The numbers behind a 24/7 post
A week has 168 hours, so one post staffed around the clock needs 168 hours of guard time every week, before anyone is sick, on vacation or in training.
At a 40-hour week that is 4.2 full-time equivalents (FTE): 168 ÷ 40 = 4.2. Because nobody works 0.2 of a person, you need at least five people to fill the schedule without overtime. Add a relief factor for absence and turnover and most 24/7 posts end up with five or six guards. Our free 24/7 security coverage calculator runs these numbers for any post.
| Coverage | Hours a week | FTE at 40 hours | FTE at 42 hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 hours, 7 days | 168 | 4.2 | 4.0 |
| 16 hours, 7 days | 112 | 2.8 | 2.7 |
| 12 hours, 7 days | 84 | 2.1 | 2.0 |
| 12 hours, weekdays only | 60 | 1.5 | 1.4 |
Step 1: Work out the hours
Multiply the hours of coverage per day by the days per week. Count every post separately: a site with a gatehouse and a mobile patrol, both 24/7, is 336 hours a week, not 168.
Step 2: Choose a shift length
Shift length decides how many handovers you have and how many shifts each guard can fit in a week.
- 12-hour shifts cover a day in two shifts, so there are only two handovers a day. 168 hours is 14 shifts a week. Guards work fewer, longer days and get more days off.
- 8-hour shifts cover a day in three shifts. 168 hours is 21 shifts a week. Shifts are less tiring, but there are three handovers a day and more shifts to fill.
- 10-hour shifts do not divide a 24-hour day evenly, so they suit posts covered up to 10 hours a day, or overlapping shifts where a handover helps.
Step 3: Pick a rotation
A rotation is the repeating pattern that tells each guard which shifts to work. For a 24/7 post the common ones are:
| Rotation | Shift length | Teams | How it works |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2-2-3 (Pitman) | 12 hours | 4 | A 14-day cycle: work 2, off 2, work 3, off 2, work 2, off 3. Every other weekend off. Averages 42 hours a week. |
| DuPont | 12 hours | 4 | A 28-day cycle of night and day blocks with a full week off every four weeks. Averages 42 hours a week. |
| 4 on, 4 off | 12 hours | 4 | Four shifts on, four days off. Simple to explain; working days move through the week. Averages 42 hours a week. |
| Fixed 8-hour shifts | 8 hours | 3 shifts plus relief | Days, evenings and nights, five shifts a week each, with relief guards covering the remaining shifts. |
| Southern swing | 8 hours | 4 | Teams rotate through day, evening and night shifts over 28 days. Spreads nights and weekends evenly. Averages 42 hours a week. |
Four-team 12-hour rotations fit a 24/7 post exactly, with four guards averaging 42 hours a week. In the US, the Fair Labor Standards Act requires overtime at one and a half times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek, so those extra hours cost overtime, and some states add daily overtime rules. Check your state's rules (California, for example, has daily overtime), or use the free overtime calculator to see the cost of a pattern before you commit to it.
Step 4: Add relief
A schedule that only just covers the post fails the first time someone is sick. A relief factor is the extra staff you plan for vacation, sickness, training and turnover, usually expressed as a percentage.
Work out your own from last year's absence. If you have no figures yet, run the numbers with a few percentages to see how many relief guards each one adds, and keep a small pool of trained relief guards who know the site and its post orders.
Step 5: Build, publish and fill gaps
- Put every post and shift on a weekly schedule, by site and by guard.
- Publish the schedule to the guards with enough notice for them to plan, and remind them before each shift.
- Let guards accept or decline shifts, and handle leave requests before they become gaps.
- Check each day's coverage first thing, and fill any open shift before it starts.
- Compare scheduled hours with clocked hours each week to catch overtime early.
Common scheduling mistakes
- Planning to the minimum. Five guards for a 24/7 post leaves no one to cover a sick day without overtime.
- Forgetting the handover. A few minutes of overlap for keys, radios and open issues avoids gaps between shifts.
- Long stretches of nights. Rotations that keep the same guard on nights for weeks raise fatigue and turnover. Rotate fairly, or ask for volunteers for permanent nights.
- Ignoring overtime until payday. Overtime is cheapest to fix while you are still building the schedule.
Scheduling 24/7 posts in ForceVera
Guard scheduling in ForceVera shows a week grid by site and by guard, with recurring and overnight shifts. You publish the schedule to the guard app, guards get reminders by push notification and SMS, and they can accept or reject pending shifts with a reason. Supervisors approve leave requests, and the dashboard shows today's coverage for every post. The geofenced time clock records when each guard actually clocked in and out, so you can compare scheduled and worked hours.
Starting from a spreadsheet? The free security schedule template lays out a week by post and shift.