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  1. People
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  1. People

Crews and Shift Rotations

The Crews and Shift Rotations page allows Workforce administrators to organize labour resources into operational teams and control how those teams move between work shifts.
image.png
A Crew can follow:
A permanent fixed shift
A reusable repeating rotation
A future scheduled rotation
Different rotation assignments over separate effective periods
Instead of changing every worker’s shift manually, administrators can assign workers to a Crew and manage the Crew’s schedule as one unit.
This is useful for factories where teams rotate together between Day, Night, Morning, Evening, or other configured shifts.
For example:
Crew A works seven days on Day Shift, then seven days on Night Shift
Crew B follows the same rotation with a seven-day offset
A maintenance Crew remains permanently assigned to Night Shift
A temporary project Crew follows a rotation only during a selected date range
Crews and rotations support:
Team-based shift scheduling
Automatic repeating shift changes
Fixed-shift teams
Staggered Crew schedules
Future-dated scheduling
Workforce availability calculations
Shift Calendar visibility
Derived timesheets
Labour and Crew productivity reporting

📍 Where to Find Crews and Shift Rotations
Navigate to:
Workforce → Crews and Shift Rotations
Users normally require the appropriate Manage Crews permission to create, edit, assign, or retire Crews and rotation patterns.

Crews and Shift Rotations Page#

The page is divided into two main areas:
Crews
Shift Rotations
The top of the page also displays summary cards that provide a quick overview of the current configuration.

Summary Cards#

Crews#

Shows the total number of active Crews configured in Fabritec.
A Crew represents an operational shift team whose members can share a fixed shift or rotation.

Assigned Labours#

Shows the number of labour resources currently assigned to Crews.
A labour can belong to only one Crew at a time.
Moving a labour to another Crew removes the person from the previous Crew while leaving other classifications, such as Labour Group and Labour Title, unchanged.

Active Crew Rotations#

Shows the number of Crew rotation assignments that are active on the current date.
A rotation may already be scheduled on a Crew card but not yet be counted as active when:
Its Effective From date is in the future
Its Effective To date has passed
The rotation assignment has not yet reached its active period
For example, a rotation beginning on August 1 may appear as Scheduled before August 1 while the Active Crew Rotations card still shows zero.

Rotation Patterns#

Shows the number of reusable Shift Rotation patterns configured in Fabritec.
A rotation pattern does not control any Crew until it is assigned to that Crew.
The same pattern can be reused across multiple Crews.

🔍 What Is a Crew?
A Crew is an operational team of labour resources that can be scheduled together.
A Crew may include workers with:
Different Labour Titles
Different skills
Different Labour Groups or departments
Different workstation links
Different individual production responsibilities
For example, one fabrication Crew may contain:
A Fabricator
A Welder
A Welding Helper
A Grinding Operator
A Forklift Operator
Crew membership is separate from department membership.
A worker may therefore have:
ClassificationExample
Labour GroupWelding Department
Labour TitleMIG/MAG Welder
CrewWelding Crew A
The Labour Group continues to represent the worker’s department, while the Crew represents the operational team with which the worker follows a shift schedule.

One-Crew Rule#

Each labour can belong to no more than one Crew at the same time.
When a worker is moved into another Crew, Fabritec updates the worker’s Crew membership instead of allowing the same person to belong to two active Crews.
This prevents conflicting Crew schedules.

Crew Cards#

Each Crew appears as a card containing its current schedule, members, planned rotations, and available actions.

Crew Name#

Displays the name of the Crew.
Examples:
Welding Crew A
Welding Crew B
Night Maintenance Crew
CNC Cutting Crew
Assembly Crew
Site Installation Crew
Use a clear operational name that distinguishes the Crew from departments and job titles.

Member Count#

Shows the number of labour resources assigned to the Crew.
Example:
7 members
When all members cannot be shown directly on the card, Fabritec displays the visible names followed by an option such as:
View All +3
Select this option to review the remaining Crew members.

Crew Color#

Each Crew can have a display color.
The color helps users distinguish Crews visually on:
Crew cards
Shift Calendar views
Rotation previews
Workforce scheduling screens
The color is a visual identifier only. It does not change the Crew’s schedule, capacity, or permissions.

Fixed Crew Shift#

Every Crew has a fixed Crew shift.
The fixed shift is the Crew’s fallback schedule whenever no rotation assignment is active.
Examples:
Fixed crew shift
Day
or:
Fixed crew shift
Night
The Crew card may display the following message:
No rotation is active, so the Crew follows its fixed shift.
This means Fabritec currently resolves the Crew members to the selected fixed shift because no rotation assignment is active for the current date.

