He went on to complete his A.A.S. and then joined the staff three years later. System information is backed up, and subsystems are brought up afresh. In addition, preventive maintenance and upgrades to system software are usually scheduled for the latter part of the third shift when backups have been completed and system usage is at a minimum. Almost all comprehensive backups are done on the third shift, including those of databases, minidisks, online logs, and temporary spool files. The biggest difference between the third and other shifts is, of course, social.
Most contact is by phone or through written or electronic reports.
At the same time, third shift has more contact with IBM personnel than any other shift. Albert cites big advantages. With my days free I have real flexibility. I can make appointments during business hours that I would otherwise have to miss. Avril likes the schedule for practical reasons.