Complete guide: scheduling a 3-shift rotation team

Understanding 3-shift work

Three-shift work (or 3x8) involves rotating three teams over 24 hours: morning, afternoon, and night. This work pattern is common in industry, logistics, and healthcare. It provides continuous coverage while respecting maximum working hours.

Legal requirements to respect

French labor law requires a minimum daily rest of 11 hours between two shifts, a weekly rest of 35 consecutive hours, and premiums for night work (between 9 PM and 6 AM). Collective agreements may add further constraints: maximum consecutive night shifts, compensatory rest days, etc.

Maximum durations

10 hours per day, 48 hours per week, 44 hours average over 12 weeks. For night work: 8 hours per shift and 40 weekly hours on average.

Building a fair rotation cycle

A good rotation cycle must fairly distribute night shifts, worked weekends, and rest days. Orkelis automatically generates optimized cycles using the Athena engine, taking into account employees' preferences and legal constraints.

Configuring 3-shift in Orkelis

1. Define shift templates

Create three shifts: Morning (6 AM - 2 PM), Afternoon (2 PM - 10 PM), Night (10 PM - 6 AM). Adjust hours according to your business.

2. Configure rules

Define constraints: minimum rest between shifts, max consecutive night shifts, weekend fairness. Athena will respect these rules automatically.

3. Generate and publish

Run automatic generation, review the proposed schedule, adjust if needed, then publish. Employees are notified instantly.