Conveyors worked example

Parallel Station Capacity at 65% parallel station uptime: a worked example

Here is what the math looks like when conditions slip. We hold every other input steady and drop parallel station uptime to 65%, then walk the calculation through step by step. Calculate capacity from parallel stations, cycles per station, uptime, and yield.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Parallel stations installed: 3 stations (held at the documented default)
  • Available cycles per station-hour: 260 cycles / station-hr (held at the documented default)
  • Parallel station uptime: 65 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 90)
  • Good output yield: 97 % (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Gross parallel capacity = parallel stations × cycles per station-hour.
  • Good parallel-station capacity works out to 492 units / hr at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Gross parallel capacity works out to 780 units / hr at these inputs.
  • Capacity lost to downtime works out to 273 units / hr at these inputs.
  • Capacity lost to yield works out to 15.21 units / hr at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where parallel station uptime sits at 90% and the headline result is 681 units / hr, this scenario comes in 27.78% below the baseline at 492 units / hr.
  • The practical read: the gap between this scenario and the baseline is entirely attributable to parallel station uptime, so recovering it is worth quantifying in dollars before considering equipment or staffing changes. It assumes every parallel station runs at the same cycle rate, uptime and yield; a single slow or jam-prone station will make actual output fall below the averaged figure.

Results at a glance

  • Good parallel-station capacity: 492 units / hr (headline result)
  • Gross parallel capacity: 780 units / hr
  • Capacity lost to downtime: 273 units / hr
  • Capacity lost to yield: 15.21 units / hr

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Parallel Station Capacity calculator, set parallel station uptime to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.