4 On 4 Off Schedule Calendar 2026–2027
The 4 on, 4 off schedule is a 12-hour shift rotation: work 4 shifts in a row, then 4 days off, repeating every 8 days. Each crew works 4 of every 8 days, about 182.5 shifts and 2,190 hours a year, or an average of 42 hours a week. Also called: 4x4 schedule, 4 days on 4 days off.
4 on, 4 off schedule generator and printable calendar
Day 1 of the cycle is the first shift in the pattern table below. The .ics file adds every shift in the months shown to Google Calendar, Apple Calendar or Outlook; nothing is uploaded. Copy link saves your crew, start date and months in the link. Different pattern or hours? Use the custom shift schedule generator.
The rotation, crew by crew
| Crew | Mo 1 | Tu 2 | We 3 | Th 4 | Fr 5 | Sa 6 | Su 7 | Mo 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew A | Day | Day | Day | Day | – | – | – | – |
| Crew B | – | – | – | – | Day | Day | Day | Day |
| Crew C | Night | Night | Night | Night | – | – | – | – |
| Crew D | – | – | – | – | Night | Night | Night | Night |
Because the cycle is 8 days long, your days off move forward one weekday each week. Four crews (two on days, two on nights) cover 24/7 operation.
Four days off after every four shifts is easy to plan around, and no week ever has more than four shifts. Because the days off drift, though, you'll only get a full weekend off when the 8-day cycle happens to line up with one.
Hours and days off
- Cycle length: 8 days
- Shifts per cycle: 4 (12 hours each)
- Average hours per week: 42
- Shifts per year: about 182.5 (2,190 hours)
- Longest run of shifts: 4; longest break: 4 days
Weekly hours and overtime on the 4 on, 4 off schedule
Crew A's hours aren't the same every week. Say its cycle starts on Monday, October 5, 2026 and the payroll week runs Sunday through Saturday. Then the 8 weeks before the pattern repeats come to 48, 48, 48, 36, 36, 36, 36 and 48 hours. Federal overtime is time and a half for anything past 40 in a payroll week, which works out to 32 hours of overtime per 8 weeks and about 208 in a year. Move the start of the payroll week, or start the crew on another weekday, and you'll get a different split.
Crew A gets 3 full weekends off (Saturday and Sunday both free) in those 8 weeks. Taking 2 shifts as vacation in the right spot gives 6 days in a row away from work.
The overtime calculator works out the pay for any single week.
4 on, 4 off schedule in Excel or Google Sheets
In Excel or Google Sheets, put crew A's first day in cell B1 and a column of dates from A2 down. This formula in B2, filled down, shows D for a working day or a dash for a day off:
=MID("DDDD----",MOD(A2-$B$1,8)+1,1)
The text in quotes is one character per day of the 8-day cycle. For crew B, which starts 4 days later, subtract 4 more inside the MOD, as in MOD(A2-$B$1-4,8). MOD gives a result from 0 up to 7 in both programs, even for dates before the start date.
4 on, 4 off schedule questions
How does the 4 on, 4 off schedule work?
Every crew runs the same 8-day cycle (work 4 shifts in a row, then 4 days off, repeating every 8 days). The crews start it on different days, and that's how the site stays covered.
How many hours a week is the 4 on, 4 off schedule?
It averages 42 hours a week, since each crew works 4 shifts of 12 hours in every 8 days. Single weeks can come out higher or lower than the average.
How many days a year do you work on a 4 on, 4 off schedule?
About 182.5 shifts, which comes to 2,190 hours over a year.
What is the difference between the Pitman, Panama and DuPont schedules?
All three use four crews on 12-hour shifts. Pitman is the 2-2-3 pattern over 14 days with each crew on fixed days or nights; Panama is the same 2-2-3 pattern with crews swapping between days and nights; DuPont is a 28-day cycle that mixes day and night blocks and ends with 7 days off in a row.
Related pages
Cite this page
APA: ClockTotals. (2026, October 15). 4 On 4 Off Schedule Calendar 2026–2027. https://clocktotals.com/shift-schedule/4-on-4-off/
MLA: “4 On 4 Off Schedule Calendar 2026–2027.” ClockTotals, 15 Oct. 2026, clocktotals.com/shift-schedule/4-on-4-off/.
Link (HTML): <a href="https://clocktotals.com/shift-schedule/4-on-4-off/">4 On 4 Off Schedule Calendar 2026–2027</a>