Metal Recycling, Scrap Processing & Salvage worked example

Equipment Utilization at 99% target equipment utilization rate: a worked example

Push target equipment utilization rate up to 99% and the picture changes. This example computes every intermediate figure at that operating point. Use it when equipment utilization in metal recycling, scrap processing and salvage needs a clean rate and gap-to-target you can put on a tier board.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Hours equipment ran productively: 8 count (unchanged)
  • Total scheduled operating hours available: 250 count (unchanged)
  • Target equipment utilization rate: 99 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 95)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Equipment utilization rate = equipment utilization count ÷ total equipment utilization population × 100) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 3.2 % for equipment utilization rate, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 95.8 points for equipment utilization gap to target.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 8 count for equipment utilization count.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 250 count for total equipment utilization population.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where target equipment utilization rate sits at 95% and the headline result is 3.2 %, this scenario lands almost exactly on the baseline at 3.2 %.
  • It computes productive run hours as a percentage of total scheduled hours, then reports the point gap between that utilization and your target. The value of this scenario is the size of the gap it exposes: that gap, priced out over a year, is the budget you can justify spending to close it.

Results at a glance

  • Equipment utilization rate: 3.2 % (headline result)
  • Equipment utilization gap to target: 95.8 points
  • Equipment utilization count: 8 count
  • Total equipment utilization population: 250 count

Run it with your numbers

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

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.