Security, Fire & Life Safety Products worked example

Alarm Panel Assembly Cost at 99% first-pass yield at final test: a worked example

What does the result look like when first-pass yield at final test reaches 99%? The full calculation is worked below with real intermediate numbers. A contract assembler quoting a batch of control panels uses this to confirm the per-panel build cost before committing pricing.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Alarm panels assembled in the run: 250 panels (unchanged)
  • Assembly labor plus PCBA cost per panel: 68 $/panel (unchanged)
  • First-pass yield at final test: 99 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 94)
  • Line setup and firmware load cost: 900 $ (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Total = panels x build cost per panel x first-pass yield% + line setup) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 17,730 $ for total alarm panel assembly cost, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 70.92 $ / piece for alarm panel assembly cost per unit.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 16,830 $ for variable alarm panel assembly cost.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 900 $ for fixed alarm panel assembly cost adder.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where first-pass yield at final test sits at 94% and the headline result is 16,880 $, this scenario comes in 5.04% above the baseline at 17,730 $.
  • A figure at this level is achievable when first-pass yield at final test is genuinely sustained, not just peaked for a shift. The yield term here scales the variable build cost rather than modeling scrapped-panel rework, so it approximates rather than fully accounts for failed-unit recovery.

Results at a glance

  • Total alarm panel assembly cost: 17,730 $ (headline result)
  • Alarm panel assembly cost per unit: 70.92 $ / piece
  • Variable alarm panel assembly cost: 16,830 $
  • Fixed alarm panel assembly cost adder: 900 $

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Alarm Panel Assembly Cost calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.