Building Materials Manufacturing worked example

Ceramic Firing Loss at 72% firing loss assigned to this product or kiln: a worked example

Suppose firing loss assigned to this product or kiln falls to 72%. This page works the full calculation at that level so you can see exactly which result moves and by how much. Estimate the cost of ceramic ware lost during firing, cooling, unloading, or kiln inspection.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Pieces lost during firing or kiln unloading: 1,200 pieces (held at the documented default)
  • Cost per fired piece lost: 2.75 $ / piece (held at the documented default)
  • Firing loss assigned to this product or kiln: 72 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 100)
  • Fixed kiln sorting, rework, or disposal cost: 650 $ (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Allocated ceramic firing loss = pieces lost during firing or kiln unloading × cost per fired piece lost × allocation share.
  • Ceramic Firing Loss works out to 3,026 $ firing loss at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Cost per fired piece lost works out to 2.52 $ / piece at these inputs.
  • Allocated ceramic firing loss works out to 2,376 $ at these inputs.
  • Fixed kiln sorting, rework, or disposal cost works out to 650 $ at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where firing loss assigned to this product or kiln sits at 100% and the headline result is 3,950 $ firing loss, this scenario comes in 23.39% below the baseline at 3,026 $ firing loss.
  • It computes total firing loss cost by multiplying lost pieces by cost per piece and an allocation share, then adding fixed sorting, rework, and disposal cost. When the numbers land here, the stressed input is the lever to work; the walkthrough above shows exactly how much each output recovers as it climbs back toward the baseline.

Results at a glance

  • Ceramic Firing Loss: 3,026 $ firing loss (headline result)
  • Cost per fired piece lost: 2.52 $ / piece
  • Allocated ceramic firing loss: 2,376 $
  • Fixed kiln sorting, rework, or disposal cost: 650 $

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Ceramic Firing Loss calculator, set firing loss assigned to this product or kiln to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.