ChemDesign Products, Inc.

How to Travel the World Between Your 28 Day Shift Rotation Schedule

Are you familiar with the DuPont 12 hour rotating shift schedule? Named after the company where it originated sixty years ago, the shift is structured so the employee receives seven straight days off after every 28-day rotation.

At ChemDesign, we use the DuPont 12-hour rotating shift schedule with four teams (crews) and 2 twelve-hour shifts to provide 24/7 coverage. Employees who thrive in this work environment have told us they love having a built-in mini-vacation within every 28-day cycle.

One of our employees, Jordan Parker (@jpark07v), has taken his mini-vacations to another level, a worldly level in fact. While it is not possible to go on an exotic trip every month, he has been able to travel to Egypt, Costa Rica, Ireland and Spain in the last nine.

Jordan’s interest in exploring cultures beyond our borders began when his mom gave him a subscription to National Geographic. His determination for traveling the world was set after seeing a picture of Machu Picchu. In April of this year, he went there and provided travel tips to his 68,000-plus followers of his Facebook page, Where in the World.

How does a man who describes himself as ‘a small town guy who loves adventures’ take international trips in about a week on one income? Jordan is extremely resourceful and efficient, using several key websites and applications to save time and money.

Here are a few of his favorite resources Jordan recommends for traveling on a budget:

Transportation Savings

According to Value Penguin, a typical family spends at least 44 percent of their vacation budget on transportation costs. Jordan uses Google Flights to secure the cheapest ticket. He keeps his departure time flexible and is open to unconventional connecting flights. He follows ticket prices for up to one year in advance as well, noting the fluctuations in pricing and purchasing when it’s hit a low.

Lodging Deals

Jordan is no-frills in his lodging preferences. He prefers a clean hostel to a fancy hotel. Hostels are required to offer shared rooms, but do provide private rooms for a small up charge. The price of hostel stays can be as low as $10 a night. Beyond the monetary benefits, Jordan stays at hostels to interact and mix with other like-minded travelers, who have local recommendations, making his stay more authentic.

Pre-Booking Events and Tour Guides

The app, Viator, is Jordan’s go-to resource for pre-booking tours. Scheduling activities before arrival was especially important for his trip to Egypt, where the national language is Egyptian Arabic. Jordan also found a tour guide, a student living in Cairo, using the app Tripr. His guide picked him up at the airport and joined him on a camel safari tour around the Giza Pyramids.

In his own words, Jordan is ‘loving life and feels very fortunate’. He also believes he is at an advantage to overcome jet lag when traveling because he is used to working a swing shift.

Jordan is a great at what he does, is an excellent trainer, and exemplifies the culture at ChemDesign. We are so happy that his life dreams are coming true.

As Jordan’s story illustrates, time to travel is one of the benefits of working a DuPont 12 hour rotating shift. To learn more about what it’s like to work on a crew at ChemDesign, contact us using our website form or call a member of our human resources team at (715) 735-9033.

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