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INHow to Build a 24/7 Roster from Scratch
Building a round-the-clock roster from nothing looks daunting and is actually a sequence — seven steps, each with a deliverable. Operations get into trouble by skipping steps, not by lacking genius.
Step 1 — Define the posts
List every seat that must be occupied and when: '2 operators + 1 supervisor, all hours' or '3 carers days, 2 nights'. Skills count as posts ('one first-aider at all times'). This document — not headcount — is what the roster must satisfy.
Step 2 — Size the headcount honestly
Run the coverage calculation: each all-hours seat needs ~4 people, times the relief factor (≈1.2 at honest absence rates). If the resulting number is unaffordable, shrink the posts now — not the rest rules later.
Step 3 — Choose shift length, then pattern family
8, 10 or 12 hours sorts you into a family; the 24/7 models page compares them. Shortlist two patterns whose break shape suits your team — e.g. Panama (weekends) vs 4 on 4 off (simplicity), and decide fixed vs rotating crews explicitly.
Step 4 — Assign crews properly
Balance each crew for skills, not just numbers — any crew must be able to run the operation alone (the 4-crew architecture explains why crew identity matters). Seed each crew with a supervisor and senior coverage; resist the gravitational pull of all seniors onto the day-Monday crew.
Step 5 — QA before publishing
Mechanical checks, all automatable: every gap ≥ 11 hours; runs within caps; rotation forward; weekly hours legal in your jurisdiction; every post covered every hour including the pattern seams; handovers placed and staffed. A roster that passes publishes; one that doesn't gets redesigned, not excused.
Step 6 — Pilot one full cycle
Run the winner for a complete cycle (4-8 weeks) with a named feedback channel. Patterns are only knowable lived — the chop of 2-on-2-off, the day-four wall of 4 on 4 off. Fix what the pilot surfaces, then commit for a year of stability.
Step 7 — Operate the living roster
Publish far ahead; run swaps within guardrails; keep fairness counters public; watch overtime (≤5% of hours), absence by shift, and incident timing. The roster you built is a hypothesis; these dashboards are the experiment results.
Build this schedule in Tommy
Set the rotation once and Tommy fills the weeks ahead — shift swaps, leave and coverage gaps handled in one place, with your team always seeing the latest version.
