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12-Hour Shift Schedule Maker
Two 12-hour blocks, day and night — lay out the pattern, auto-fill, and print.
Pick a rotation and Auto-fill to assign each person to a crew (A/B/C/D) on a real pattern — or click any cell to set it by hand (it cycles through your shift types, then Off, then blank). Day-off templates can mark weekends, Sundays, or US federal holidays off for the whole team in one step, and the week-copy tools help you roll a finished 7-day rota forward without re-clicking every cell.
| Staff | Shifts | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew A | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Crew B | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Crew C | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Crew D | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| On duty | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Best fit
Best shift patterns for 12-hour teams
If you want a repeatable rotation instead of building each week from scratch, these are the closest pattern fits for 12-hour scheduling.
2-2-3
A 14-day rotating pattern that covers 24/7 with four crews — no one works more than three days in a row.
4-on-4-off
An 8-day rhythm — four 12-hour shifts on, four days off — that keeps a site staffed 24/7 with four crews.
DuPont
A 28-day rotation of 12-hour days and nights, ending every cycle with a full 7 days off.
Which shift pattern should 12-hour teams choose?
Most 12-hour teams choose between shorter runs, simpler repetition, and longer recovery blocks.
| Pattern | Cycle | Shift length | Best when |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2-2-3 | 14 days | 12 hours | Best all-rounder for four-crew 24/7 teams that want frequent breaks and no more than three shifts in a row. |
| 4-on-4-off | 8 days | 12 hours | Best when longer uninterrupted blocks off matter more than keeping work stretches short. |
| DuPont | 28 days | 12 hours | Best when a full week off every cycle is a major quality-of-life benefit worth a more complex rotation. |
Use the page-level maker above when you want to assign shifts by hand. Use one of the pattern generators when you want a rota that repeats cleanly and is easier to share, print, and explain to the team.
Why teams run 12-hour shifts
Twelve-hour shifts pack a full-time week into three or four days, which means fewer handovers, longer stretches of days off, and continuous coverage from just two blocks a day. Healthcare, manufacturing, security, and emergency services lean on them for exactly that. The catch is fatigue late in a long shift, so the pattern has to protect rest between runs.
The popular 12-hour patterns
Most 12-hour schedules are built on 2-2-3 (Pitman), 4-on-4-off, or the DuPont cycle. All three average out to roughly full-time hours across a two-week span while keeping a site staffed 24/7. They differ in how many shifts you work in a row and how long the breaks are — 2-2-3 never has you work more than three days straight, which is why it is a favorite. See the patterns guide for the full breakdown.
Set it up and print
The grid above defaults to a 7a–7p day and a 7p–7a night block over a 14-day cycle. Add your crews, auto-fill a starting rotation, then adjust cells so nobody stacks too many nights back to back. Print / Save PDF outputs just the roster, or export a CSV to total hours in a spreadsheet. Covering the clock with more crews? See the 24/7 shift maker.
How to introduce a 12-hour rotation without losing the handover
A 12-hour rota is not simply two names per day. Decide first which jobs must be present on both the day and night blocks, whether any role needs overlap at the handover, and who provides relief for leave or training. A calendar that has one person assigned to every block can still be unworkable if a qualified lead, key-holder, or specialist is absent. List those minimum roles beside the pattern before you start assigning crews.
Choose the reference date deliberately. The start date is the anchor that tells a crew whether its first shown shift is a day shift, a night shift, or an off day. Confirm that anchor against a current roster, then generate several months and inspect holidays, planned shutdowns, and recurring busy periods. For a 2-2-3 schedule, check both weeks of the 14-day cycle; for DuPont, review the complete 28-day cycle. A single calendar week can make a balanced rotation look misleadingly uneven.
Finally, specify how exceptions are handled. Keep the base pattern intact where possible and mark approved swaps, overtime cover, or training as clear exceptions with an owner. A short written handover rule is just as important as the printed rota: identify where ongoing work is recorded, when the incoming crew reads it, and how a missed handover is escalated. The generator can make the pattern visible, but local policies and team agreements should set the staffing and rest rules.
- Every day and night block has the required role mix, not only a headcount.
- The start-date anchor has been checked against the currently working crew.
- The complete 14- or 28-day cycle has been reviewed before publication.
- Exceptions and handovers have a visible owner and one authoritative calendar.
Keep going
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Frequently asked questions
How many 12-hour shifts is full time?
Around three to four per week. Most 12-hour patterns average about 42 hours a week over a two-week cycle, alternating three- and four-shift weeks.
Is 2-2-3 a 12-hour pattern?
Yes. The 2-2-3 (Pitman) schedule pairs with 12-hour shifts to cover 24/7 with four crews, and no one works more than three days in a row.
Can I edit the shift times?
Yes. The day and night blocks are editable — change 7a–7p to 6a–6p, or add a third block if you split coverage differently.