Re: 911:: scheduling for dispatchers ; small depts

[Guest guest]

We have 5 full time dispatchers and 3 part-time relief dispatchers

(secretary included in p/t). We have one on days (0600-1400) & the

secretary (0800-1600), two on afternoons (one 1400-2200 & 1600-2400) and

one on mids (2200-0600) and I, unfortunately, am the floating dispatchers

(1 day shift, 2 afternoons, 2 midnights). Our schedule rotates backward

(Ex.: 4 wks with Mon & Tues off, shift rotates to where we'll now have

Sun & Mon off and so on.) We have 1 open shift per week that one of our

part timers are to fill. We usually don't have any problems filling OT

or vacation time (those can be covered by full time as well as sick

time). If comp time is taken, that is filled by our part timers. The

only problem that we are experiencing right now is shortage of part time

dispatchers available. The secretary is obviously not available during

the day, but can, if needed cover afternoons and mids (weekends only on

the mids). Our second P/T just got married and is going thru her first

trimester so she's always out sick and the third P/T is employed full

time with another company.

Our officers don't sit the desk for any 8 hour period. In fact, they

only sit desk for us at a max during a shift for 10 minutes for our

bathroom breaks. We've only got a few that have been dispatchers

previous to going to the road. We have often suggested cross training

them in the event of an emergency (someone falls very ill and has to

leave or if they have to leave for some type of family emergency), but

they won't do it. For one, the Chief doesn't want them to have to sit

the desk in case we need them on the road & second, because none of them

would come in on their days off anyhow. (They're stubborn like that)

As for the sceduling software, the Sgt. in charge of the officers

schedule does use a software, but I'm not sure what it is. The scedule

in itself is just difficult to read. Our dispatcher in charge of

scheduling just uses a calander program and puts our unit numbers in

according to our shift. Nothing fancy, just organized.

As far as your 12 hour shifts, how are you guys liking that or is that

the way it's been all along there? The suggestion has come up here, but

no one is willing to budge. They don't understand that we'll have more

days off than our two. Oh, well. Everyone is afraid of change.

Hopefully this was helpful or atleast informative.

Take care!

April Keller

AKeller25@...

sburg Twp PD

sburg, OH

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[Guest guest]

Our department has 5 dispatchers, 4 work rotating shifts: 7 shifts of 3-11

off 2, 7 of 11-7 off 2, 6 of 7-3 off 4. Then it starts all over again. The

fifth dispatcher (me) floats, fill in for vacation, sickness, comp time off,

etc. I had been working 3-11 as a floater but the first of the year I will be

working 9-5pm m-f. (banker hours) The sheriff feels a second dispatcher is

needed on daylight.

Bates

Alleghany County VA Sheriff's Office

[Guest guest]

You might have less trouble keeping Dispatchers if you stop

that rotating thing every two weeks!?

I know there is probably a few good reasons why we rotate

shifts, but there is one very good reason not to

" Sleep-Depravation " !!!

I have yet to figure out where the rule is written and who

the idiot was that wrote it, that you have to rotate shifts!

When I was a 911 Director I gave the Dispatchers the option

of choosing the shift that suited them and their needs, or

as close as possible. I had people who like to work all

night shift and were happy doing it. I had the day time

folks, you know those that get up EARLY in the morning and

sing and all that stuff. Then I had a couple who would

rather be shot than have to work anything but 2nd shift

where all the " ACTION IS! " This worked real well. Now I ask

you, why in the world would you want to take happy-clappy

Dispatchers off their shift, rotate days and nights, cause

them sleep depravation, which leads to illness, stress

related illness, back problems etc. and so on, absenteeism,

causing other Dispatchers to work over, more cost for OT,

WHY????

We are sometimes our own worst enemy! And you know as well

as I do that a bunch of grumpy Dispatchers can make life

real hard on the officers, public and each other!. Instead

of doing what everyone else does (Rotation of shifts) try

keeping your people in the best position that suits them and

makes for better operations all away around. And this is

not just a problem in Public Safety Communications, I have a

cousin who works for POST Foods and they do that rotation

every two weeks and it has caused her some major health

problems, family problems, and above all she cannot regulate

her weight because of the constant change in eating habits.

[Guest guest]

You might have less trouble keeping Dispatchers if you stop

that rotating thing every two weeks!?

