How do you calculate nonconformance disposition time?

Divide the number of open NCRs by your disposition review pace to get base MRB review time, then multiply by (1 + approval allowance). With 42 NCRs at 0.45 NCRs/min and an 85% allowance, base review is 93.33 MRB hours and total disposition time is 172.67 MRB hours.

What is a good MRB disposition cycle time?

Many primes target an average NCR disposition of 5-10 working days, with critical or flight-safety items prioritized inside 48 hours. Translate this calculator's total hours into MRB sessions per week to see whether your backlog will meet that window.

Why is the approval allowance so high?

Use-as-is and repair dispositions on flight hardware almost always require design engineering concurrence and often customer or DCMA approval. That round-trip routinely doubles handling time, which is why an 85% allowance is realistic, not pessimistic.

Base review time vs total disposition time, what's the difference?

Base review time (93.33 hr here) is just the MRB analyst effort to read and triage records. Total disposition time (172.67 hr) adds the approval allowance, capturing the real wall-clock effort including engineering and customer loops.

How do I convert disposition hours into headcount?

Divide total hours by available MRB hours per person per week. At 172.67 hours, one analyst at 20 productive MRB hours/week clears it in roughly 8.6 weeks; three analysts clear it in under 3 weeks.

Does this include scrap and rework execution time?

No. This estimates disposition decision time only, ending when the MRB signs the disposition. Downstream rework, scrap processing, or replacement build time should be tracked separately.

Aerospace & Defense Manufacturing calculator

Nonconformance Disposition Time Calculator

Nonconformance Disposition Time estimates how many Material Review Board (MRB) hours it takes to clear a backlog of nonconformance records (NCRs) from open to dispositioned. Aerospace and defense quality managers, MRB chairs, and supplier quality engineers use it to forecast when a backlog will clear and to staff MRB sessions against AS9100 cycle-time targets. Disposition is rarely instantaneous: even a fast review pace gets dwarfed by the engineering and customer approval loops that 'use-as-is' and 'repair' dispositions require. Getting this number right is the difference between an honest containment plan and a backlog that quietly grows past your customer's tolerance.

What this calculator does

Estimate MRB disposition hours from nonconformance records, review pace, and engineering or customer approval allowance.
a program manager or quality engineer needs to estimate how long nonconforming flight hardware will sit in MRB review
It computes the total MRB hours required to disposition a set of open NCRs, scaling the raw review time by an approval allowance for engineering and customer sign-off.

Formula used

Base MRB review time = nonconformance records ÷ disposition review pace
Total disposition time = base MRB review time × (1 + engineering and customer approval allowance)

Inputs explained

Open NCRs awaiting MRB disposition:
MRB disposition review pace:
Engineering and customer approval allowance:

How to use the result

Use it when sizing MRB capacity, forecasting backlog burn-down, or quoting disposition turnaround in a corrective-action plan or supplier audit response.
The single allowance percentage assumes a uniform mix of disposition types; a backlog skewed toward repair or use-as-is dispositions needing source/customer approval will run far longer than the average implies.

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 nonconformance disposition time? Divide the number of open NCRs by your disposition review pace to get base MRB review time, then multiply by (1 + approval allowance). With 42 NCRs at 0.45 NCRs/min and an 85% allowance, base review is 93.33 MRB hours and total disposition time is 172.67 MRB hours.
What is a good MRB disposition cycle time? Many primes target an average NCR disposition of 5-10 working days, with critical or flight-safety items prioritized inside 48 hours. Translate this calculator's total hours into MRB sessions per week to see whether your backlog will meet that window.
Why is the approval allowance so high? Use-as-is and repair dispositions on flight hardware almost always require design engineering concurrence and often customer or DCMA approval. That round-trip routinely doubles handling time, which is why an 85% allowance is realistic, not pessimistic.
Base review time vs total disposition time, what's the difference? Base review time (93.33 hr here) is just the MRB analyst effort to read and triage records. Total disposition time (172.67 hr) adds the approval allowance, capturing the real wall-clock effort including engineering and customer loops.
How do I convert disposition hours into headcount? Divide total hours by available MRB hours per person per week. At 172.67 hours, one analyst at 20 productive MRB hours/week clears it in roughly 8.6 weeks; three analysts clear it in under 3 weeks.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.