Plant Utilities worked example

Steam Trap Survey Load at 14% access and documentation allowance: a worked example

This worked example runs the steam trap survey load numbers for a tougher week than the baseline: 14% access and documentation allowance instead of the typical 20%. Estimate the labor time needed to inspect a population of steam traps, including access and documentation allowance.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Steam traps to inspect: 240 traps (held at the documented default)
  • Inspection rate: 2 traps / min (held at the documented default)
  • Access and documentation 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 steam trap survey load time = steam traps to inspect รท inspection rate.
  • Required steam trap survey load time works out to 137 min at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Base steam trap survey load time works out to 120 min at these inputs.
  • Allowance applied works out to 14 % at these inputs.
  • Utility coverage rate works out to 2 traps / min at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where access and documentation allowance sits at 20% and the headline result is 144 min, this scenario comes in 5% below the baseline at 137 min.
  • Use it when scoping a steam trap audit, quoting a survey contract, or fitting the work into an outage window. A result at this level usually justifies acting on the stressed input before touching anything else, because every other figure in the table is downstream of it.

Results at a glance

  • Required steam trap survey load time: 137 min (headline result)
  • Base steam trap survey load time: 120 min
  • Allowance applied: 14 %
  • Utility coverage rate: 2 traps / min

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Steam Trap Survey Load calculator, set access and documentation allowance to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.