Wood & Paper Manufacturing worked example

Paper Break Cost at 61% production impact share: a worked example

This worked example runs the paper break cost numbers for a tougher week than the baseline: 61% production impact share instead of the typical 85%. Estimates the daily cost of paper machine web breaks including lost runtime and wet-end cleanup.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Web Breaks per Day: 6 breaks (held at the documented default)
  • Cost per Break: 950 $/break (held at the documented default)
  • Production Impact Share: 61 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 85)
  • Wet-End Cleanup Charge: 400 $ (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Paper break cost = breaks x cost per break x production impact% + wet-end cleanup charge.
  • Total paper break cost works out to 3,877 $ at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Paper break cost per unit works out to 646 $ / piece at these inputs.
  • Variable paper break cost works out to 3,477 $ at these inputs.
  • Fixed paper break cost adder works out to 400 $ at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where production impact share sits at 85% and the headline result is 5,245 $, this scenario comes in 26.08% below the baseline at 3,877 $.
  • Use it when building the business case for break-reduction capital or when tracking the cost impact of a run of poor runnability. 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

  • Total paper break cost: 3,877 $ (headline result)
  • Paper break cost per unit: 646 $ / piece
  • Variable paper break cost: 3,477 $
  • Fixed paper break cost adder: 400 $

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Paper Break Cost calculator, set production impact share to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.