Operations & Labor Calculators

Fully burdened labor rate = Base wage + Payroll taxes (7.65% FICA + state) + Benefits (health, dental, vision — typically 20–30% of base) + Workers' comp (1–8% depending on classification) + Paid time off (10–15% of base) + Training + Overhead allocation. For a $22/hr machinist: $22 base + $1.68 FICA + $5.50 benefits + $1.10 workers' comp + $2.75 PTO = approximately $33–$36/hr burdened. Many shops use 1.35–1.50× as a quick multiplier. The Labor Cost Calculator lets you enter each component individually for a more precise number.

World-class CNC shops target OEE of 85%+, which translates to machine utilization (availability) of 90%+ in conjunction with strong performance and quality scores. In practice, most job shops run 55–70% utilization, and high-mix/low-volume shops often run 45–60% due to frequent setups. Utilization below 50% typically signals either poor scheduling, excessive setup time relative to batch size, or a machine that's oversized for current volume. The Machine Utilization Calculator breaks down where your availability losses are occurring (planned downtime vs. unplanned vs. changeover).

The 2025 manufacturing average is $260,000 per hour across all industries — but that's heavily skewed by automotive and semiconductor. For a typical CNC job shop: machine rate ($50–$150/hr) + idle operator labor ($33–$55/hr burdened × number of operators) + lost revenue (production rate × margin per part) = commonly $200–$800 per downtime hour for a single cell. What most shops miss: overtime recovery (you pay 1.5× to make up lost production), scrap on restart (first parts after a cold start are often rejected), and customer penalty risk. The Downtime Cost Calculator captures all six components.

Cost per part = (Machine rate × Cycle time) + (Operator burdened rate × Cycle time × operators/machine) + (Setup time × Burdened rate ÷ Batch size) + (Tooling cost ÷ Tool life in parts) + Material cost per part. For a 3-minute cycle, $80/hr machine rate, $38/hr burdened operator, 30-minute setup, 25-part batch, $5 tooling per part: ($80 × 3/60) + ($38 × 3/60) + ($38 × 0.5 ÷ 25) + $5 = $4.00 + $1.90 + $0.76 + $5.00 = $11.66 direct cost per part, before material and overhead. Use the Cost per Part Calculator to handle this calculation across any combination of inputs.

Overtime is cheaper than adding a shift when: (1) the additional work is temporary (less than 8–12 weeks), (2) the OT premium (1.5×) is less than the fixed overhead of a new shift (supervisor, utilities, machine idle time on off-shifts), and (3) you don't need additional trained headcount for the long term. Overtime becomes expensive when it becomes structural — operators in chronic OT have higher injury rates, turnover, and quality error rates than those working standard shifts. The Overtime Labor Cost Calculator lets you compare the weekly total cost of OT vs. adding a temporary worker at any wage rate.

UPH = Total good units produced ÷ Total labor hours paid. For a 3-operator cell that produced 480 good parts in an 8-hour shift: UPH = 480 ÷ (3 × 8) = 20 UPH. When comparing UPH across shifts, use good parts only (not total including scrap) and include all labor hours paid (including breaks, meetings, and setup time) — not just run time. This gives you a true productivity metric that accounts for all lost time. The Units per Labor Hour Calculator outputs UPH, labor cost per unit, and a trend comparison for multiple shifts.