Advanced Planning, Scheduling & APS worked example

Machine Load Balance at 21% setup and queue allowance: a worked example

What does the result look like when setup and queue allowance reaches 21%? The full calculation is worked below with real intermediate numbers. a capacity planner needs to balance scheduled operations across machines before release

The inputs for this scenario

  • Scheduled machine load: 960 operations or pieces (unchanged)
  • Machine throughput rate: 4.8 operations/min (unchanged)
  • Setup and queue allowance: 21 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 18)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Base machine processing time = scheduled machine load รท machine throughput) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 242 machine hr for balanced machine-hour requirement, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 200 machine hr for base machine processing time.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 21 % for setup and queue allowance.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 4.8 operations/min for machine throughput.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where setup and queue allowance sits at 18% and the headline result is 236 machine hr, this scenario comes in 2.54% above the baseline at 242 machine hr.
  • A figure at this level is achievable when setup and queue allowance is genuinely sustained, not just peaked for a shift. It uses a single average throughput rate, so a work center running a wide mix of fast and slow parts will be mis-sized unless you segment the load by part family.

Results at a glance

  • Balanced machine-hour requirement: 242 machine hr (headline result)
  • Base machine processing time: 200 machine hr
  • Setup and queue allowance: 21 %
  • Machine throughput: 4.8 operations/min

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Machine Load Balance calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.