Panama Schedule: How the 12-Hour Panama Rotation Works

What the Panama schedule is

A Panama schedule runs on 12-hour shifts over a 14-day cycle: work 2 days, 2 off, 3 on, 2 off, 2 on, 3 off — DDOODDDOODDOOO. That is 7 shifts and 84 hours in every two weeks. Four crews keep a 24/7 operation covered: two crews share the day shifts and two share the nights, each pair working on alternate dates, so every date has one day crew and one night crew on site. In the generator above it appears as "2-2-3 / Panama"; the two names are used for the same rotation in most workplaces.

The name itself is a puzzle. We could not find a documented origin for "Panama" as a schedule name, and the stories that circulate do not cite sources, so we leave it there. What matters for your calendar is the sequence of days, not the label on the rota — always check the letters against what your employer actually posts.

Panama, 2-2-3 and Pitman: one loop, three names

Write the Panama as a ring of blocks — 2 on, 2 off, 3 on, 2 off, 2 on, 3 off — and you have also written the 2-2-3 schedule, because they are the same cycle. The Pitman (DDOOODDOODDDOO) is the same ring again, read from a different block: its cycle day 1 is day 10 of the Panama. On a calendar the only difference between them is which weekday the long blocks land on, which in turn decides whether you get three-day weekends, two-day weekends or none. If two employers tell you they run "the Panama" and "the Pitman", put both into the generator with your real start dates: there is a good chance you will see the same calendar.

Fixed or rotating day and night crews

The Panama can run two ways. With fixed crews, crews A and B always work days and crews C and D always work nights; the cycle stays 14 days long. With rotating crews, each crew works two weeks of days and then two weeks of nights, so the cycle becomes 28 days: DDOODDDOODDOOONNOONNNOONNOOO. The four crews are then spaced a week apart, and on every date one crew is on days and one on nights. The diagram shows the rotating version from Monday, January 5, 2026 — Crew A switches to nights on January 19.

Rotation spreads the nights. Instead of half the workforce working every night of the year, everyone works about half their shifts at night, and the weekends off stay where they were. Fixed crews suit people who want the same routine all year, including night workers who would rather stay on nights than switch back and forth. Rotating crews suit sites where nights are unpopular and need to be shared fairly, or where day-only training and meetings must reach every crew.

84 hours a pay period, and the 36/48 overtime question

Because the Panama repeats every 14 days, every two-week pay period holds exactly 84 hours: 4 hours above an 80-hour period. Weekly overtime is a different story. Counted Sunday to Saturday from a Monday cycle start, the weeks alternate between 48 and 36 hours, so the heavier week carries 8 hours over 40 — 208 overtime hours for Crew A in 2026. If your employer counts overtime over 14 days with an 80-hour threshold, the same year gives 100. Hospitals in the US may use the 8-and-80 system, which also counts hours beyond 8 in a single day; the estimate in this generator does not model daily limits, so treat its figure as the weekly or period part only. Common examples: the US FLSA rule of overtime after 40 hours in a workweek; your employer's rules and your contract decide.

Where the Panama schedule is used

You will find the Panama wherever a site has to be staffed around the clock with 12-hour shifts and wants short work blocks: hospital units and nursing homes, police patrol and dispatch, manufacturing plants, utilities, and security posts. It is popular with staff because no stretch is longer than three shifts and every other weekend is off; it is popular with schedulers because four equal crews and a 14-day cycle fit biweekly payroll. Sites that need longer breaks tend to choose the DuPont, and sites on 8-hour shifts use a rotation such as the Continental shift pattern.

Make your Panama schedule calendar

Use the generator at the top of this page, or the full shift calendar generator with every pattern. Try the rotating Panama for Crew A or the fixed-night Panama for Crew C. Then print the year, save it as a PDF or PNG, or download the .ics file for your phone. The 12-hour shift schedule guide compares the Panama with every other 12-hour rotation, the 4 on 4 off page covers the 8-day alternative, and firefighters will find the firefighter shift calendar and the Kelly schedule more useful.

Panama schedule questions

More shift pattern calendars

• Shift calendar generator

  Every preset and your own custom cycle in one generator.

• DuPont schedule calendar

  28-day 12-hour rotation for four crews, with a 7-day break.

• 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

• 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.