eBrigade Work cycle module
Automate work cycle assignment for each staff member
Entering each staff member’s rotation by hand in the duty roster is error-prone and takes a disproportionate amount of time. A named work cycle defines a sequence of days classed as day or night, a reference date that anchors the rotation and an individual offset per staff member. Each staff member’s record shows their current cycle day in real time, and the duty roster’s auto-fill pool automatically leaves out staff who are on rest.
These buttons are about the full eBrigade subscription: this module is included at no extra cost in every plan.
Named work cycles (24/48, 24/72, SHR…) with a reference date, an individual offset per person and day/night shifts; the current cycle day is shown on each person’s record and filters the auto-fill pool of the duty roster.
What is the eBrigade Work cycle module?
Named work cycles (24/48, 24/72, SHR…) with a reference date, an individual offset per staff member and days classed as day/night; the current cycle day is shown on the staff member’s record and the duty roster’s auto-fill pool is filtered. It is included at no extra cost in every eBrigade plan.
Why use Work cycle?
Rebuilding a 24/48, 24/72 or SHR rotation by hand for each staff member, every period, takes hours. Without a shared anchor date, the slightest offset between two staff members becomes a headache, and you have to check one person at a time who is supposed to be on duty on a given day before filling in the duty roster.
What Work cycle changes in eBrigade
The Work cycle module encodes each rotation once: a sequence of days classed as day and/or night, a reference date and an offset specific to each staff member. From there, eBrigade calculates each staff member’s cycle day for any date: the staff record shows their current day in real time, and the duty roster’s auto-fill leaves out staff on rest with no manual calculation. Changes to the template apply to every staff member linked to it.
What you can do with Work cycle
Define each rotation once (24/48, 24/72, SHR…) as a named sequence anchored on a reference date. This anchor is what makes it possible to work out, for any date, where each staff member is in their cycle.
Each staff member starts the rotation at their own position via their individual offset (D+n). Two staff members can therefore follow the same cycle out of phase, with no manual recalculation.
Each day of the cycle is classed as day, night, both or rest, with a custom label. You add, edit or delete days — a cycle always keeps at least one day.
Each staff member’s record shows their current cycle day calculated for today, for example “Today: D3 · day + night”. The manager sees immediately who is on duty without opening the schedule.
The cycle field is shown only for the statuses you designate as subject to the cycle. Records of staff who are not concerned are not cluttered with unnecessary information.
Each cycle can exclude weekends and public holidays from assignment. When the duty roster is auto-filled, staff on rest are automatically removed from the pool of suggested candidates.
Step by step
Name each cycle, set its reference date and build its sequence of days: for each day, indicate whether it includes a day shift, a night shift, and a custom label. You add, edit or remove days, reorder cycles and enable or disable a cycle without deleting it.
Turn on cycle handling for the targeted statuses only. The “Work cycle” line then appears only on the records of staff with those statuses, and stays hidden for everyone else.
On a staff member’s record, choose their reference cycle and their offset (D+n) in the rotation. eBrigade immediately shows their current cycle day — for example “Today: D3 · day + night”.
When the duty roster is auto-filled, the module removes from the candidate pool staff who are on rest according to their cycle, their offset and the weekend / public holiday exclusions. Any change to the cycle template applies to every staff member linked to it.
Where this module really pays off
Fire and rescue services (SDIS) & professional firefighters: named 24/48, 24/72 or SHR schedules with a reference date and individual offset per staff member, shown in real time on each record.
24-hour shift schedules: days classed as day and/or night, rest days in between, custom label per day to distinguish shifts.
Relevant staff only: the cycle field is shown only for statuses subject to the cycle, so other staff records stay uncluttered.
Automatic calendar exclusion: weekends and public holidays removed from assignment according to the rules set on each cycle.
Duty roster auto-fill filtering: only staff on duty that day remain in the pool of suggested candidates.
Frequently asked questions
How does eBrigade know where a staff member is in their cycle on a given date?
Each cycle has a reference date and each staff member an individual offset (D+n). The module counts the days elapsed since the reference date, adds the staff member’s offset and derives the matching day of the cycle. The result is shown in real time on the staff member’s record, for example “Today: D3 · day + night”.
Which schedules can be modelled?
A cycle is a sequence of days that you build freely: each day is classed as day, night, both or rest, with a custom label. This covers named rotations such as 24/48, 24/72 or SHR. The calculation is based on the day/night classification of each day, not on a fixed number of hours.
Does the module fill in the whole duty roster automatically?
No. It acts on the duty roster’s auto-fill by filtering the candidate pool: staff on rest according to their cycle, their offset and the weekend / public holiday exclusions are left out of the suggestions. The final decision and assignment remain with the manager.
Do all staff see the cycle field?
No. The “Work cycle” line appears only for the statuses you have designated as subject to the cycle. For other staff, the field stays hidden so as not to clutter their record.
What happens to a staff member if their cycle is deleted?
Predefined cycles are protected against deletion. When an ordinary cycle is deleted, the staff members linked to it are automatically detached and their offset reset to zero, leaving no orphaned reference.
Who can configure cycles?
Cycle configuration is reserved for profiles with settings permissions. All saves go through prepared statements and CSRF protection, and a cycle can be disabled without being deleted to remove it temporarily from assignments.