How the DuPont rotation works
Each crew works four night shifts, has three days off, works three day shifts, has one day off, works three nights, has three days off and works four days. Then it gets a full week off before the cycle starts again.
The four crews start the cycle one week apart, so on every day one crew is on days, one is on nights and two are off. The schedule is named after the chemical company that popularized it.
| Day | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew A | N | N | N | N | D | D | D | N | N | N | D | D | D | D | ||||||||||||||
| Crew B | D | D | D | N | N | N | D | D | D | D | N | N | N | N | ||||||||||||||
| Crew C | D | D | D | D | N | N | N | N | D | D | D | N | N | N | ||||||||||||||
| Crew D | N | N | N | N | D | D | D | N | N | N | D | D | D | D |
- Cycle length
- 28 days
- Work/rest blocks
- 4-3-3-1-3-3-4-7
- Shift length
- 12 hours
- Average week
- 42 hours
Pros
- Seven days off in a row once every four weeks, without using vacation.
- Coverage is 24/7 with four crews.
- Everyone rotates through every shift, so nights and weekends are shared evenly.
Cons
- Only one day off between the day block and the next night block.
- Four 12-hour shifts in a row is 48 hours in four days.
- Constant switching between days and nights is hard on sleep.
Make your own shift calendar
Print the calendar above for your crew, or open it in the builder: every shift of 2027 is added as a colored event (amber for days, indigo for nights) next to anything already on your calendar. Add birthdays and appointments, pick a theme and export a PDF of one month or all twelve. In the builder and the PDF, shifts show as colored dots on each date.
Open crew C in the builderDuPont Shift Schedule FAQ
How many hours a week is the DuPont schedule?
42 hours on average. Crews work 12-hour shifts, and over each 28-day cycle half the days are worked, but individual weeks run longer or shorter than the average.
How many shifts does a crew work in 2027?
With the cycle starting on January 4, 2027, crew A works 182 shifts in 2027 (2,184 hours) and has 183 days off. Other crews and start dates land within a day or two of that.
When is the 7-day break on the DuPont schedule?
Right after the second block of day shifts, in the fourth week of each cycle. Pick your crew and cycle start above to see exactly which weeks those are on the calendar.
How many weekends off do you get on a DuPont schedule?
Days off fall on different weekdays each week, so it varies by crew. The calendar above counts the full weekends (Saturday and Sunday both off) your crew gets in the year.
How do I line the calendar up with my real rota?
Pick your crew, then set the cycle start to a date when crew A began the first day of the pattern. If you only know your own days, change the start date until the calendar matches your next few shifts.