Fixed Shift and Rotation Relationship#

The fixed Crew shift remains available even when rotations are configured.
Fabritec uses it when:
The Crew has never been assigned a rotation
A future rotation has not started yet
A previous rotation assignment has ended
No rotation assignment covers the requested date
A rotation is removed from the Crew
Changing the fixed shift does not replace an active rotation.
When a rotation is active, the current rotation step determines the Crew’s shift. When no rotation is active, the Crew returns to its fixed shift.

Scheduled Rotations#

The Scheduled Rotations area shows rotation assignments connected to the Crew.
Each assignment may display:
Rotation pattern name
Effective From date
Effective To date
Open-ended status
Example:
Scheduled rotations
Two-Week Day/Night
01 Aug 2026 – Open ended
Open ended means no planned Effective To date has been entered.
The rotation continues until it is replaced, ended, or removed.
A scheduled rotation can appear on the card before it becomes active.

Crew Members#

The card displays the labour resources assigned to the Crew.
Each label may contain:
Labour Code
Labour Name
Example:
LAB-014 Islam Reda
LAB-007 Karim Nasser
LAB-022 Khaled Mostafa
LAB-025 Maged Hussein
Crew membership determines which workers receive the Crew’s fixed shift or active rotation, unless a more specific shift rule applies to an individual worker.

Crew Actions#

Change Fixed Shift#

Select Change fixed shift to update the Crew’s fallback shift.
Use this action when the Crew normally works a different permanent shift.
Changing the fixed shift affects dates on which no Crew rotation is active.
It does not override:
A one-day cover
An individual dated shift assignment
An active Crew rotation

Manage Members#

Select Manage Members to add workers to or remove workers from the Crew.
Use this action when:
A worker joins the team
A worker transfers to another Crew
A Crew is reorganized
Temporary team members are added or removed
Changes to Crew membership affect which workers follow the Crew’s shift rules.
Department membership remains separate and is not removed when the worker joins a Crew.

Assign Rotation#

Select Assign rotation to connect a reusable Shift Rotation pattern to the Crew.
The assignment normally defines:
Rotation pattern
Effective From date
Optional Effective To date
Offset Days
The rotation controls the Crew only during its effective date range.

View Details#

Select View details to review more information about the Crew, its members, fixed shift, and rotation schedule.

Edit Crew#

Use the Edit icon to update the Crew’s basic information, such as:
Name
Color
Fixed shift
Membership, where available

Retire or Remove Crew#

Use the remove action when a Crew is no longer required.
Retiring a Crew clears its members’ Crew link.
Those workers then resolve their shifts through other available rules, such as:
One-day cover
Individual dated shift
Individual fixed shift
Labour default shift
Review the Crew’s members and rotation assignments before retiring it.

Add a New Crew#

Click:
Add Crew
image.png
The Add Crew window contains the following fields.

Name — Required#

Enter a unique and recognizable Crew name.
Examples:
Welding Crew A
Welding Crew B
Day Assembly Crew
Night Cutting Crew
Maintenance Response Crew
Avoid creating multiple Crews with unclear names such as:
Team 1
New Crew
Workers
General
unless those names follow an established internal naming structure.

Color#

Select a display color for the Crew.
Use distinct colors when several Crews appear together on scheduling screens.
For example:
CrewSuggested visual identity
Welding Crew APurple
Welding Crew BBlue
Maintenance CrewGreen
Night CrewYellow
Emergency CrewRed
The exact color does not affect schedule calculations.

Fixed Crew Shift — Required#

Select the shift the Crew follows whenever no rotation is active.
Examples:
Day
Night
Morning
Evening
Maintenance Shift
The available values come from:
Workforce → Shifts
The selected shift should also be compatible with the Work Calendars used by the Crew members.
A selected shift can resolve as a working shift only on dates when the worker’s effective Work Calendar runs that shift.

Labours — Optional#

Select the workers who should initially belong to the Crew.
The field allows multiple labour resources to be selected.
Workers can also be added later through Manage Members.
A labour already assigned to another Crew is moved according to the Crew membership rules rather than remaining in both Crews.
Department information may be shown in the member picker to help administrators choose the correct workers.

Create the Crew#

After completing the form, click:
Create
The new Crew appears on the page with:
Crew name
Selected color
Member count
Fixed shift
Selected labour members
Crew management actions

Complete Crew Example#

Name: Welding Crew A
Color: Purple
Fixed Crew Shift: Day
Labours:
- LAB-001 Ahmed Hassan
- LAB-002 Mohamed Ali
- LAB-003 Mahmoud Ibrahim
- LAB-006 Youssef Samir
Until a rotation becomes active, all Crew members follow the Day shift unless an individual worker has a more specific dated assignment or one-day cover.

