How do two operators affect work content?

Add their person-minutes. Two operators working three minutes each contribute six person-minutes, even if only three clock minutes pass.

Is additional labor a guessed allowance?

No. Enter measured handling, inspection and tool-change work; the percentage is derived from those minutes.

Can I divide labor hours by crew size?

Only when tasks can be shared without equipment or sequence constraints. This calculator reports labor content, not guaranteed elapsed completion time.

Why does capacity use whole parts?

A part requiring more labor than remains cannot be completed within the stated crew-hour budget.

Foundry & Forging calculator

Fettling Labor Load Calculator

Estimate crew labor needed to finish a casting or forging order. Enter part count, measured direct and additional person-minutes per part, and available crew hours.

What this calculator does

Convert measured fettling work per part into crew hours and compare the order with available labor.

Formula used

Required labor hours = parts × (direct + additional person-minutes) ÷ 60
Direct labor hours = parts × direct person-minutes ÷ 60
Additional labor allowance = additional minutes ÷ direct minutes × 100
Supported parts = floor(available crew hours × 60 ÷ person-minutes per part)
Labor margin = available crew hours − required labor hours

Inputs explained

Parts Requiring Fettling: Casting or forging count on the finishing order.
Direct Fettling Work: Summed operator grinding and trimming minutes per part.
Additional Work per Part: Timed handling, inspection and tool-change labor per part.
Available Crew Labor: Net labor hours summed across available fettling operators.

How to use the result

Best suited to fettling crew planning, finishing order allocation.
Aggregate labor capacity does not prove workstation balance or safe staffing. Fatigue, tool condition and casting variation require an observed representative time study.

Current U.S. benchmarks

The producer price index for steel mill products stands at 381.162 (BLS, Aug 2026), up 23.4% from a year earlier. Quotes priced off last quarter's material cost miss this move.
The U.S. has 3,569 primary metal manufacturing establishments employing about 354,911 workers (Census County Business Patterns, 2023).

Common questions

How do two operators affect work content? Add their person-minutes. Two operators working three minutes each contribute six person-minutes, even if only three clock minutes pass.
Is additional labor a guessed allowance? No. Enter measured handling, inspection and tool-change work; the percentage is derived from those minutes.
Can I divide labor hours by crew size? Only when tasks can be shared without equipment or sequence constraints. This calculator reports labor content, not guaranteed elapsed completion time.
Why does capacity use whole parts? A part requiring more labor than remains cannot be completed within the stated crew-hour budget.

Last reviewed 2026-10-06.