The DuPont Schedule: Rotation, Examples & Template

Q: How many hours a week is the DuPont schedule?

It averages 42 hours per week over the 4-week cycle. Individual weeks vary a lot — the heaviest week in the cycle reaches 72 hours, and the lightest is the week off.

The DuPont schedule is a rotating shift pattern that covers 24/7 operations with four teams working 12-hour shifts across a repeating 4-week cycle: 4 nights on, 3 off, 3 days on, 1 off, 3 nights on, 3 off, 4 days on, then 7 consecutive days off. Every employee averages 42 hours a week and gets a full week off every month.

Try the rotation

Pick a start date to map the rotation onto real weeks. Team A starts the cycle on day 1; the other teams are staggered so cover never drops.

Cycle start date

	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
Team A	Night	Night	Night	Night	Off	Off	Off	Day	Day	Day	Off	Night	Night	Night	Off	Off	Off	Day	Day	Day	Day	Off	Off	Off	Off	Off	Off	Off
Team B	Day	Day	Day	Off	Night	Night	Night	Off	Off	Off	Day	Day	Day	Day	Off	Off	Off	Off	Off	Off	Off	Night	Night	Night	Night	Off	Off	Off
Team C	Off	Off	Off	Day	Day	Day	Day	Off	Off	Off	Off	Off	Off	Off	Night	Night	Night	Night	Off	Off	Off	Day	Day	Day	Off	Night	Night	Night
Team D	Off	Off	Off	Off	Off	Off	Off	Night	Night	Night	Night	Off	Off	Off	Day	Day	Day	Off	Night	Night	Night	Off	Off	Off	Day	Day	Day	Day

Day = Day shiftNight = Night shiftOff = Day off

The math

Cycle length	28 days
Shift length	12 hours
Average hours per week	42 hours
Shifts per year (per person)	183
Days off per year	183
Teams needed for 24/7 cover	4

How the rotation works

The cycle runs 28 days and mixes blocks of day and night shifts with short breaks, ending in the pattern's signature reward: seven days off in a row. Four teams work the same cycle, each starting one week apart, so at any hour two teams are on duty (one on days, one on nights) and two are off.

That stagger is what makes the maths work. With 14 work days per 28-day cycle at 12 hours each, every team covers exactly half the calendar — and four staggered teams cover all of it: one team on days, one on nights, every single day.

The week-long break is the reason teams vote for DuPont, and the run of four consecutive night shifts is the reason some vote against it. Both come from the same design choice: compressing the work into longer blocks buys longer recoveries.

Who uses it

Manufacturing & process plants — continuous production lines where handovers are expensive and 12-hour shifts halve them
Energy, utilities & control rooms — 24/7 monitoring with small, certified crews that can't flex headcount
Petrochemical & refining — the pattern's birthplace — DuPont introduced it in the 1950s for exactly this work
Emergency dispatch & security — around-the-clock cover with predictable long-range planning
Healthcare support services — sterile processing, labs and facilities teams that run behind 24/7 wards

Pros & Cons

Pros

Seven consecutive days off every 4 weeks — effectively a monthly holiday without using leave
Only 14 work days per 28: fewer commutes, fewer handovers
Averages 42 h/week with no scheduling gaps — overtime is predictable, not chaotic
Full 24/7 cover with four teams and zero single-cover hours
The whole year is knowable in advance, which staff genuinely value

Cons

Up to four consecutive 12-hour night shifts is a real fatigue load — the toughest stretch of the cycle
72-hour work weeks occur within the cycle even though the average is 42
Switching between days and nights inside the same cycle disrupts sleep rhythm more than fixed-shift patterns
Long shifts leave little same-day personal time on work days
Unplanned absence is expensive: a 12-hour hole is hard to fill from a 4-team roster

Variations & alternatives

Pitman schedule 2-2-3 (Panama) schedule Southern Swing 4 on 4 off Rotating shift schedules

Free template download

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Frequently asked questions

How many hours a week is the DuPont schedule?

It averages 42 hours per week over the 4-week cycle. Individual weeks vary a lot — the heaviest week in the cycle reaches 72 hours, and the lightest is the week off.

How many teams does a DuPont schedule need?

Four teams. Each works the same 28-day cycle offset by one week, which keeps one team on days and one on nights at all times.

Is the DuPont schedule good for employees?

It divides opinion. The 7 consecutive days off each month is the big draw; the block of four 12-hour night shifts is the big drawback. Teams with long commutes tend to like it, and people sensitive to night work tend not to.

Why is it called the DuPont schedule?

The chemical company DuPont introduced the pattern in its plants in the 1950s to run continuous operations with four crews, and the name stuck across industry.

What's the difference between DuPont and Pitman?

Both use four teams and 12-hour shifts averaging 42 h/week. Pitman repeats a simple 2-3-2 fortnight and is usually run with fixed day/night crews; DuPont rotates each crew through days and nights inside one 4-week cycle and adds the 7-day break.