Circular Economy, Recycling & Remanufacturing worked example

Refurbishment Capacity at 99% refurbishment cell availability: a worked example

What does the result look like when refurbishment cell availability reaches 99%? The full calculation is worked below with real intermediate numbers. a team needs to commit refurbishment schedules and identify labor or test bottlenecks for a refurbishment cell

The inputs for this scenario

  • Refurbished units completed per cycle: 3 units / cycle (unchanged)
  • Available refurbishment cycles: 420 cycles (unchanged)
  • Refurbishment cell availability: 99 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 86)
  • Refurbishment first-pass yield: 91 % (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Gross refurbishment capacity = refurbished units completed per cycle × available refurbishment cycles) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 1,135 good units for good refurbishment capacity, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 1,260 good units for gross refurbishment capacity.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 12.6 good units for refurbishment capacity lost to downtime.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 112 good units for refurbishment capacity lost to rejects or rework.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where refurbishment cell availability sits at 86% and the headline result is 986 good units, this scenario comes in 15.12% above the baseline at 1,135 good units.
  • A figure at this level is achievable when refurbishment cell availability is genuinely sustained, not just peaked for a shift. It assumes a steady per-cycle output; a cell whose throughput varies by core condition (a heavily damaged batch refurbishes slower) needs a blended or worst-case units-per-cycle figure.

Results at a glance

  • Good refurbishment capacity: 1,135 good units (headline result)
  • Gross refurbishment capacity: 1,260 good units
  • Refurbishment Capacity lost to downtime: 12.6 good units
  • Refurbishment Capacity lost to rejects or rework: 112 good units

Run it with your numbers

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

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.