 off)
On: Tues-Wed training, Thurs-Fri days, Sat-Sun nights (6 shifts)
Off: Mon - Fri (5 off)
On: Sat - Sun days, Mon - Wed nights (5 shift)
Off: Thurs-Sun

I love it. My day shifts are 0800-1800 (we also have an 06-16 team), and my nights will alternate each block, either 1630-0230 earlies, or 2100-0700 lates. We have full 24/7 coverage, peaking in the work day and bar hours. 10 hours is a nice easy shift to work, and you get enough time between them for more than the bare s***/shower/shave and a meal that working 12s allows. I still get 3, 4, or 5 day weekends, and I can use my leave quite efficiently for long chunks of time off- 50 hours of vacation time taken between my 5 off and 4 off gets me a stretch of 14 days. Not bad. 100 hours can get me a 21 day stretch.

The only part of it I hate is the 2100-0700... After about 2:30-3, it's absolutely dead out but I find myself too zonked to get any paperwork done, so mostly I just drive around.


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## mariomike (28 Oct 2017)

When I joined the Department in 1972 we worked 8-hour shifts: 0700-1500, 1500-2300, 2300-0700. 
Crews scheduled to work weekends did a double on Saturday night: 1500-0700.

It always averaged out to exactly 40 hours per week.

In late January, 1976 we switched from eight to twelve hour shifts. It was the only scheduling change I experienced in my career.

After I retired in 2009, Circadian Technologies, Inc., an international shift scheduling expert consultant, commenced a comprehensive review to modernize the existing Paramedic shift schedule that had been in place since 1976 and no longer met the operational needs of the Department. As part of its review, Circadian conducted consultations with Paramedics and the union, including a Paramedic-wide survey of Paramedic shift preferences, focus groups and 6 Town Hall meetings. The shift preferences survey and consultations, as well as considerations of operational requirements and physiological criteria, formed the basis for the recommended schedule changes. The new recommended schedules were implemented in January 2013.

Also, since I retired they have replaced the station alarm bells with ramp-up tones by Locution. 
They say gradually increasing the volume of alarm tones will reduce fatigue, tachycardia and potentially long-term physical and psychological disorders.

It does lots of other things, and is an amazing system. 

Burlington Fire Department, Oakville Fire Department and Toronto Paramedic Services use this system. 
I believe they are the only three services in Ontario using it,
http://www.locution.com/



			
				Brihard said:
			
		

> 10 hours is a nice easy shift to work, and you get enough time between them for more than the bare s***/shower/shave and a meal that working 12s allows.



On the other hand, based on a 40-hour work week averaged out over a scheduling cycle, the twelve-hour shift means you  work three shifts per week. 
Only working four shifts every third week.


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