Rotating Shift Workers...

[GrumpAzz]

Hey guys. We're headed to a new schedule soon called the DuPont schedule. It's used nationwide for 24 hr coverage for places like manufacturing plants and similar.

It's a nightmare looking schedule and I've just realized it's really gonna screw with my ability to see my plants every day.

Greens are days and blacks are nights
4 crews, 12 hour shifts.


If it looks confusing as hell... that's cuz it is. I'll be looking at my calender every night just to know if I'm working the next day. My wife and kid will never know my schedule and will also have to reference it every single fucking day...

That's just the basics. Now factor in my 12/12 light schedule for my flowering plants. Every couple days, I won't see my plants for days at a time.

We proposed a 7 on 7 off schedule and they let us deliberate amongst ourselves about it for weeks. It got shot down because the other plants in the company run the DuPont schedule and the guys love it. I find that hard to believe. Sure, a week off every month will be cool, but you get that twice a month with a 7 on 7 off schedule with the ability to burn a week's worth of vacation to get 3 weeks off in a row.

RIP my circadian rhythm. I guess I'll just join the list of rotating shift workers that enter an early grave. Nice knowing ya, folks.

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In all seriousness... have any of you worked this schedule to where you might be able to offer some pointers? How the hell did you have any semblance of a work/life balance? Were you growing at the time? How'd that pan out?

 

[Bandit420]

I work a very unique schedule and not sure if it will help but I'll put it like this.
There is no 9-5, M-F for me.
Any day can have me showing up for work at say 11am, 5-7pm, or as late as 2am the next day and I need to be available 7 days a week.
Holidays are fucked. I work on Thanksgiving and often times Xmas eve and the day after Xmas so there is no holiday travel and we just try to get thru it.
August is fucked. 2 shifts per 24 hours and I work 10-15 hours a day that month.
Work loads ebb and flow. I may do 3-4x the work on Mondays and Tuesdays vs Fridays.
Weekends? What are those I ask.
I never experience the joy of it being Friday or the satisfaction of having a Saturday off to just chill. Those days are extremely rare for me.

The biggest benefits to all of it, I'm paid well and respected at work and a 5-6 week paid vacation every Summer still has me feeling like a kid taking a Summer vacation from school.
A successful season also brings glory, trophies, and swag unlike any other profession can offer.
But it is a grind not many can handle and I've seen it eat people alive.

The garden for me has to be ez to maintain. It has to be able to go for a few days without attention and when it does get attention, still perform when all I can do is give it ten minutes to water.
Apps like ACI and Pulse help me keep tabs when I cannot be in the room. Automation can be your best pal.

The wife is very understanding and the old saying "teamwork makes the dream work" is alive and well in this house.
We don't have kids so I have nothing to offer there but for some co-workers who do have kids, family days once a month or bringing them in just to hang out helps them a ton with morale.

 

[OLDCRO]

I worked 12 hour shifts for 25 years with that kind of schedule. enjoyed the time off just have to get your mind around it when you work that is your day. I had 7 seven weeks holidays a year so when you stop and figure it out your at the plant 4 months of the year the rest of the time is yours.

 

[Skinnypuppy80]

That looks like a nightmare! That makes me appreciate my schedule a little bit lol. I do 12's, 4on/4off, also we do 2 sets of days b4 going to nights. Work days don't leave much time left in the day after factoring in getting ready, the commute, eating and sleeping! My first grow so can't add more to what Bandit replied. I also am using ACI for as much automation as I can, hopefully that and the 55gal ro barrel will get me through it by filling the barrel during work periods and do changes on the off periods. Gonna look into an auto res top-off system as well. Best wishes w that schedule though man

 

[GrumpAzz]

The garden for me has to be ez to maintain. It has to be able to go for a few days without attention and when it does get attention, still perform when all I can do is give it ten minutes to water.
Apps like ACI and Pulse help me keep tabs when I cannot be in the room. Automation can be your best pal.

I also am using ACI for as much automation as I can

Yeah I've got all my automation going. Damn near set and forget.

My issue with not seeing the plants for days at a time has to with hydro and the plant's ability to go south fast.

I have yet to run into an issue that runs wild in a hurry, but I know the possibility is there. That's my main worry. Well.. that and how my wife is gonna handle this schedule.

They absolutely pay us well. That's the only thing we have going at this point. All my research on the DuPont schedule points to it being a nightmare.

I'll suck it up, no doubt. And, on the bright side, this schedule could push a few people out which would make us understaffed and unable to run it. If that happens, we'll go to 2 crews with indefinite 12s only getting a day off when the plant is offline. Could be a month straight. There we're at least bringing in some serious dough with Sunday's being double-time. 84 hour weeks lead to 40 regular hours, 32 OT hours and 12 DT hours per pay week. Paychecks are beautiful when we run this schedule, but I'm never home and never get weekends.

I lied.. my biggest issue with the DuPont is our baby boy showing up in August. I'll have a tired and stressed wife at home with a newborn that I rarely see. Last kid, I was able to take all the responsibilities when I was home. I'll be flipping sleep schedules so much that I won't be much help to the wife... that's a bit heartbreaking.

 

[Skinnypuppy80]

Congratulations! Damn! Sounds like ull be juggling a lot! Damn! I piss and moan about leaving my dog alone cuz of the work schedule, couldn't imagine ur situation. 12's r a bitch

 

[TomH]

On a positive spin to a bad situation, my plants seem to enjoy when I was really sick and left them alone all the time for most of 3 weeks.

Fuckers said thanks and got big and beautiful.

 

[GrumpAzz]

On a positive spin to a bad situation, my plants seem to enjoy when I was really sick and left them alone all the time for most of 3 weeks.

Fuckers said thanks and got big and beautiful.

This helped, brother. I've needed a good laugh lately.