What does the share under warranty mean here?

The share of the variable return cost that falls under warranty, which the business pays as claims. At 75%, a quarter of the variable cost is billed elsewhere, outside this total.

Why does a higher warranty share raise the total?

More of each return's cost falls under warranty, which the business pays. The outside-warranty row falls by the same amount, so return cost across both rows is unchanged.

Are fixed investigation charges per return?

No, they are dollars for the period: containment, testing and root-cause work that starts when a failure pattern appears. They spread across every return in the period, which is why the per-return cost falls as returns rise.

How is the target used?

The per-return cost is divided by the target cost per return to give the share. Above 100% the verdict warns and names the overage; the share is a comparison only, since it changes no cost.

Industrial Valves, Actuators & Flow Control calculator

Field Return Cost Calculator

Total the warranty cost of valves returned from the field: the share booked as warranty claims plus fixed investigation charges. The per-return row shows what each return costs.

What this calculator does

Field return warranty cost from returns, cost per return, the share under warranty and fixed investigation charges, against a target.

Formula used

Warranty claim cost = returns × cost per return × share under warranty ÷ 100
Return cost outside warranty = returns × cost per return − warranty claim cost
Total field return cost = warranty claim cost + fixed investigation charges
Cost per return = total field return cost ÷ returns
Cost versus target = cost per return ÷ target cost per return × 100

Inputs explained

Field Returns: Valves returned from the field this period.
Cost per Returned Valve: Fully loaded cost to handle one return.
Share Under Warranty: Share of return cost booked as warranty claims you pay.
Fixed Investigation Charges: Investigation and containment cost not tied to volume.
Target Cost per Return: Cost per return your quality budget allows.

How to use the result

Best suited to scoping a field failure spike, budgeting warranty exposure, comparing warranty coverage terms.
Warranty claims may be paid in a later period than the return. Lost sales or reputation damage from failures are outside this number.

Current U.S. benchmarks

The U.S. has 21,668 machinery manufacturing establishments employing about 1,086,146 workers (Census County Business Patterns, 2023).

Common questions

What does the share under warranty mean here? The share of the variable return cost that falls under warranty, which the business pays as claims. At 75%, a quarter of the variable cost is billed elsewhere, outside this total.
Why does a higher warranty share raise the total? More of each return's cost falls under warranty, which the business pays. The outside-warranty row falls by the same amount, so return cost across both rows is unchanged.
Are fixed investigation charges per return? No, they are dollars for the period: containment, testing and root-cause work that starts when a failure pattern appears. They spread across every return in the period, which is why the per-return cost falls as returns rise.
How is the target used? The per-return cost is divided by the target cost per return to give the share. Above 100% the verdict warns and names the overage; the share is a comparison only, since it changes no cost.

Last reviewed 2026-10-01.