I know there is probably a few good reasons why we rotate

shifts, but there is one very good reason not to

" Sleep-Depravation " !!!

I have yet to figure out where the rule is written and who

the idiot was that wrote it, that you have to rotate shifts!

When I was a 911 Director I gave the Dispatchers the option

of choosing the shift that suited them and their needs, or

as close as possible. I had people who like to work all

night shift and were happy doing it. I had the day time

folks, you know those that get up EARLY in the morning and

sing and all that stuff. Then I had a couple who would

rather be shot than have to work anything but 2nd shift

where all the " ACTION IS! " This worked real well. Now I ask

you, why in the world would you want to take happy-clappy

Dispatchers off their shift, rotate days and nights, cause

them sleep depravation, which leads to illness, stress

related illness, back problems etc. and so on, absenteeism,

causing other Dispatchers to work over, more cost for OT,

WHY????

We are sometimes our own worst enemy! And you know as well

as I do that a bunch of grumpy Dispatchers can make life

real hard on the officers, public and each other!. Instead

of doing what everyone else does (Rotation of shifts) try

keeping your people in the best position that suits them and

makes for better operations all away around. And this is

not just a problem in Public Safety Communications, I have a

cousin who works for POST Foods and they do that rotation

every two weeks and it has caused her some major health

problems, family problems, and above all she cannot regulate

her weight because of the constant change in eating habits.

[Guest guest]

>To: <911consoleegroups>

>

>Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2001 02:49:42 -0600

>Reply-To: 911consoleegroups

>Subject: Re: 911:: scheduling for dispatchers ; small depts

>

>You might have less trouble keeping Dispatchers if you stop

>that rotating thing every two weeks!?

>

When I started on the job in 1975, part time dispatching and part time working

on an electric line truck, three of the four full time dispatchers never

rotated. The oldest worked dayshift, second worked evenings and the newest

worked midnights. The fourth guy was actually the oldest and he had a swing

shift covering the off shifts of the other three and he did so because he liked

it. The four full timers worked 7on/2off/7on/2off/6on/2off. I was the only

p/t and was guaranteed only one 8 hour shift a week but it usually was 3 to 5.

In 1976, the evening shift dispatcher made a mistake by only sending a police

unit for a wastebasket fire inside a house so was punished by being assigned to

straight graveyard shift which lasted 15 months. We send police on all fire

and medical calls. Seems that the cop, also a fireman who later completed 40

years in the PD and over 50 in the FD, was right in front of the address so the

dispatcher held off on sounding the whistle (no plectrons or pagers in those

days). He's now senior telecommunicator in a semi-supervisory capacity.

In 1977, two of the dispatchers wanted to become electric linemen so they

transferred to line trucks. One of them is now the Superintendent of Electric

Distribution. I was appointed permanent ful time and they hired another full

timer and a part timer to replace me as the solo sub. At this time we changed

to a rotating schedule with all 4 full timers working the

7on/2off/7on/2off/6on/2off.

Then in 1983, three of us decided that we had had enough of working 7 days

with only one weekend a month off. We asked the mayor & council if we could

switch to a 12 hour shift like our police patrols had done since 1976. The

oldest guy did not want to do that at the time, and a few years later I could

understand why. Our request was rejected but the administrator resolved the

problem by proposing that 3 of us work Monday through Friday on rotating 8 hour

shifts. But we had 4 people. The oldest guy, then in his mid 50's, was offered

a position as stock clerk for the utilities which was strictly 7am/3:30pm M-F

with holidays off and he jumped at the chance of no weekends, no midnights for

the first time in over 20 years. Multiple p/t's were hired to cover weekends,

sick time and vacation time. So for the past 17 years there's been 3 of us

working M-F with weekends only for OT.

Rich Dean, NJ USA .. secondary email addresses are rldean@...,

deanr@... .. HS Class of 1970, Vol Firefighter since 1973,

Telecommunciator/Dispatch since 1975, Railfan since birth in 1952.. Founder of

Egroups.com groups for NJArea, Fire-Police, NJ_Area_Railpics,

NorthAmericanParades and NorthJerseyVolFire.. Member of many more online groups

such as nysw@..., nyswegroups, tiersightings@egroups,

Fire-L@topica, Firepics@egroups, 911dispatcher@egroups

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