Packaging Automation & End-of-Line Systems worked example

Palletizing Cycle Time at 7.2% pallet change and setup allowance: a worked example

Here is what the math looks like when conditions slip. We hold every other input steady and drop pallet change and setup allowance to 7.2%, then walk the calculation through step by step. Estimate how long it takes to palletize a run from the cases to stack, the palletizing rate, and an allowance for pallet changes and setup.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Cases to palletize: 120 cases (held at the documented default)
  • Palletizing rate: 12 cases / min (held at the documented default)
  • Pallet change and setup allowance: 7.2 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 10)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Base palletizing time = cases to palletize รท palletizing rate.
  • Planned palletizing time works out to 10.72 hr at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Base palletizing time works out to 10 hr at these inputs.
  • Pallet change and setup allowance works out to 7.2 % at these inputs.
  • Palletizing rate works out to 12 pieces / min at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where pallet change and setup allowance sits at 10% and the headline result is 11 hr, this scenario comes in 2.55% below the baseline at 10.72 hr.
  • The practical read: the gap between this scenario and the baseline is entirely attributable to pallet change and setup allowance, so recovering it is worth quantifying in dollars before considering equipment or staffing changes. It assumes a constant stacking rate; full-pallet discharge stalls, layer-pattern complexity and infeed starvation can push actual time beyond the planned figure.

Results at a glance

  • Planned palletizing time: 10.72 hr (headline result)
  • Base palletizing time: 10 hr
  • Pallet change and setup allowance: 7.2 %
  • Palletizing rate: 12 pieces / min

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Palletizing Cycle Time calculator, set pallet change and setup allowance to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.