Posted on 08/23/2021 11:24:57 AM PDT by ConservativeMind
I could be wrong, but based on the experience of everyone I have known to work the variations of “Panama Schedule”, they all end up experiencing both significant exhaustion, and difficulty sleeping, AND staying awake.
As well, the Panama schedule has had me terribly messed up, every time I have been forced to work the dynamic shift rotation.
Older people know of other, far more pressing needs to wake up in the middle of the night. ;-D
what is that? i know shift changes are the hardest
friend used to work relief shift, i could NEVER do that
I know what you mean, but you always settled into a sleep pattern in which you could achieve a good number of hours of sleep, so you are safe.
Example of original “Panama Schedule”
Panama Shift Schedule | 24/7 Shift Coverage
This is a slow rotating shift pattern that uses 4 teams and two 12-hr shifts to provide 24/7 coverage. The working and non-working days follow this pattern: 2 days on, 2 days off, 3 days on, 2 days off, 2 days on, 3 days off. Each team works the same shift (day or night) for 28 days then switches over to the other shift for the next 28 days. After 56 days, the same sequence starts over.
Name - Panama Plan
Applicability - 24/7 operations
Teams Required - 4
Shifts - Day (12-hr), Night (12-hr)
Repeat Cycle - 56 days
Rotation - Slow rotation between day and night shifts
Average Hours per Week - 42
Staffing Fluctuation - Balanced from shift to shift and day to day
Pluses - Every other weekend off, No night shifts for 28 consecutive days
Minuses - Long shifts (12 hours), Averaging only 26 weekend-off days per year, Requires an average of 2 overtime hours per employee per week
Common Usage - Popular with military and security service organizations in the United States
When used, Panama Shift Pattern is seen mostly in IC and DoD operations. In reality, regulat military mostly stays away from it if they can.
There are several variations of this, but no one ever gets adjusted to a schedule, which is a bit like slow torture.
Any natural rhythm is ultimately thrown off.
I have been on this dynamic shift for long periods of time, and it has costed me health.
https://www.bmscentral.com/learn-employee-scheduling/panama-shift-schedule/
thx,
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