There are a lot of people who tend to gravitate towards working in a factory where they are surrounded by wire cutters, cables, forklifts and high beams, all day long because of the allure of working at a plant that offers shift work. If you apply to any plant in Allentown as a process calibrator operator the first question you'll be asked is whether or not you can do shift work.

It's a standard question plants and factories ask because they all run some form of shift work. Factory shift work is a work practice that used woodworking machinery plants use that enables them to use the full 24 hours in the day. There's no 9-5 about working in a factory. Most factories need to be open 24 hours a day because there is just so much work to be done.

Shift work shifts take place all day long and you need to be ready to work various shifts if you take on employment at a factory that works with high temperature tape. The most common form of shift work is the three-shift system in which there are three designated shifts throughout the day. The first shift is the early morning shift that takes place from 6AM to 2PM. The second shift is the afternoon shift, which starts at 2PM and ends at 10PM. The third and final shift is the late night shift that starts at 10PM and goes to 6AM.

Each shift is composed of 8 hours and takes place from Monday to Friday allowing for workers to get the weekends off because everyone needs a little time away from working the drive pulley at the plant. When potential employees are asked if they can do shift work they aren't being asked if they can handle working 8 hours at different times of the day. What employers want to know is if they can handle working at different times of the day on different days. One day you might get the morning shift, the next day you might get the late night shift, and so on. Anyone who works in a plant needs to be able to have an open schedule and work whatever shift they are needed to work.

Once you become established at the plant you might get to stick to one shift rotation but will always need to be available for different shift times just in case.