🔄 What Is a Shift Rotation?
A Shift Rotation is a reusable repeating sequence of shifts.
It allows Crews to move automatically between shifts without requiring administrators to update every worker manually at the beginning of each cycle.
A rotation contains:
A name
A Cycle Start Date
One or more ordered rotation steps
A shift for each step
A number of days for each step
After the final step ends, the rotation starts again from the first step.

Shift Rotations Section#

The Shift Rotations section displays all reusable rotation patterns.
Each pattern may show:
Rotation name
Total cycle length
Number of steps
Cycle Start Date
Shift used in each step
Number of days in each step
Edit action
Retire Pattern action
Example:
Two-Week Day/Night

14-day cycle
2 steps

Cycle start date: 01 Aug 2026

Day — 7 days
Night — 7 days

Rotation Name#

Shows the name used to identify the pattern.
Examples:
Weekly Day/Night Rotation
Two Weeks Morning / Two Weeks Night
Four-Crew Rotation
Maintenance Alternating Shift
2-2-3 Rotation
Use a name that explains the pattern without requiring users to open it.

Cycle Length#

The cycle length is the total number of days across all rotation steps.
Calculation:
Cycle Length = Sum of all Step Days
Example:
Day: 7 days
Night: 7 days

Cycle Length: 14 days
After day 14, the cycle repeats from Day Shift.

Number of Steps#

Shows how many shift periods exist in the pattern.
Example:
2 steps
A two-step rotation might contain:
1.
Day for seven days
2.
Night for seven days
A more complex rotation can contain additional steps.

Cycle Start Date#

The Cycle Start Date establishes the shared rhythm of the rotation.
It determines where the repeating cycle begins.
For example:
Cycle Start Date: 01 Aug 2026
If the first step is Day for seven days:
August 1–7 follows Day
August 8–14 follows Night
August 15 returns to Day
The Cycle Start Date belongs to the rotation pattern itself.
It is different from a Crew rotation assignment’s Effective From date.
Cycle Start Date: establishes the repeating rhythm
Effective From: determines when a specific Crew begins using that rotation

Rotation Steps#

The steps appear in the order in which Fabritec applies them.
Each step contains:
Work Shift
Number of days
Example:
OrderShiftDuration
1Day7 days
2Night7 days
The order is important because Fabritec moves from Step 1 to Step 2 and then repeats from Step 1.

Edit Shift Rotation#

Use Edit Shift Rotation to update the pattern.
Review existing and future Crew assignments before changing a shared pattern because the same rotation may be assigned to multiple Crews.

Retire Pattern#

Use Retire Pattern when a rotation should no longer be used for new scheduling assignments.
Before retiring it, review the Crews that currently use or are scheduled to use the pattern.

Add a Shift Rotation#

Click:
Add Shift Rotation
image.png
The Add Shift Rotation window opens.

Name — Required#

Enter a clear name for the repeating pattern.
Example:
Weekly Day/Night Rotation

Cycle Start Date — Required#

Select the date from which the rotation’s repeating rhythm is calculated.
The helper text explains:
Sets the shared rhythm for every Crew using this rotation.
Choose the date carefully because every Crew assigned to the pattern uses the same cycle timeline, adjusted where applicable by its Offset Days.

Rotation Steps#

Add the shifts in the order they should repeat.
Each step requires:
A Work Shift
A number of days
At least one rotation step is required.
Each step must last at least one day.

Shift#

Select the shift used during the step.
The available shifts come from:
Workforce → Shifts
Examples:
Day
Night
Morning
Evening

Number of Days#

Enter how many consecutive days the step lasts.
Example:
7
This means the Crew remains on the selected shift for seven cycle days before moving to the next step.

Add Step#

Click Add Step to add another shift period to the pattern.
Example:
Step 1: Day — 7 days
Step 2: Night — 7 days
Use the remove icon beside a step to delete it before saving.

Create Rotation#

After entering the name, Cycle Start Date, and required steps, click:
Create Rotation
The pattern appears in the Shift Rotations section and becomes available for Crew assignment.
Creating the pattern does not automatically assign it to a Crew.

Complete Rotation Example#

Name: Weekly Day/Night Rotation
Cycle Start Date: 01 Aug 2026

Rotation Steps:
1. Day — 7 days
2. Night — 7 days
The resulting cycle is:
Days 1–7: Day
Days 8–14: Night
Days 15–21: Day
Days 22–28: Night
The 14-day sequence repeats continuously.

