What does cost per minute include?

The whole stop divided by its own minutes, so contribution and standing labor both appear. It is a rate for one stop, not an average across the shift.

Where does standing labor come from?

Payroll for everyone who waits during the stop: wages plus benefits for the line crew, not just the operators at the stopped machine.

Should planned stops count as downtime?

No, value unplanned stops here. Planned maintenance is usually bought on purpose, and its crew may be maintenance labor rather than standing production labor.

How do I get the contribution per unit?

Take selling price minus variable material, energy and consumable cost for one unit, the same figure finance uses in margin reports.

What is a good unplanned downtime?

Typical Unplanned downtime runs 5-10% (% of scheduled production time); 2-5% is good, and under 2% is world-class. Reference for scheduled production hours. Asset-heavy continuous processes track this tighter than job shops; pair the rate with your cost-per-hour to size the prize.

Production calculator

Downtime Cost Calculator

Value a stop in the two currencies it spends: contribution on units the line did not make and labor it paid anyway. Enter the stop length, the running rate, the unit contribution and the labor rate.

What this calculator does

What one stop costs in lost contribution and standing labor, plus the cost per stopped minute.

Formula used

Lost units = downtime hours × output rate
Lost contribution = lost units × contribution per unit
Standing labor = downtime hours × standing labor cost per hour
Downtime cost = lost contribution + standing labor
Cost per minute = downtime cost ÷ (downtime hours × 60), undefined with no stop time

Inputs explained

Downtime: Stop length in hours, from the downtime log.
Output Rate: Good units the line makes per hour while running.
Contribution per Unit: Selling price minus variable cost for one unit.
Standing Labor Cost: Paid labor per hour while the line stands.

How to use the result

Best suited to prioritizing a breakdown fix against its cost, briefing a crew on each stopped minute, comparing two stops on the same line.
Prices margin and standing labor only: scrap, expedite freight and lost orders are outside it. One stop; restart losses and quality dips after it are not counted.

Current U.S. benchmarks

As of Sep 2026, average hourly earnings in U.S. manufacturing are $30.21 (BLS), up 3.4% from a year earlier. Burdened shop rates typically run 1.3 to 1.8 times earnings once benefits and overhead are loaded.
The U.S. has 21,668 machinery manufacturing establishments employing about 1,086,146 workers (Census County Business Patterns, 2023).

Common questions

What does cost per minute include? The whole stop divided by its own minutes, so contribution and standing labor both appear. It is a rate for one stop, not an average across the shift.
Where does standing labor come from? Payroll for everyone who waits during the stop: wages plus benefits for the line crew, not just the operators at the stopped machine.
Should planned stops count as downtime? No, value unplanned stops here. Planned maintenance is usually bought on purpose, and its crew may be maintenance labor rather than standing production labor.
How do I get the contribution per unit? Take selling price minus variable material, energy and consumable cost for one unit, the same figure finance uses in margin reports.
What is a good unplanned downtime? Typical Unplanned downtime runs 5-10% (% of scheduled production time); 2-5% is good, and under 2% is world-class. Reference for scheduled production hours. Asset-heavy continuous processes track this tighter than job shops; pair the rate with your cost-per-hour to size the prize.

Last reviewed 2026-10-02.