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12-hour shift schedule examples
With 12-hour shifts, four crews cover every hour of the year: two on days and two on nights. Each person averages 42 hours a week, 2,190 a year. What changes between schedules is how the days off fall.
The common 12-hour schedules side by side
| Schedule | Cycle | Full weekends off in 2027* | Longest break | Most shifts in a row | Nights | Federal overtime a year* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pitman | 14 days | 26 | 3 days | 3 | Fixed crews | 520 h |
| Panama | 28 days | 26 | 3 days | 3 | Rotate | 520 h |
| DuPont | 28 days | 26 | 7 days | 4 | Rotate | 624 h |
| 4 on 4 off | 8 days | 21 | 4 days | 4 | Fixed crews | 208 h |
| 4-3-3-4 | 14 days | 52 | 4 days | 4 | Fixed crews | 208 h |
| 3 on 3 off | 6 days | 17 | 3 days | 3 | Fixed crews | 208 h |
| 2 on 2 off | 4 days | 13 | 2 days | 2 | Fixed crews | 208 h |
*One crew, cycle and workweek both starting Monday, January 4, 2027. Other crews and start days give different counts; each pattern page shows all of them. The 4-3-3-4 crew in this example never works a weekend because the two-crew version does not cover Saturdays and Sundays; half of the DuPont's 26 weekends fall inside its 7-day breaks.
12-hour shift schedule with every other weekend off
Pitman and Panama give a full weekend off every other week, because the cycle packs three shifts into Friday to Sunday one week and leaves Friday to Sunday free the next. On the Pitman that means a three-day weekend every two weeks.
12-hour shift schedule with 7 days off
DuPont is the common 12-hour schedule that gives a full week off: once every 28 days, after a block of four day shifts. Taking those four shifts as leave turns it into 14 days off in a row. The cost is uneven weeks, from 0 to 72 hours, and a quick change from days to nights in the middle of the cycle.
12-hour shift schedules for police
Common choices in police departments include Pitman, Panama, 4 on 4 off and 4-3-3-4. Departments that want officers to stay on days or nights use the Pitman with fixed crews; those that want everyone to share nights rotate crews every two weeks, which is the Panama. Many police agencies pay overtime under section 7(k), after 171 hours in a 28-day work period (29 CFR 553.230); check yours in the 7(k) calculator.
How many crews does a 12-hour schedule need?
Four for 24/7 coverage: 168 hours a week divided by 4 crews is 42 hours each. Two crews can cover only day shifts (or only nights). With three crews each person would work 56 hours a week. For 8- and 24-hour options, see 24/7 shift schedule examples.
12-hour or 8-hour shifts?
12-hour shifts mean about 182 working days a year instead of about 260 with five 8-hour days, so fewer commutes and more days off, and only two handovers a day. The price is long days: fatigue in the last hours, little time for anything else on work days and, on rotating schedules, frequent changes between days and nights. Overtime also depends on the state: in California hours over 8 in a day are overtime unless an alternative workweek has been adopted (California Labor Code 510 and 511).
Figures are worked out from each cycle; rules checked against official sources on . How we calculate
Questions
What is the best 12-hour shift schedule?
It depends on what you value. The Pitman and Panama give every other weekend off and never more than three shifts in a row; the DuPont gives a full week off every four weeks; 2 on 2 off keeps runs to two shifts. All average 42 hours a week with four crews.
Which 12-hour schedule has every other weekend off?
Pitman and Panama. A crew that starts its cycle on a Monday has Friday to Sunday off every other week.
Which 12-hour schedule gives 7 days off?
The DuPont: four nights, three off, three days, one off, three nights, three off, four days and then seven days off, a 28-day cycle.
How many hours a year is a 12-hour shift schedule?
About 2,190 scheduled hours on four-crew schedules (182.5 shifts of 12 hours), before overtime, leave and swaps.