Assigning a Rotation to a Crew#

After creating the pattern:
1.
Locate the required Crew.
2.
Click Assign rotation.
3.
Select the rotation pattern.
4.
Enter the Effective From date.
5.
Enter an optional Effective To date.
6.
Enter Offset Days where required.
7.
Review the schedule preview where available.
8.
Save the assignment.

Rotation Pattern#

Select the reusable pattern the Crew should follow.
Example:
Weekly Day/Night Rotation

Effective From#

Defines the date on which the Crew starts using the rotation.
Before this date, the Crew follows its fixed Crew shift or another more specific active schedule.

Effective To — Optional#

Defines the final date on which the Crew follows the rotation.
Leave this field empty when the assignment should continue with no planned end date.
The assignment is then displayed as:
Open ended

Offset Days#

Offset Days shifts one Crew’s position within the shared rotation cycle.
This allows several Crews to use the same rotation while working different shifts at the same time.
The value must be zero or greater.
Example:
Rotation:
14 days Day
14 days Night

Crew A Offset: 0 days
Crew B Offset: 14 days
During the first two weeks:
Crew A: Day
Crew B: Night
During the next two weeks:
Crew A: Night
Crew B: Day
Both Crews use the same reusable pattern, but the offset places them at different positions in the cycle.

Non-Overlapping Rotation Periods#

A Crew cannot have rotation assignments with overlapping effective date ranges.
For example, the following configuration is invalid:
Rotation A: 01 Aug–31 Dec
Rotation B: 01 Oct–Open ended
The date ranges overlap between October and December.
End the first assignment before the second assignment begins.
Example:
Rotation A: 01 Aug–30 Sep
Rotation B: 01 Oct–Open ended

Fixed Shift, Scheduled Rotation, and Active Rotation#

These three concepts should not be confused.

Fixed Crew Shift#

The fallback shift used when no rotation is active.

Scheduled Rotation#

A rotation assignment exists, but its Effective From date has not yet arrived.

Active Rotation#

The current date falls inside the rotation assignment’s effective range.
Example:
Fixed Crew Shift: Night
Rotation: Weekly Day/Night
Effective From: 01 Aug 2026
Current Date: 29 Jul 2026
Result:
Current Crew Shift: Night
Reason: The rotation has not started yet
On August 1, Fabritec begins resolving the Crew’s shift from the rotation.

How Fabritec Resolves a Labour’s Shift#

Fabritec uses the most specific applicable shift rule.
The normal priority is:
1. One-day cover
2. Individual dated shift assignment
3. Active Crew rotation
4. Fixed Crew shift
5. Labour default shift

One-Day Cover#

Applies to one worker for one selected date.
It overrides the Crew schedule for that day only.

Individual Dated Shift#

Applies directly to one worker over an effective date range.
It takes priority over the Crew rotation because it is a more specific individual assignment.

Active Crew Rotation#

Determines the shift from the current step of the Crew’s assigned rotation.

Fixed Crew Shift#

Applies when the Crew has no active rotation for the date.

Labour Default Shift#

Used when no more specific individual or Crew rule determines the worker’s shift.
The resolved shift must also be available on the worker’s effective Work Calendar for that date.

Relationship with Work Calendars#

A Crew rotation determines which shift should apply, but the worker’s Work Calendar determines whether that date is a working day and whether the shift is available.
For example:
Crew Rotation Shift: Night
Worker’s Work Calendar: Night runs Saturday–Thursday
Date: Friday
If Friday is a non-working day in the worker’s calendar, the worker is not scheduled merely because the Crew rotation points to Night.
Work Calendars still control:
Working weekdays
Holidays
Special working dates
Non-working exceptions
Which shifts run on each date

Relationship with Shift Calendars#

The Shift Calendars page uses Crew fixed shifts and rotations to show the effective Crew schedule by date.
Use it to verify:
Which shift each Crew follows
When future rotations begin
Whether Crew offsets are correct
Whether a date is working or non-working
Whether individual exceptions change a worker’s Crew schedule

Relationship with Timesheets#

Fabritec uses the labour’s resolved shift to calculate scheduled hours.
The Crew schedule can therefore affect:
Scheduled hours
Idle hours
Attendance
Labour utilization
Overtime classification context
Labour Productivity reporting
Worked hours still come from production activity recorded against the labour.

