How do you calculate schedule recovery cost?

Multiply recovery hours by cost per hour by the recoverable share to get the catch-up cost, then add restart and coordination overhead. Here 36 hr times $117 times 80 percent gives $3,312, plus $900 overhead, for $4,212 total.

Why apply a recoverable share instead of costing all the hours?

Not every behind-hour can be recovered. Downstream bottlenecks, material limits, and labor caps mean only a fraction is realistically recoverable. An 80 percent share says you expect to claw back four of every five hours; the rest slips no matter what you spend.

What is the restart and coordination overhead for?

It captures the fixed cost of re-sequencing, re-staging material, re-briefing operators, and the coordination effort that recovery triggers regardless of how many hours you run. Here it adds a flat $900 on top of the variable catch-up cost.

When is it cheaper to re-promise than to recover?

Compare the $4,212 recovery cost against the cost of the delay — penalty clauses, expedited freight, or lost goodwill. If accepting the slip costs less than $4,212, re-promising is the rational call.

What is a reasonable cost per recovery hour?

It is the fully loaded marginal cost of the recovery hour, which usually means overtime premium plus utilities and supervision. $117/hr reflects a blended overtime rate; weekend or holiday recovery can run far higher.

Recovery cost vs. delay cost — how do I use both?

Recovery cost ($4,212 here) is what you spend to stay on schedule. Delay cost is what you lose by slipping. Recover only when recovery cost is the smaller of the two, and use the recoverable share to check the recovery is even achievable.

Advanced Planning, Scheduling & APS calculator

Schedule Recovery Time Cost Calculator

When a line falls behind, the real question for the planner is not just how many hours to claw back but what catching up will cost. Schedule recovery time cost combines the priced recovery hours, the fraction of the slip that is actually recoverable, and the fixed overhead of restarting and re-coordinating the line. Operations managers and schedulers use it to decide whether to run overtime, add a shift, expedite, or simply re-promise the customer. It turns a vague we are behind into a defensible dollar figure for a recovery decision.

What this calculator does

Estimate the cost of recovering lost schedule time from recovery hours, cost per hour, recoverable share, and restart overhead.
an operations manager needs to decide whether schedule recovery effort is worth the cost
It computes the total cost of recovering a slipped schedule, combining variable catch-up hours with fixed restart and coordination overhead.

Formula used

Recoverable catch-up cost = recovery hours required × cost per recovery hour × recoverable schedule share
Schedule recovery cost = recoverable catch-up cost + restart and coordination overhead

Inputs explained

Recovery hours required:
Cost per recovery hour:
Recoverable schedule share:
Restart and coordination overhead:

How to use the result

Use it after a disruption when you are weighing overtime or an extra shift against the cost of accepting the delay.
Recoverable share is an estimate; if downstream constraints or material limit how much you can actually claw back, the true cost per recovered hour is higher than modeled.

Current U.S. benchmarks

Manufacturing hourly earnings average $30.27 (BLS, Jun 2026), up 4.4% from a year earlier. Median machinist pay is $28.24/hr (OEWS 2025), with state medians on each state page. Manufacturers have 529k open positions nationally (BLS JOLTS).
U.S. manufacturing runs at 75.6% of capacity (Federal Reserve, May 2026). New factory orders are up 2.3% year over year (Census).

Common questions

How do you calculate schedule recovery cost? Multiply recovery hours by cost per hour by the recoverable share to get the catch-up cost, then add restart and coordination overhead. Here 36 hr times $117 times 80 percent gives $3,312, plus $900 overhead, for $4,212 total.
Why apply a recoverable share instead of costing all the hours? Not every behind-hour can be recovered. Downstream bottlenecks, material limits, and labor caps mean only a fraction is realistically recoverable. An 80 percent share says you expect to claw back four of every five hours; the rest slips no matter what you spend.
What is the restart and coordination overhead for? It captures the fixed cost of re-sequencing, re-staging material, re-briefing operators, and the coordination effort that recovery triggers regardless of how many hours you run. Here it adds a flat $900 on top of the variable catch-up cost.
When is it cheaper to re-promise than to recover? Compare the $4,212 recovery cost against the cost of the delay — penalty clauses, expedited freight, or lost goodwill. If accepting the slip costs less than $4,212, re-promising is the rational call.
What is a reasonable cost per recovery hour? It is the fully loaded marginal cost of the recovery hour, which usually means overtime premium plus utilities and supervision. $117/hr reflects a blended overtime rate; weekend or holiday recovery can run far higher.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.