Home › Compare schedules › 24/48 vs 48/96
24/48 vs 48/96
Identical hours, identical platoons, completely different rhythm. The only question is whether you want your time off in two-day pieces or four-day blocks.
| 24/48 | vs | 48/96 |
|---|---|---|
| The cycle | ||
| 24 hours | Tour length | 48 hoursTwo tours back to back |
| 3 days | Cycle length | 6 days |
| 56 hours | Average week | 56 hours |
| 3 | Platoons | 3 |
| 2 days | Longest break | 4 days |
| What it costs | ||
| No | Two consecutive tours on duty | Yes |
| 2 days | Recovery before the next tour | 4 days |
| No | A busy second tour with no sleep behind it | Yes |
| Living with it | ||
| No | Four-day blocks for travel or a second job | Yes |
| Yes | Never more than a day at a time away from home | No |
| YesEvery third day | Predictable for childcare | NoTwo days gone at once |
Same hours, different arithmetic on your body
Both average about fifty-six hours a week and both use three platoons. The 24/48 works one tour then takes two days off. The 48/96 stacks two tours together and takes four.
The forty-eight hour block
This is the argument. Two consecutive twenty-four hour tours means that if the first one is busy, you start the second already short of sleep, and there is no way out until it ends.
Crews that vote for it accept that trade because of what comes after: four full days, every cycle. That is long enough to travel, take a course, or work a block of paid duty work without eating into recovery.
Which one families prefer
It splits. Two days away at a stretch is hard on a household with young children, and 24/48 never asks for more than one. But four days off in a row is time you can actually spend at home, rather than a day spent catching up on sleep before going back.
Full detail on each pattern: 24/48 and 48/96 explained
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