About the Rotating Shift Schedule Generator
This shift schedule generator lays out a rotating rota day by day for every team, starting on the date you choose. Pick a pattern — 2-2-3 (Pitman), DuPont, 4-on-4-off, 24-on-48-off or 48-on-96-off — and it shows which teams are on days, nights or off each day, plus the average weekly hours, shifts and hours worked by the team you select.
It is built for supervisors and HR teams in 24/7 operations — manufacturing, healthcare, security, utilities, emergency services and warehousing — who need to see a rota before publishing it, compare patterns, or answer an employee who asks “which days am I working in March?”. Copy the table into a spreadsheet or print it as a starting point.
The 12-hour patterns use four teams so that one team covers days and one covers nights every day of the year; the 24-hour patterns use three platoons. The generator assumes every scheduled shift is worked — it does not model holidays, swaps or overtime, and overtime rules for averaging 42 or 56 hours a week vary by country and industry.
With the default inputs, the average hours per week (per worker) is 42 hours. Change any value above to recalculate instantly.
How to use the rotating shift schedule generator
- 1Choose the rotating pattern you want to use.
- 2Pick the date Team A starts its cycle — usually the Monday the rota goes live.
- 3Set how many days of rota to generate (up to 16 weeks).
- 4Pick a team to see its shifts, hours and longest run of consecutive shifts.
- 5Review the table and weekly-hours chart, then copy the rota into your scheduling system.
Formula and method
Every rotating rota is one repeating sequence of L days applied to each team with a different starting offset. For the 2-2-3 and 4-on-4-off patterns, two teams share the day sequence half a cycle apart and two share the night sequence; for DuPont all four teams follow the same 28-day sequence offset by 7 days; for the 24-hour rotas the three platoons are offset by one shift.
Because offsets are chosen so exactly one team covers each shift every day, cover is continuous. Average weekly hours are the hours in one full cycle divided by the cycle length and multiplied by 7. Hours in a shorter period depend on where the period falls in the cycle, which is why individual weeks can show 36 or 48 hours on a 42-hour pattern.
- L
- Cycle length in days
- offset
- Days each team is shifted from Team A
Worked examples
2-2-3 Pitman, 4 weeks, Team A
In a 14-day 2-2-3 cycle each team works 7 twelve-hour shifts, or 84 hours, which averages 42 hours a week. Over 28 days Team A works 14 shifts and 168 hours, never more than 3 days in a row.
DuPont, 4 weeks, Team B
The DuPont cycle is 28 days with 14 twelve-hour shifts per team (4 nights, 3 days, 3 nights, 4 days), so a full cycle is 168 hours or 42 hours a week. The longest stretch is 4 consecutive shifts, followed later by a 7-day break.
24/48 fire rota, 30 days, B platoon
Each platoon works one 24-hour shift every 3 days: 24 ÷ 3 × 7 = 56 hours a week on average. B platoon starts on day 2, so in 30 days it works 10 shifts — 240 hours.
Frequently asked questions
What is a 2-2-3 shift schedule?+
A 2-2-3 (or Pitman) schedule uses 12-hour shifts in a 14-day cycle: work 2 days, off 2, work 3, off 2, work 2, off 3. Four teams give 24/7 cover, and each worker averages 42 hours a week with every other weekend off.
How does the DuPont schedule work?+
DuPont is a 28-day rotating cycle of 12-hour shifts: 4 nights, 3 off, 3 days, 1 off, 3 nights, 3 off, 4 days, then 7 consecutive days off. Four teams rotate through it a week apart, averaging 42 hours a week.
How many teams do I need for 24/7 coverage?+
With 12-hour shifts you need four teams so that two are working (one days, one nights) and two are off at any time. 24-hour rotas such as 24/48 use three platoons. 8-hour three-shift systems typically need four or five crews.
How many hours a week is a 4-on-4-off schedule?+
Four 12-hour shifts every 8 days is 48 hours per 8 days, or 42 hours a week on average. Because the 8-day cycle does not align with the calendar week, some weeks contain 36 hours and some 48.
How many hours is a 24/48 schedule per week?+
A 24-on-48-off rota is one 24-hour shift every 3 days, which averages 56 hours a week. Fire services often add a periodic extra day off (a Kelly day) to bring the average down.
Do 12-hour shift patterns cause overtime?+
It depends on local law. In the US, the FLSA requires overtime for non-exempt employees over 40 hours in a workweek, so a 42-hour average usually means some overtime; other countries average hours over longer reference periods.