1. The Shared 672-Hour Continuous Math—And Where They Diverge
Every continuous 24/7 facility faces the same arithmetic constraint: a 28-day (four-week) operational window contains 672 total coverage hours (28 days × 24 hours). Dividing 672 hours across four balanced crews (Crews A, B, C, and D) assigns each crew 168 hours every 28 days—14 twelve-hour shifts and 14 calendar days off, averaging 42.0 hours per week.
While the Pitman, Panama, and DuPont schedules share identical annual hours and headcount budgets, they distribute rest days and circadian transitions in fundamentally different ways:
- Fixed Pitman (2-2-3 Pattern): Follows a 14-day work/off sequence—2 On, 2 Off, 3 On, 2 Off, 2 On, 3 Off—where two squads work fixed Day shifts (e.g., 07:00–19:00) and two squads work fixed Night shifts (19:00–07:00), rotating only at semi-annual or seniority shift bids.
- Slow-Rotating Panama (28-Day Biweekly Flip): Uses the exact same 2-2-3-2-2-3 workday cadence as Pitman, but squads rotate from Day shifts to Night shifts every 14 days (2 weeks of Days followed by 2 weeks of Nights), equalizing night burden across all four crews without seniority lockouts.
- DuPont (28-Day Rapid-Block Cycle): Sequences 4 Nights → 3 Off → 3 Days → 1 Off → 3 Nights → 3 Off → 4 Days → 7 Off. By clustering shifts into 3- and 4-day runs, every crew earns a 7-consecutive-day vacation block every single month with zero PTO deduction.
2. Master Side-by-Side Architecture Comparison
Plant managers, police chiefs, and union bargaining committees typically evaluate these three patterns across consecutive-shift fatigue, turnaround rest hours, and weekend equity:
| Operational Metric | Pitman (Fixed 2-2-3) | Panama (Slow Rotating) | DuPont (28-Day Cycle) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full Cycle Length | 14 days (fixed shift) | 28 days (14d Day / 14d Night) | 28 days (4-stage rotation) |
| Day/Night Transitions | 0 per cycle (bid-based) | 2 flips per 28 days | 4 flips per 28 days |
| Max Consecutive Shifts | 3 shifts (36 hours) | 3 shifts (36 hours) | 4 shifts (48 hours) |
| Shortest Turnaround Gap | 60 clock hrs (2 off days) | 72–84 clock hrs across flip | 48 clock hrs (1 calendar day D→N) |
| Longest Off-Duty Block | 3 days (every 14 days) | 3 days (every 14 days) | 7 consecutive days (every 28 days) |
| 3-Day Weekends Off | Every other weekend (26/yr) | Every other weekend (26/yr) | 2 full Fri–Sun weekends / 28d (Fri start) |
| Primary US Sectors | Law enforcement, 911, healthcare | Semiconductor fabs, DoD, utilities | Refineries, chemical plants, paper mills |
3. 28-Day Crew Sequence & Statutory FLSA Overtime Math
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (29 CFR § 778.105), non-exempt overtime must be calculated inside a fixed, recurring 168-hour (7-day) workweek. How an employer defines that 168-hour boundary dramatically alters built-in overtime liability across all three schedules—even though total 28-day work hours remain fixed at 168 hours per crew.
On a 2-2-3 Pitman or Panama pattern where the 3-shift weekend runs Friday–Saturday–Sunday (Mon–Tue On, Wed–Thu Off, Fri–Sat–Sun On), an unaligned Monday-through-Sunday payroll week packs 5 shifts (60 hours → 20 hours OT) into Week 1 and leaves 2 shifts (24 hours → 0 hours OT) in Week 2. By defining the statutory workweek as Sunday 06:00 through Sunday 05:59 (splitting Sunday onto Week 2), HR converts the cycle into 48 hours (Mon, Tue, Fri, Sat = 8 hours OT) and 36 hours (Sun, Wed, Thu = 0 hours OT). Similarly, on DuPont, starting the 4-shift weekend block on Friday while anchoring the statutory workweek on Monday 06:00 yields the exact same 48h / 36h / 48h / 36h profile:
| Schedule & Statutory Workweek Boundary | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | 28-Day FLSA OT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pitman / Panama (Unaligned Mon–Sun Week) | 60h (20h OT) | 24h (0h OT) | 60h (20h OT) | 24h (0h OT) | 40 hrs OT |
| Pitman / Panama (Optimized Sun–Sat Week) | 48h (8h OT) | 36h (0h OT) | 48h (8h OT) | 36h (0h OT) | 16 hrs OT |
| DuPont (Unaligned Cycle-Day-1 Week) | 48h (8h OT) | 72h (32h OT) | 48h (8h OT) | 0h (0h OT) | 48 hrs OT |
| DuPont (Friday Cycle Start + Mon 06:00 Week) | 48h (8h OT) | 36h (0h OT) | 48h (8h OT) | 36h (0h OT) | 16 hrs OT |
Verify how your 36-hour and 48-hour weeks map onto 26 annual paydays using our 2026 Biweekly Payroll Calendar. Under the Sunday-start statutory split (4 shifts = 48h in Week 1; 3 shifts = 36h in Week 2), every biweekly paycheck stabilizes at 84 paid hours (76 regular + 8 overtime), saving 24 overtime hours per crew every 28 days compared to an unaligned workweek.
4. Circadian Ergonomics, Turnaround Rest & Industry Fit
When to Choose Pitman
Municipal police departments, 911 dispatch centers, and hospital respiratory units favor Pitman because senior staff can bid onto permanent day shifts while newer hires cover nights—eliminating mid-month circadian resets and capping consecutive shifts at three.
When to Choose Panama
Semiconductor wafer fabs, power grid control rooms, and military watch floors choose Panama when every crew needs identical cross-training and Daytime engineering interaction. Flipping only once every 14 days across a 2- or 3-day weekend break allows partial circadian stabilization.
When to Choose DuPont
Petrochemical refineries, chemical plants, and pulp mills favor DuPont because process operators overwhelmingly prize the monthly 7-day continuous break—provided safety protocols manage fatigue during the 4th consecutive night shift and the single-day Day-to-Night turnaround.
Vacation PTO Efficiency Tip: On both Pitman and Panama, taking just 2 shifts (24 hours) of PTO on the mid-week Wednesday–Thursday work block connects both adjacent 2-day and 3-day breaks into a 7-day week off. On DuPont (explored in depth in our DuPont 12-Hour Schedule Guide), taking 4 shifts (48 hours) of PTO on the 4-Day block links 3 Off + 4 PTO + 7 Off into 14 consecutive days off.
Preview & Export Any 12-Hour Rotation
Compare crew start dates side-by-side and download ICS or CSV schedules for Pitman, Panama, DuPont, or custom patterns.