What is the DuPont schedule?
A 12-hour rotating shift schedule that covers a workplace 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with 4 crews. In each 28-day cycle a crew works 4 nights, has 3 days off, works 3 days, has 1 day off, works 3 nights, has 3 days off, works 4 days, then has 7 days off in a row.
Four crews walk the same loop, each starting 7 days after the one before, so on every day of the year one crew works the day shift, one works the night shift and two are off. For more on how the schedule works and what it asks of a crew, read our DuPont schedule guide.
The 28-day DuPont cycle
| Days of the cycle | One crew works |
|---|---|
| Days 1 to 4 | 4 night shifts |
| Days 5 to 7 | 3 days off |
| Days 8 to 10 | 3 day shifts |
| Day 11 | 1 day off |
| Days 12 to 14 | 3 night shifts |
| Days 15 to 17 | 3 days off |
| Days 18 to 21 | 4 day shifts |
| Days 22 to 28 | 7 days off in a row |
That is 14 shifts and 14 days off in every 28 days.
Hours on a DuPont schedule
Each crew works 14 twelve-hour shifts every 28 days: 168 hours, or 42 hours a week on average. The hours are not spread evenly. The heaviest 7 days hold 72 hours of shifts (3 days, 1 off, 3 nights), and the 7 days before the week off hold 48. Depending on the day your pay week starts, 2 or 3 of every 4 pay weeks go over 40 hours, and the hours above 40 come to between 12 and 48 per person every 4 weeks. The generator shows the exact weeks for your start date and pay week. It counts hours, not pay: whether hours above 40 are paid as overtime depends on the rules that apply to you, and the free overtime calculator works out pay.
How many people a DuPont schedule needs
Multiply the people on your biggest shift by 4. Every crew works both days and nights, so a crew has to be big enough for whichever shift needs more people. With 4 on every shift, this rotation takes 16 people. With 6 on days and 4 on nights, it takes 24, and every night shift has 2 more people than you asked for. This adds nobody for vacation, sickness or training. To compare DuPont with 8-hour and 10-hour rotations, or to add cover for time off, use the free 24/7 coverage calculator.
Who uses the DuPont schedule
Operations that must be staffed every hour of every day and want 12-hour shifts with only two handovers a day: continuous manufacturing and process plants, utilities, control rooms, security, and other round-the-clock sites. Plant managers, operations managers and shift supervisors use it to plan crews. Workers on a DuPont rotation and their families use it to see which days they work.
DuPont schedule pros and cons
Pros
- A full week off every 28 days.
- Every day and night covered by one crew, with only 4 crews.
- Only two shift times a day, so two handovers.
- A fixed loop: everyone can see their days months ahead.
Cons
- Every shift is 12 hours.
- Crews switch between nights and days inside each cycle.
- 72 hours of shifts in the heaviest 7 days.
- Uneven weeks: 2 or 3 of every 4 pay weeks go over 40 hours.
- Every crew must be big enough for its biggest shift.
How to make a DuPont schedule
- 1Pick the first day. Set the date the rotation starts. Crew A begins its 4 nights that day, and the other three crews start 7, 14 and 21 days into the same 28-day loop.
- 2Set the shift times. Press Change times and set when the day shift starts. Nights start 12 hours later. The default is 7 AM to 7 PM and 7 PM to 7 AM.
- 3Enter the people on each shift. Say how many people you want on each day shift and each night shift, or split it by job role. The page shows how many people this rotation takes.
- 4Paste your team. Paste one name per line. The names are split evenly into the four crews and appear on the rotation. If you have fewer people than the rotation takes, the page lists the shifts that go short of your number.
- 5Download it or put your team on it. Print it, download a spreadsheet for Excel or Google Sheets, or add one crew to a phone calendar. Or press Put your team on this rotation to open it in XShift AI with everything filled in.
DuPont schedule questions
- What is a DuPont schedule?
- A 12-hour rotating shift schedule that covers a workplace 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with 4 crews. In each 28-day cycle a crew works 4 nights, has 3 days off, works 3 days, has 1 day off, works 3 nights, has 3 days off, works 4 days, then has 7 days off in a row.
- How many hours a week is a DuPont schedule?
- An average of 42 hours a week. Each crew works 14 twelve-hour shifts every 28 days, which is 168 hours over 4 weeks. The weeks are uneven: depending on the day the pay week starts, 2 or 3 of every 4 weeks go over 40 hours.
- How many people do I need for a DuPont schedule?
- Four crews, and every crew needs as many people as your biggest shift, because each crew works both days and nights. With 4 people on every shift, this rotation takes 16 people. With 6 on days and 4 on nights, it takes 24, and nights have 2 more people than you asked for. The count adds nobody for vacation, sickness or training.
- How many days off do you get on a DuPont schedule?
- 14 days off in every 28 days, including 7 days off in a row at the end of each cycle.
- What are the hardest days on a DuPont schedule?
- The middle of the cycle: 3 day shifts, 1 day off, then 3 night shifts, which is 72 hours of shifts in 7 days. The 7 days just before the week off hold 48 hours.
- Is there a DuPont schedule template I can download?
- Yes. Print it, download a spreadsheet that opens in Excel or Google Sheets with your crews and names for a year from your start date, or add one crew to a phone calendar. No form, no email and no account.
- Can I change the shift times?
- Yes. Press Change times and set when the day shift starts. Nights start 12 hours later, so 6 AM days give 6 PM nights.
- What happens to the names I paste?
- What you type may be kept in your browser and recorded by our analytics, advertising and session recording tools, as our Privacy Policy describes. Names are sent to us when you press Put your team on this rotation. If you then start a free trial, the names are added to your team when your account opens, and they count as users on your plan after the trial. Finish signing up in the same browser: on another device you would start again.
- How is DuPont different from a 2-2-3 (Pitman) schedule?
- Both use 4 crews, 12-hour shifts and a 28-day cycle, and both average 42 hours a week. A 2-2-3 never works more than 3 shifts in a row and has no week off. DuPont has runs of up to 4 shifts and gives every crew 7 days off in a row each cycle.
- Does it work out overtime pay?
- No. It counts hours only: the weekly hours each crew works for the pay week you choose, and which weeks go over 40. For pay, use the free overtime calculator.
Also free: the schedule generator, the overtime calculator and the rest of our free scheduling tools. More on rotations: rotating shift schedules guide.
Updated October 15, 2026.