Safety & Workforce worked example

Labor Utilization Calculator at 98% target utilization rate: a worked example

Push target utilization rate up to 98% and the picture changes. This example computes every intermediate figure at that operating point. Use it to find idle and indirect time in Safety & Workforce.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Productive (direct) labor hours: 320 hr (unchanged)
  • Paid labor hours available: 400 hr (unchanged)
  • Target utilization rate: 98 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 85)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Labor utilization = productive hours รท paid hours available) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 80 % for labor utilization, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 18 points for gap to target.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 320 value for productive labor hours.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 400 value for paid labor hours.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where target utilization rate sits at 85% and the headline result is 80 %, this scenario lands almost exactly on the baseline at 80 %.
  • It divides productive labor hours by paid hours available to give a utilization percentage, then compares it to your target to show the point gap. 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

  • Labor utilization: 80 % (headline result)
  • Gap to target: 18 points
  • Productive labor hours: 320 value
  • Paid labor hours: 400 value

Run it with your numbers

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

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.