DuPont Schedule Calendar

Ready-made examples

• Crew A, cycle day 1 on Jan 5, 2026

  1. N
  2. N
  3. N
  4. N
  5. O
  6. O
  7. O
  8. D
  9. D
  10. D
  11. O
  12. N
  13. N
  14. N
  15. O
  16. O
  17. O
  18. D
  19. D
  20. D
  21. D
  22. O
  23. O
  24. O
  25. O
  26. O
  27. O
  28. O

  The reference DuPont: four nights from Monday, January 5, then 3 off, 3 days, 1 off, 3 nights, 3 off, 4 days and 7 off. March 10, 2026 is a day shift.

  Load this calendar

• Crew B, opening on nights

  1. N
  2. N
  3. N
  4. N
  5. O
  6. O
  7. O
  8. D
  9. D
  10. D
  11. O
  12. N
  13. N
  14. N
  15. O
  16. O
  17. O
  18. D
  19. D
  20. D
  21. D
  22. O
  23. O
  24. O
  25. O
  26. O
  27. O
  28. O

  Crew B runs the same cycle one week behind Crew A, so its cycle begins with four nights on Monday, January 12, 2026.

  Load this calendar

• Plant handover at 07:00 and 19:00, Crew C

  1. N
  2. N
  3. N
  4. N
  5. O
  6. O
  7. O
  8. D
  9. D
  10. D
  11. O
  12. N
  13. N
  14. N
  15. O
  16. O
  17. O
  18. D
  19. D
  20. D
  21. D
  22. O
  23. O
  24. O
  25. O
  26. O
  27. O
  28. O

  Day shifts 07:00–19:00 and nights 19:00–07:00, the most common handover times; Crew C is two weeks into the cycle on January 5.

  Load this calendar

• DuPont on 8-hour shifts

  1. N
  2. N
  3. N
  4. N
  5. O
  6. O
  7. O
  8. D
  9. D
  10. D
  11. O
  12. N
  13. N
  14. N
  15. O
  16. O
  17. O
  18. D
  19. D
  20. D
  21. D
  22. O
  23. O
  24. O
  25. O
  26. O
  27. O
  28. O

  The same 28-day cycle with 8-hour shifts: 28 hours a week instead of 42. Compare the hours panel with the 12-hour version.

  Load this calendar

How to make your DuPont schedule calendar

1. Keep DuPont selected. The generator opens on the DuPont pattern with 12-hour shifts. Times default to 07:00 days and 19:00 nights; change them under "More options".
2. Pick your crew. Choose Crew A, B, C or D. Each crew runs the identical 28-day cycle, one week apart from the next.
3. Enter your crew's cycle day 1. With your crew picked, enter the date your own crew starts its block of four nights — your crew's day 1 of the DuPont cycle. The other three crews are worked out from it. If you only know one night you worked, use "Which crew am I?".
4. Read the year. All 12 months show each day as D, N or O. Look up a date, check the four-crew rotation chart, and read your shifts, nights and hours for the year.
5. Print or sync. Print the year, save a PNG or PDF, or download the .ics file to import every shift into your phone calendar.

The 28-day DuPont cycle

The DuPont shift schedule packs eight blocks into four weeks. Read as run lengths it is 4-3-3-1-3-3-4-7: four nights, three days off, three day shifts, one day off, three nights, three days off, four day shifts and finally seven days off. That is 14 twelve-hour shifts — 168 hours — in every 28 days, or 42 hours a week on average.

Four crews share the work. Crew B starts the same cycle seven days after Crew A, Crew C fourteen days after and Crew D twenty-one days after, so the four rows below always fit together: on every date exactly one crew works days, one works nights and two are off. The diagram starts on Monday, January 5, 2026, which is cycle day 1 for Crew A in our examples.

The generator's rotation chart runs the same check live for whatever start date you enter, and the coverage line under it warns you if a custom change leaves any day without a crew.

Hours, overtime and the heavy week

Over a year the DuPont gives each crew 182–183 shifts. For Crew A in 2026 that is 182 shifts, 91 of them nights, for 2,184 hours — about 2,190 hours for a typical crew, a little more than the 2,080 hours of a 40-hour week. Every crew also gets 26 full Saturday-and-Sunday weekends off in 2026.

Week 2 is the one people talk about: three day shifts, one day off, then three nights. Counted Monday to Sunday it is 72 hours; counted Sunday to Saturday it splits into 60 and 48. If overtime is paid after 40 hours in a 7-day week, that choice of week start is worth 12 overtime hours per cycle — 48 instead of 36. The overtime estimate in the hours panel uses whichever week start you choose, and you can switch it to a 14-day period with an 80-hour threshold if that is how your employer counts. Common examples: the US FLSA rule of overtime after 40 hours in a workweek, and the longer 7(k) work periods many fire departments use; your employer's rules and your contract decide.

* Crew A in 2026 with overtime after 40 hours in each Sunday-to-Saturday week. Your employer's rule decides; set your own period and threshold in the hours panel above.

Making the most of the 7-day break

The seven days off arrive every 28 days, so you can plan them a year ahead: set your crew and start date, then look for the run of seven O days in each month block. Because the break follows four day shifts, it starts with a normal night's sleep, which makes it easier to travel on day one than a break that starts after nights. Many crews trade a single shift to stretch a 7-day break into ten or more days; the compare tool shows which crew is working on the days you would need covered.

Pros and cons of the DuPont schedule

DuPont compared with other rotations

All of the common four-crew 12-hour rotations average 42 hours a week, so the choice comes down to how the time off is grouped. The 2-2-3 and the Pitman never work more than three shifts in a row and give every other weekend off, but they have no long break. 4 on 4 off repeats every 8 days, so blocks are short but the days drift through the week. The 8-hour Continental covers the same 24/7 operation with three shifts a day and 21 shifts per 28 days. See all of them in the 12-hour shift schedule guide; the Panama schedule and the Kelly schedule have their own explainers.

Add your DuPont shifts to your phone

Download the .ics file for the year and import it into Google Calendar, Apple Calendar or Outlook: each shift becomes an event with its start and end times, and a night shift ends on the following morning. Import next year's file in December, or use the Pro sync link, which keeps adding months by itself and can show all four crews in one calendar.

Who works the DuPont schedule

Frequently asked questions

More shift pattern calendars

• Shift calendar generator

  Every preset and your own custom cycle in one generator.

• 2-2-3 schedule calendar

  2 on, 2 off, 3 on over 14 days; every other weekend off.

• Pitman (2-3-2) schedule calendar

  2 on, 3 off, 2 on, 2 off, 3 on, 2 off: a 14-day loop common in policing.

• 4 on 4 off shift pattern calendar

  An 8-day cycle whose days drift through the week.

• Firefighter shift calendar

  24/48, 48/96, Kelly and 24/72 for platoons A, B and C.

Guides

• Panama schedule

  How the Panama name relates to the 2-2-3 and Pitman.

• Continental shift pattern

  8-hour earlies, lates and nights over 28 days.

• Kelly schedule

  The 9-day Kelly cycle and what a Kelly day means.

• 12-hour shift schedule guide

  Every rotating 12-hour pattern compared side by side.