Lab Equipment & Scientific Instrument Manufacturing worked example

Final Acceptance Test Time at 14% setup and re-test allowance: a worked example

Suppose setup and re-test allowance falls to 14%. This page works the full calculation at that level so you can see exactly which result moves and by how much. Estimate the total labor hours required for final acceptance testing (FAT) on a batch of instruments before shipment. Covers functional testing, performance verification against specifications, environmental stress screening, burn-in, and documentation sign-off. Helps test engineers plan workload and production managers avoid shipping delays from test backlogs.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Instruments to test: 15 instruments (held at the documented default)
  • Test completion rate: 1 instruments / hr (held at the documented default)
  • Setup and re-test 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 test time = instruments to test / test completion rate.
  • Scheduled FAT labor works out to 17.1 hr at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Base test time works out to 15 hr at these inputs.
  • Setup and re-test allowance applied works out to 14 % at these inputs.
  • Test completion rate works out to 1 pieces / min at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where setup and re-test allowance sits at 20% and the headline result is 18 hr, this scenario comes in 5% below the baseline at 17.1 hr.
  • It computes scheduled FAT labor as the base test time (instruments divided by test rate) scaled up by a setup and re-test allowance. When the numbers land here, the stressed input is the lever to work; the walkthrough above shows exactly how much each output recovers as it climbs back toward the baseline.

Results at a glance

  • Scheduled FAT labor: 17.1 hr (headline result)
  • Base test time: 15 hr
  • Setup and re-test allowance applied: 14 %
  • Test completion rate: 1 pieces / min

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Final Acceptance Test Time calculator, set setup and re-test allowance to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.