Working Hours and Work Weeks

[JadziaKathryn]

I've been thinking: barring emergencies of course, what would standard work hours and work weeks look like for a starship crew?

I assume 8 hour shifts, because they have alpha, beta, and gamma shifts. I also figure a lot of overtime gets put in (especially by the senior staff) during misadventures, never mind the Xindi war. But would they normally have two days off a week? One? None? I can hardly imagine Starfleet forcing them to work every single day of the week...

[WarpGirl]

I always assumed it was like a hospital, 7:00 to 3:00, 3:00 to 11:00, 11:00 to 7:00... Also a Kenny Chesney song but that's another can of tuna. I figure the senior staff rotates shifts every month. For example, Hoshi gets beta shift on bridge one month, Travis, gets gamma, and so on. Trip does the same in Engineering with his second. That way all of the physical stress is evenly distributed.

[Nemo Blank]

On a ship, the work periods are divided into watches.

Mid Watch, Midnight to 4 AM (0000 - 0400)
Morning Watch, 4 AM to 8 AM (0400 - 0800)
Forenoon Watch, 8 AM to noon (0800 - 1200)
Afternoon Watch, Noon to 4 PM (1200 - 1600)
First Dog Watch, 4 PM to 6 PM (1600 - 1800)
Second Dog Watch, 6 PM to 8 PM (1800 - 2000)
First Watch, 8 PM to Midnight (2000 - 0000)

The watches are four hours long, a thousand years of naval history having proven four hours to be the optimum time trade off between alertness and manning requirements. Four hours watch standing at night does not completely ruin your sleep schedule and allows you to change watches without too much trouble, so that everyone gets rotated.

Each four hour watch is divided by bells. A bell rings every thirty minutes of the watch, so that everyone stays awake and knows how close relief is.

For example, during the midwatch, you can tell time by the bells thusly.

00:30 1 bell
01:00 2 bells
01:30 2 bells, pause, 1 bell
02:00 2 bells, pause, 2 bells
02:30 2 bells, pause, 2 bells, pause, 1 bell
03:00 2 bells, pause, 2 bells, pause, 2 bells
03:30 2 bells, pause, 2 bells, pause, 2 bells, pause, 1 bell
04:00 2 bells, pause, 2 bells, pause, 2 bells, pause, 2 bells

At eight bells, the watch is over.

The bells tell you when to make log entries to reflect that sentry's have been checked, fire-watch active, plot taken, magazines locked down, etc.

The morning watch duty officers are woken just before eight bells, briefed on the activities of the night and the duty officers of the mid watch are formally relieved and a log entry reflecting that fact made. The mid watch goes to bed and the bells chime out and regulate the activities of the next four hours of the morning watch.

04:30 1 bell
05:00 2 bells
05:30 2 bells, pause, 1 bell
06:00 2 bells, pause, 2 bells
06:30 2 bells, pause, 2 bells, pause, 1 bell
07:00 2 bells, pause, 2 bells, pause, 2 bells
07:30 2 bells, pause, 2 bells, pause, 2 bells, pause, 1 bell
08:00 2 bells, pause, 2 bells, pause, 2 bells, pause, 2 bells

And so on for the next five watches.

[Dinah]

Nemo Blank, this is absolutely terrific. I always wanted an explanation of bells and watches. Now when I reread the Hornblower stories, things will make a little more sense.

[Alelou]

Thanks for the background! It's fascinating. I wonder if any of the show's writers knew this, though? You wouldn't think so since the senior staff is almost always on watch at the same time whenever anything happens. Or would a senior group of officers tend to be on watch together and let juniors handle the other watches together? (seems risky.)

So how many watches would a seaman typically stand in one 24-hour period? And how often would one's assigned watches change?

[JadziaKathryn]

I wonder if T'Pol takes extra watches on account of needing less sleep. Or maybe when she's off shift she's in the science lab having the Vulcan equivalent of fun.

Interesting stuff, Nemo, and thanks for sharing. I'm also curious how many watches a seaman would generally stand per day.

[Nemo Blank]

A seaman stands one watch per day of duty, unless he swaps with someone. Watch literally means to watch. The people on watch or with 'the duty' aren't the only ones at work, but they are manning stations, keeping their eyes pealed for any and every sort of trouble. They are the ones that keep the ship ready to respond. In an emergency 'General Quarters' is sounded, and the watch reinforced by the arrival of the full crew. Should the enemy abruptly appear, or the sea decide to destroy the ship, the watch is ready to sound the alarm, or to instantly change course in the event of a possible collision, to order maximum emergency military power in order to maneuver clear of the threat from the sea or to instantaneously open fire on an enemy man o' war.

The ship's day is utterly regulated, controlled minute by minute by bells, pipes and bugles. The watch personnel get to sleep in two extra hours, but revele is fixed for the rest of the crew. They get up and put on the prescribed uniform of the day. a half hour before sunrise Quarters is sounded, all weapons are manned and the ship closes up, ready for battle. When the coast is declared clear a half hour after sunrise, the ship's divisions muster for inspection. Officers and chiefs dispense the Plan of the Day, personnel are counted, inspected, assigned duties and then sent to breakfast. The day follows from there, with ironclad predictability. Work parties, and drill, drill and more drill, as drill maketh a ready man. Sailors soon lose the habit of thinking ahead as they really have no need to live in anything but the now. It is a rather good life if the officers are decent and shore leave plentiful.