Practical Example: Two Alternating Crews#

Assume the factory uses:
Day Shift: 08:00–17:00
Night Shift: 22:00–06:00
Create the following rotation:
Name: Two Weeks Day / Two Weeks Night
Cycle Start Date: 03 Aug 2026

Step 1: Day — 14 days
Step 2: Night — 14 days
Create two Crews:
Crew A
Fixed Shift: Day

Crew B
Fixed Shift: Night
Assign the rotation:
Crew A Offset: 0
Crew B Offset: 14
Effective From: 03 Aug 2026
Effective To: Empty
Result:
PeriodCrew ACrew B
Weeks 1–2DayNight
Weeks 3–4NightDay
Weeks 5–6DayNight
The schedule continues automatically without manually changing every worker.

Recommended Implementation Steps#

1. Configure Work Shifts#

Navigate to:
Workforce → Shifts
Create all shifts required by the factory.
Examples:
Day
Night
Morning
Evening

2. Configure Work Calendars#

Navigate to:
Workforce → Work Calendars
Confirm which shifts run on each working weekday.
Configure:
Working days
Holidays
Special working days
Non-working exceptions

3. Create Labour Records#

Navigate to:
Workforce → Labours
Create or import the workers who will be assigned to Crews.
Confirm each worker has:
Code
Name
Work Calendar
Default shift where applicable
Labour Group
Labour Title

4. Review Real Operational Teams#

Identify which workers genuinely move between shifts together.
Do not create a Crew only because workers belong to the same department.
A single department may contain several Crews.
Example:
Labour Group: Welding Department

Crews:
- Welding Crew A
- Welding Crew B
- Welding Night Crew

5. Create the Crews#

Click:
Add Crew
Enter:
Crew name
Color
Fixed Crew shift
Initial members

6. Create Reusable Rotation Patterns#

Click:
Add Shift Rotation
Configure:
Rotation name
Cycle Start Date
Ordered shift steps
Number of days for each step

7. Assign Rotations to Crews#

Use Assign rotation on each Crew.
Set:
Rotation pattern
Effective From
Optional Effective To
Offset Days

8. Review the Schedule#

Use:
Workforce → Shift Calendars
Confirm that every Crew follows the expected shift for each date.

9. Review Individual Overrides#

Check whether any Crew member has:
A one-day cover
An individual dated shift
An absence or leave exception
These rules may change the individual worker’s resolved schedule without changing the rest of the Crew.

10. Review Timesheets and Productivity#

Confirm that scheduled hours and Crew-level productivity reflect the resolved shifts correctly.

Governance Rules#

A labour can belong to only one Crew at a time.
Crew membership is separate from Labour Group membership.
Every Crew requires a fixed Crew shift.
The fixed shift applies whenever no Crew rotation is active.
A rotation pattern requires a unique name.
A rotation requires at least one step.
Every rotation step must last at least one day.
Rotation steps are applied in their displayed order.
The total cycle length is the sum of all step durations.
Offset Days cannot be negative.
Rotation assignments for the same Crew cannot overlap.
A future scheduled rotation does not override the fixed shift before its Effective From date.
A one-day cover or individual dated shift can override the Crew schedule for one worker.
Work Calendars continue to determine whether the date and shift are operational.
Retiring a Crew clears the Crew link from its members.
Retiring a rotation pattern should be reviewed against existing and future Crew assignments.
Crew schedule changes should be effective-dated whenever historical schedules must remain traceable.

⭐ Best Practices#

Create Crews based on real operational teams, not only department structure
Use clear names such as Welding Crew A and Welding Crew B
Select a meaningful color for each Crew
Always configure a correct fixed shift as the Crew’s fallback
Create reusable patterns instead of manually switching workers every cycle
Use Offset Days to stagger Crews on the same pattern
Keep rotation steps simple and easy for supervisors to understand
Select a Cycle Start Date that matches the factory’s actual rotation rhythm
Use Effective From dates for future scheduling changes
Leave Effective To empty only when the rotation is genuinely open-ended
Avoid overlapping rotation assignments
Review Crew membership whenever workers transfer between teams
Use one-day covers for isolated temporary changes rather than modifying the whole Crew
Check Shift Calendars after creating or changing a rotation
Verify Work Calendar compatibility with every shift used in the rotation
Review approved timesheets before making historical scheduling corrections
Retire unused Crews and patterns instead of creating duplicate alternatives
Document the rotation arrangement before applying it to a large workforce

🔗 Related Articles#

Labour Titles – Define job roles for your workers
Shifts – Manage working hours and labour availability
WorkStations – Link labour roles to machines
Production Stages – Identify the tasks workers can operate
Modified at 2026-07-29 14:14:06
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