Composites, Fiberglass & Advanced Materials worked example

Composite Inspection Workload at 16% setup, documentation and review allowance: a worked example

Here is what the math looks like when conditions slip. We hold every other input steady and drop setup, documentation and review allowance to 16%, then walk the calculation through step by step. Estimate inspection labor hours for composite parts, coupons, panels, or assemblies.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Inspection checks required for the lot: 150 checks (held at the documented default)
  • Inspector check completion rate: 18 checks / hr (held at the documented default)
  • Setup, documentation and review allowance: 16 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 22)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Base composite inspection workload = inspection points or parts required รท inspection completion pace.
  • estimated composite inspection workload works out to 9.67 hr at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • base composite inspection workload works out to 8.33 hr at these inputs.
  • inspection setup and review allowance works out to 16 % at these inputs.
  • inspection completion pace works out to 18 checks / hr at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where setup, documentation and review allowance sits at 22% and the headline result is 10.17 hr, this scenario comes in 4.92% below the baseline at 9.67 hr.
  • The practical read: the gap between this scenario and the baseline is entirely attributable to setup, documentation and review allowance, so recovering it is worth quantifying in dollars before considering equipment or staffing changes. It assumes a single steady inspection pace, so a lot mixing fast visual checks with slow C-scans needs to be split into separate runs or it will misestimate.

Results at a glance

  • estimated composite inspection workload: 9.67 hr (headline result)
  • base composite inspection workload: 8.33 hr
  • inspection setup and review allowance: 16 %
  • inspection completion pace: 18 checks / hr

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Composite Inspection Workload calculator, set setup, documentation and review allowance to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.