Industrial Equipment, Machinery & Capital Goods worked example

Machine Documentation Workload at 40% review and revision allowance: a worked example

What does the result look like when review and revision allowance reaches 40%? The full calculation is worked below with real intermediate numbers. Use it when planning manuals, spare parts lists, certificates, maintenance instructions, and customer documentation before shipment.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Documentation packages: 48 packages (unchanged)
  • Documentation completion throughput: 3 packages / hr (unchanged)
  • Review and revision allowance: 40 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 35)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Base documentation time = documentation packages รท documentation completion throughput) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 22.4 hr for required machine documentation workload, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 16 hr for base documentation time.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 40 % for review and revision allowance.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 3 pieces / min for documentation completion throughput.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where review and revision allowance sits at 35% and the headline result is 21.6 hr, this scenario comes in 3.7% above the baseline at 22.4 hr.
  • A figure at this level is achievable when review and revision allowance is genuinely sustained, not just peaked for a shift. It assumes packages are comparable in size; a mix of a one-page checklist and a 200-page manual will skew the average throughput.

Results at a glance

  • Required machine documentation workload: 22.4 hr (headline result)
  • Base documentation time: 16 hr
  • Review and revision allowance: 40 %
  • Documentation completion throughput: 3 pieces / min

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Machine Documentation Workload calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.