Process Manufacturing worked example

Tank Fill Time at 8.64% lineup, sampling, and delay allowance: a worked example

Here is what the math looks like when conditions slip. We hold every other input steady and drop lineup, sampling, and delay allowance to 8.64%, then walk the calculation through step by step. Estimate tank fill time from target fill volume, transfer flow rate, and normal operating allowance.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Target fill volume: 3,500 gal (held at the documented default)
  • Measured transfer/fill rate: 85 gal / min (held at the documented default)
  • Lineup, sampling, and delay allowance: 8.64 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 12)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Base fill time = target fill volume รท measured fill rate.
  • required tank fill time works out to 44.73 min at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • base tank fill time works out to 41.18 min at these inputs.
  • fill allowance applied works out to 8.64 % at these inputs.
  • measured fill rate works out to 85 pieces / min at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where lineup, sampling, and delay allowance sits at 12% and the headline result is 46.12 min, this scenario comes in 3% below the baseline at 44.73 min.
  • The practical read: the gap between this scenario and the baseline is entirely attributable to lineup, sampling, and delay allowance, so recovering it is worth quantifying in dollars before considering equipment or staffing changes. It assumes a steady average fill rate; it does not model rate droop as head builds, line restrictions, or a pump ramping down near the high-level cutoff.

Results at a glance

  • required tank fill time: 44.73 min (headline result)
  • base tank fill time: 41.18 min
  • fill allowance applied: 8.64 %
  • measured fill rate: 85 pieces / min

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Tank Fill Time calculator, set lineup, sampling, and delay allowance to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.