Heat Treatment, Furnaces & Thermal Processing worked example

Batch Queue Time at 23% queue allowance: a worked example

This scenario runs the batch queue time calculation on the strong side: 23% queue allowance, with every other input held at its documented default. Use it when heat treat orders are waiting for furnace time, quench availability, inspection release, or customer priority decisions.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Queued heat treat loads: 14 loads (unchanged)
  • Load release rate: 2 loads / hr (unchanged)
  • Queue allowance: 23 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 20)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Base batch queue hours = queued heat treat loads รท load release rate) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 8.61 hr for expected batch queue time, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 7 hr for base queue hours.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 23 % for queue allowance applied.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 2 loads / hr for load release rate.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where queue allowance sits at 20% and the headline result is 8.4 hr, this scenario comes in 2.5% above the baseline at 8.61 hr.
  • Use it when staging is building up, before quoting lead times, or when deciding whether to add a furnace shift to clear a backlog. Treat this as a target state: the delta against the baseline quantifies what the improvement is worth before you commit to chasing it.

Results at a glance

  • Expected batch queue time: 8.61 hr (headline result)
  • Base queue hours: 7 hr
  • Queue allowance applied: 23 %
  • Load release rate: 2 loads / hr

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Batch Queue Time calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.