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On-Call Coverage Models
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Compare on-call rotation schedules: follow-the-sun, weekly rotation, 12-hour shifts, and more. Visualize coverage gaps, engineer burden, and find the right schedule for your team size.
SRE
On-Call
Planning
Compare different on-call coverage models to find the right fit for your team. Select a model to see how it distributes coverage, burden, and tradeoffs.
Selected: Follow-the-Sun (3 Regions)
Three regional teams hand off coverage during business hours. Zero night shifts - the healthiest model for distributed teams.
Daily Coverage (24 Hours UTC)
Primary
APAC (Tokyo)
EU (London)
US East (ET)
Secondary
APAC (Tokyo)
EU (London)
US East (ET)
0:006:0012:0018:0024:00
US East (ET)
EU (London)
APAC (Tokyo)
Key Metrics
Coverage
100%
Team Size
6
Shift Length
8h
Handoffs/Week
21
Night Hours
0h
Weekend Hours
8h
Hours/Week
28h
Frequency
Every other day (within region)
Rotation: Daily handoffs between regions
Sample Team
Alex (US)
9am-5pm ET (14-22 UTC)
20h/wk
Jordan (US)
9am-5pm ET (14-22 UTC)
20h/wk
Emma (EU)
9am-5pm GMT (9-17 UTC)
20h/wk
Liam (EU)
9am-5pm GMT (9-17 UTC)
20h/wk
Yuki (APAC)
9am-5pm JST (0-8 UTC)
20h/wk
Hana (APAC)
9am-5pm JST (0-8 UTC)
20h/wk
US (New York)
EU (London)
APAC (Tokyo)
Tradeoffs
Advantages
- Zero night shifts - everyone works business hours only
- Fastest response - always someone awake and alert
- Most sustainable for long-term team health
- Natural overlap windows enable smooth handoffs
- Primary + secondary redundancy within each shift
Considerations
- Requires distributed team across 3 time zones
- More handoffs (3/day) increases coordination needs
- Weekend coverage rotated across all members
- Communication overhead across regions