Explosives, Pyrotechnics & Energetic Materials Manufacturing worked example

Test Lot Sample Size at 14% sample review and hold allowance: a worked example

Here is what the math looks like when conditions slip. We hold every other input steady and drop sample review and hold allowance to 14%, then walk the calculation through step by step. Estimate labor hours for pulling, documenting, and routing required quality samples from approved lots.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Required lot sample records: 96 sample records (held at the documented default)
  • Sample records completed per hour: 16 sample records / hr (held at the documented default)
  • Sample review and hold allowance: 14 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 20)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Base sample administration hours = required lot sample records รท sample records completed per hour.
  • Required lot sampling workload hours works out to 6.84 hr at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Base sample administration hours works out to 6 hr at these inputs.
  • Sample review and hold allowance works out to 14 % at these inputs.
  • Sample records completed per hour works out to 16 sample records / hr at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where sample review and hold allowance sits at 20% and the headline result is 7.2 hr, this scenario comes in 5% below the baseline at 6.84 hr.
  • The practical read: the gap between this scenario and the baseline is entirely attributable to sample review and hold allowance, so recovering it is worth quantifying in dollars before considering equipment or staffing changes. It assumes a steady record-completion rate; destructive or sensitivity tests with cure, conditioning, or burn-rate hold times can dominate real cycle time and aren't captured by a flat percentage allowance.

Results at a glance

  • Required lot sampling workload hours: 6.84 hr (headline result)
  • Base sample administration hours: 6 hr
  • Sample review and hold allowance: 14 %
  • Sample records completed per hour: 16 sample records / hr

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Test Lot Sample Size calculator, set sample review and hold allowance to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.