Work Shift Schedule

a schedule of worker turnout for continuous and other types of production requiring the use of several sequentially alternating workers or brigades at the same work area. The procedure of alternation (replacement) of certain workers by others in these schedules is depicted in the form of graphs or diagrams.

The expansion of continuous and periodic production processes, the introduction of automated and highly productive equipment that requires around-the-clock operation, and the fuller and more efficient use of equipment have led to an increase in the number of shift workers and in the number of work shift schedules relative to all work schedules.

The work shift schedule is usually drawn up for each production section individually. In addition to the personnel employed for a full work shift, a section sometimes requires substitute workers, who are workers employed for part of a shift or part of a week and who serve in several work areas in different production sections according to the uniform schedule for these sections. In order to ensure that the work flow is well organized, the work shift schedules of the individual sections and services are intercoordinated.

The work shift schedule is an important means of coordinating the working time of the production personnel with the operating time of production. These schedules influence the duration of equipment use as well as the alternation of work and rest for the employees. The schedule directly affecting the most workers in a given area determines the rhythm of life for the entire population of the area. Because the work shift schedules involve the essential interests of the workers, their compilation is regulated by the state through special legislative enactments that are based on physiological, socioeconomic, and ethical requirements for the duration of the work and the calendar times for carrying out the work. As a rule, the legislation determines not the work shift schedules themselves but rather the initial principles for their compilation and use (the procedure for making out. approving, and altering the schedules), as well as the basic elements of the work shift schedules, including the duration of the work shift, daily and weekly rest, and so forth. The unconditional observance of the legally established length of working time in the work shift schedules is of fundamental importance.

The procedure used in the work shift schedule for alternating the workers in the shifts should provide them with equal opportunities to organize their leisure. Under the work shift schedule, each brigade should have the same number of day, swing, and night shifts (with three- and four-shift production sections) and the same number of days off on Saturday and Sunday. So that a worker can plan the use of his nonworking time, the work shift schedules are drawn up for an extended period (not less than one month) and are announced to the worker not later than two weeks before the work shift schedule comes into force. The workers themselves are involved in working out the work shift schedules. Once approved by the administration and confirmed by the trade union committee of the factory, plant, or locality, the schedules become a component part of the enterprise’s rules of internal labor procedure.