A 12-hour, four-crew rotation that covers 24/7 and gives every crew a full week off every four weeks.
Schedule PatternThe DuPont schedule is a 12-hour rotating schedule that uses four crews to cover a 24/7 operation. Over a 28-day cycle, each crew works four nights, three days, three nights and four days, with breaks between them — and then gets seven days off in a row. Crews average 42 hours a week, have two weekends off out of every four, and share day and night work evenly.
The DuPont schedule is one of the best-known 12-hour schedules for continuous operations. Four crews rotate through the same 28-day pattern, staggered by a week, so that two crews are always on shift (one on days, one on nights) while the other two are off. Its defining feature is the seven-day break that ends every cycle.
Each crew works the same sequence: four nights, three off, three days, one off, three nights, three off, four days, then seven days off. That is 14 twelve-hour shifts in 28 days. The grid below shows one crew’s four weeks, starting with the week off.
| Week | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Week 2 | N | N | N | N | – | – | – |
| Week 3 | D | D | D | – | N | N | N |
| Week 4 | – | – | – | D | D | D | D |
The other three crews work the identical pattern, each starting a week later. That stagger is what keeps every day and every night covered.
| At a glance | |
|---|---|
| Shift length | 12 hours |
| Crews needed for 24/7 | 4 |
| Full cycle | 28 days |
| Average hours per week | 42 |
| Shifts worked per year | About 182 |
| Weekends off | 2 of every 4 (two off, then two on) |
| Most shifts in a row | 4 |
| Longest break | 7 days |
| Days and nights | Rotating — every crew works both |
The DuPont tends to fit 24/7 operations that want 12-hour shifts, want to share night work across everyone, and have a workforce that values long breaks over short, frequent ones. It is a weaker fit where most employees would rather work fixed days or fixed nights — in our surveys, about 85% of shift workers prefer fixed shifts to rotating ones — or where the operation can’t absorb crews being away for a full week.
A pattern is only the starting point. Which one fits depends on your coverage needs, your workforce’s preferences, your overtime and absence rates, and the policies that go with the schedule — and most sites end up with a variation tailored to them. That analysis is what a Shiftwork Solutions engagement does. Talk with us about your operation, or start with the free Shiftwork Assessment.
