PLM, BOM & Digital Thread worked example

Engineering Approval Queue Time at 12% review, routing, and delay allowance: a worked example

This scenario runs the engineering approval queue time calculation on the strong side: 12% review, routing, and delay allowance, with every other input held at its documented default. Use it when engineering approval queue time in plm, bom and digital thread needs a defensible run time before a quote goes out.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Approvals waiting in the engineering queue: 120 units (unchanged)
  • Approvals cleared per minute: 12 units / min (unchanged)
  • Review, routing, and delay allowance: 12 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 10)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Base engineering approval queue time = engineering approval queue time workload รท engineering approval queue time completion rate) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 11.2 hr for required engineering approval queue time, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 10 hr for base engineering approval queue time.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 12 % for engineering approval queue time allowance applied.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 12 pieces / min for engineering approval queue time completion rate.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where review, routing, and delay allowance sits at 10% and the headline result is 11 hr, this scenario comes in 1.82% above the baseline at 11.2 hr.
  • Use it to forecast release lead time, size reviewer capacity, or quantify the impact of an approval backlog on a program schedule. Treat this as a target state: the delta against the baseline quantifies what the improvement is worth before you commit to chasing it.

Results at a glance

  • Required engineering approval queue time: 11.2 hr (headline result)
  • Base engineering approval queue time: 10 hr
  • Engineering approval queue time allowance applied: 12 %
  • Engineering approval queue time completion rate: 12 pieces / min

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Engineering Approval Queue Time calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.