The FIFO User Manual · guide + planner app
The FIFO field manual nobody gave you.
The guide and the FIFO Planner app in one package. Plan your sleep around your roster, log how you're tracking, and let the whole family see where your swing is at. Written by a scaffold-industry veteran who has worked FIFO full-time since 2006, on every roster, in every kind of camp, across mines and construction.
Get The FIFO User Manual — A$39 See everything included
One price, every feature · Family view always free · 14-day no-questions refund · General information, not medical or legal advice
One price. Everything included.
No tiers and no locked features. Buy once and you get the whole planner and the full guide.
The FIFO Planner app
- Family sharing: give your partner, kids or parents their own view-only link showing today's shift, the countdown to home, the month calendar and your flight times. It updates when your roster changes, and you can turn any link off. Only your roster and flight times are shared.
- Today screen: your shift, a suggested sleep window, your caffeine cut-off and meal pointers, built from the guide's Sleep Health Foundation and FSANZ sources. The timings are defaults you can change.
- 10-second energy log: hours slept and energy 1–5, with a weekly chart shaded by day shift, night shift and R&R.
- Sick diary: log symptoms when you're crook. It records where you were in your roster so you can see what tends to come before it. Includes "staying well on swing" tips from healthdirect, the Department of Health and Safe Work Australia.
- Sleep and caffeine plan for every day of your swing, including the day-to-night flip.
- Calendar reminders: flights, buses, bedtimes and caffeine cut-offs added to your phone's calendar (.ics).
- Countdown and year tracker: days until home or fly-out, and days away vs days home this year.
- 12-month swing calendar, with flights and bus times for each swing.
- Medication declaration card to print or save.
- Swing bag packing checklist.
- Ask and Help: search the guide's summaries in the app, with their sources. Works offline.
The full guide
- Getting on site: entry roles, tickets, labour hire, applying, your first-swing kit, and an ATS-friendly resume template.
- Sleep protocols: a step-by-step day-to-night and night-to-day flip plan for a 7 days / 7 nights roster, plus R&R transitions. Based on Sleep Health Foundation guidance for shift workers.
- Energy drinks and caffeine: the Australian limits (FSANZ), how to time caffeine around your shift, and better alternatives.
- Alcohol: NHMRC guidelines, wet mess strategies, the morning-after testing facts, and recovery.
- Food: a camp mess plate plan, crib ideas, night-shift eating and travel-day food.
- Flights and travel days: blood-clot (DVT) and hydration tips, and the "don't drive after nights" rule.
- Camp and room hacks: blackout, noise, temperature and routines that work in a donga.
- Drug and alcohol testing in WA: how testing works, the Australian Standards, prescription medication, and your obligations. Legal facts only.
- Injuries and incidents: your WA safety rights, stopping unsafe work, and the workers' comp steps and time limits (WorkCover WA).
- Printables: a 14-day swing planner, swing bag checklist and wellbeing plan.
The FIFO User Manual
A$39
The planner app and the full guide. Every feature included.
Get The FIFO User Manual — A$39
Family view is always free. The people you share a link with never need to pay or sign up.
Price in Australian dollars. Checkout and GST handled by Gumroad. 14-day no-questions refund. Your logs, sick diary and meds stay on your device.
Who it's for
Breaking in?
Find out which entry roles actually take people without site experience, which tickets to buy (and which are a waste of money), and how to get your resume past the robots. You'll also know what the medical and drug screen involve before you walk in.
Ten years in and feeling it?
Short sleep, the day-to-night flip, three cans a shift, a few too many on R&R, and needing a week at home to feel human. The planner and guide give you a plan to fix it.
Got family at home?
Send them a link so they can see where your swing is at without asking: on shift, travelling or home, and how many sleeps until you're back. It's free for them.
Why trust it
- Written from nearly 20 years of full-time FIFO, not a weekend of googling.
- Every health and legal point links to an Australian authority: Sleep Health Foundation, healthdirect, FSANZ, NHMRC, Alcohol and Drug Foundation, WorkSafe WA and WorkCover WA.
- No hype and no "guaranteed job" promises.
Frequently asked questions
Is this medical advice?
No. It summarises Australian public-health guidance and real site experience. See your GP about your own health, sleep, alcohol or medication.
Will it get me a job?
Nobody can promise that. It shows you how to apply properly and avoid wasting money.
Does it tell me how to pass a drug test?
It explains how testing works and what the law requires. It will never help anyone evade a test. If you're struggling, there's a list of free, confidential support lines inside.
I'm not in WA.
Most of it applies anywhere in Australia, but the legal sections are WA-specific.
Who wrote it?
A scaffold-industry FIFO veteran who prefers to stay anonymous. Still on the tools, still doing the swings.
What do I get for A$39?
Everything: the FIFO Planner app with every feature, and the full guide with its printables. There are no tiers and no locked extras.
Does my family need to pay to see my swing?
No. The family view link is free for anyone you send it to, and they don't need to sign up. It shows your roster and flight times only, and you can turn the link off at any time.
What's the refund policy?
14-day no-questions refund. Your rights under Australian Consumer Law apply regardless.
See everything included — A$39 Not ready? Get the free sleep checklist
General information only. Not medical, legal or financial advice. Not affiliated with any employer, labour hire company or government agency. In crisis? Lifeline 13 11 14 · Emergency 000.