Continental Shift Pattern

Pick a start date to see the continental pattern for four crews that cover every shift, every day of the year.

The continental shift pattern tool shows the full rota for the continental shift pattern, a schedule of four crews (A, B, C and D) that rotate on an 8-day cycle. You can view it with 8-hour shifts or 12-hour shifts. It shows which crew works each shift on each day, a calendar, and a calendar file for one crew. The tool is free, runs in your browser, and needs no account or sign-up. It does schedule arithmetic only, so use it to plan a rota or see when each crew is off. Both an 8-hour and a 12-hour version are included, and you can download a calendar file for any crew.

How to use the continental shift pattern tool

Choose the shift version: 8-hour (morning, afternoon and night shifts) or 12-hour (day and night shifts).
Set the start date. The default is 2026-10-05, and crew A is on its first morning shift (M) on that date.
Use the start-day select to pick Day 1 to Day 8 of the cycle. For example, Day 3 makes crew A start on an afternoon shift.
Choose All crews to see every crew, or pick one crew.
Optionally change the shift start and end times using the 24-hour clock. Blank fields use the defaults for the chosen version. A blank end time means the start time plus the shift length.
If a warning appears, check your times. It means the typed times do not match the hours the pattern counts.
Read the table, which lists for each of the 8 cycle days which crew is on each shift and which crews are off, with the date of the first occurrence.
In the calendar, choose 1 to 12 months, set weeks to start on Monday or Sunday, and highlight one crew if you want it to stand out.
To add one crew’s shifts to a calendar app, make a .ics file for that crew.

What is a continental shift pattern?

The continental shift pattern is a rotating rota that runs on an 8-day cycle with four crews. This tool covers the widely used version in two forms. The 8-hour version has morning (M, 06:00 to 14:00), afternoon (A, 14:00 to 22:00) and night (N, 22:00 to 06:00) shifts. The 12-hour version has day (D, 07:00 to 19:00) and night (N, 19:00 to 07:00) shifts. Crew A works MMAANNOO in the 8-hour version and DDNNOOOO in the 12-hour version, where O means off.

How do the crews cover all 24 hours?

Each crew follows crew A, delayed by 2, 4 or 6 days. Crew k on cycle day t does what crew A does on day (t − 2k) mod 8. So crew B on day 3 works the shift crew A worked on day 1. Check any single day and you will find exactly one crew on each shift, so the pattern covers 24 hours every day.

How many hours per week does a continental shift pattern work?

Each crew works 48 hours per 8-day cycle in both versions. That is 6 shifts of 8 hours, or 4 shifts of 12 hours. The average is hours per cycle × 7 ÷ cycle length, which is 48 × 7 ÷ 8 = 42 hours per week. The longest run of work days is 6 in the 8-hour version and 4 in the 12-hour version. The most hours in any 7 consecutive days is 48 in both. For example, Continental, 8-hour shifts, start 2026-10-05, All crews gives 42 hours per week on average and 6 of 8 days worked per cycle.

How do I choose between the 8-hour and 12-hour versions?

Use the variant select. The 8-hour version has morning, afternoon and night shifts, and the 12-hour version has day and night shifts. Both use an 8-day cycle with four crews and average 42 hours per week.

Worked examples

Input	Result
Continental, 8-hour shifts, start 2026-10-05, All crews	42 h per week on average, 6 of 8 days worked per cycle
Continental, 12-hour shifts, start 2026-10-05, Crew B	42 h per week on average, 4 of 8 days worked per cycle
Continental, 8-hour shifts, start 2027-01-04, Crew D	42 h per week on average, 6 of 8 days worked per cycle

Calculated by the tool above; open it with the same values to see each step.

Frequently asked questions

How does changing the start date affect the schedule?

The default start date, 2026-10-05, puts crew A on its first morning shift. Choosing a day from 1 to 8 in the start-day select moves crew A to a different point in the cycle. For example, Day 3 starts crew A on an afternoon shift, with crews B, C and D on M, off and N.

Can I change the shift times?

Yes. Shift start and end times can be set on the 24-hour clock. Blank fields use the defaults for the version you chose. If you see a warning, the times you typed do not match the hours the pattern counts.

Does this schedule follow my labor agreement?

The tool only does schedule arithmetic. It does not say what any agreement or rule requires. Check the pattern against your own agreement and local rules before using it.

Is this tool free, and is anything I type uploaded?

Yes, it is free and needs no account or sign-up. Everything is calculated in your browser, and nothing you type is uploaded.

Yes. Print / save as PDF prints the page as you see it; choose Save as PDF in the print dialog to keep a file. Copy link copies a page address that stores your inputs, so the same schedule can be reopened later or sent to someone else.

Pitman Schedule: the Pitman 2-2-3 pattern for four crews.
9/80 Work Schedule: the 9/80 compressed schedule with every other Friday off.
2-3-2 Work Schedule: the 2-3-2 pattern, the same cycle as 2-2-3.
DuPont Schedule: the 28-day DuPont pattern for four crews.
Panama Schedule: the Panama 2-2-3 pattern with crews swapping days and nights.
2-2-3 Schedule: the 2-2-3 pattern, also written as 3-2-2-3.
4 On 4 Off Schedule: four days on and four days off for two or four crews.
4 On 3 Off Schedule: work patterns such as 4 on 3 off and 3 on 4 off.
Firefighter Shift Schedule: 24/48, 24/72 and 48/96 platoon calendars.

Updated October 2026