How do you calculate accepted aerospace rework capacity?

Multiply rework hours per cycle by available cycles to get gross capacity, then multiply by technician uptime and accepted yield. Here 32 hr times 12 cycles is 384 gross hours; times 82% uptime and 78% yield gives 245.61 accepted rework hours.

Why are accepted hours so much lower than gross hours?

Two derates stack. Technician uptime removes 69.12 hours to downtime, and rejected rework removes another 69.27 hours, so 384 gross hours fall to 245.61 accepted hours, about 64% of gross.

What is a good accepted rework yield?

For routine cosmetic and dimensional rework, 85 to 95% is achievable. The 78% here reflects harder structural or surface repairs. Yields below 70% usually mean the disposition should lean toward scrap or a redesigned repair.

Does technician uptime include training and certification time?

Yes. Certified-technician uptime should net out cert currency training, equipment downtime, and indirect tasks, which is why 82% rather than 100% is realistic on a repair station.

How do I increase accepted rework hours?

Lift the two derates: improve technician availability through better scheduling and cross-certification, and raise yield by tightening repair procedures and first-pass re-inspection quality. Each percentage point flows straight to accepted hours.

Should I plan a backlog against gross or accepted hours?

Always accepted hours. Committing dates against the 384 gross figure rather than 245.61 accepted will overpromise recovery by roughly a third and blow your schedule.

Aerospace & Defense Manufacturing calculator

Aerospace Rework Hour Capacity Calculator

Accepted aerospace rework hour capacity tells you how many hours of genuinely recoverable rework your cell can deliver once you account for technician availability and the fact that not every rework attempt passes re-inspection. MRB engineers, repair-station planners, and production-control leads use it to size disposition backlogs and decide whether nonconforming hardware can be recovered in-house or must be scrapped. In aerospace the gap between gross and accepted hours is real money, because failed rework consumes certified-technician time and still produces scrap. Planning around accepted hours, not gross hours, keeps recovery commitments honest.

What this calculator does

Estimate recoverable aerospace rework capacity from hours per rework cycle, cycles available, technician uptime, and rework yield.
a production manager needs to plan certified rework capacity for nonconforming flight or defense hardware
It computes accepted rework capacity by derating gross rework hours for certified-technician uptime and the yield of rework that actually passes re-inspection.

Formula used

Gross rework hour capacity = rework hours per cycle × available recovery cycles
Accepted aerospace rework capacity = gross capacity × technician uptime × accepted rework yield

Inputs explained

Rework hours per recovery cycle:
Available recovery cycles:
Certified technician uptime:
Accepted rework yield:

How to use the result

Use it when sizing a rework backlog, committing recovery dates to a program, or deciding rework-versus-scrap on nonconforming lots.
It applies a single average yield; complex repairs (blend-outs, weld repairs needing re-cert) vary widely in pass rate and can sit well below the blended figure.

Current U.S. benchmarks

Steel mill PPI stands at 348.53 (BLS, May 2026), up 6.7% from a year earlier. New factory orders are up 2.3% year over year (Census).
The U.S. has 11,691 transportation equipment establishments employing about 1,682,910 workers (Census County Business Patterns, 2023).

Common questions

How do you calculate accepted aerospace rework capacity? Multiply rework hours per cycle by available cycles to get gross capacity, then multiply by technician uptime and accepted yield. Here 32 hr times 12 cycles is 384 gross hours; times 82% uptime and 78% yield gives 245.61 accepted rework hours.
Why are accepted hours so much lower than gross hours? Two derates stack. Technician uptime removes 69.12 hours to downtime, and rejected rework removes another 69.27 hours, so 384 gross hours fall to 245.61 accepted hours, about 64% of gross.
What is a good accepted rework yield? For routine cosmetic and dimensional rework, 85 to 95% is achievable. The 78% here reflects harder structural or surface repairs. Yields below 70% usually mean the disposition should lean toward scrap or a redesigned repair.
Does technician uptime include training and certification time? Yes. Certified-technician uptime should net out cert currency training, equipment downtime, and indirect tasks, which is why 82% rather than 100% is realistic on a repair station.
How do I increase accepted rework hours? Lift the two derates: improve technician availability through better scheduling and cross-certification, and raise yield by tightening repair procedures and first-pass re-inspection quality. Each percentage point flows straight to accepted hours.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.