Calculate pieces per hour from good output and net work time or cycle time, then estimate target quantity, run time, cycle speed, and 8-hour output.

Production estimate. Use good pieces and a consistent time basis; parallel stations must operate independently.

Breaks and downtime

Blank means zero. Subtracted only in completed-output mode.

Pieces Per Hour Formula

The calculator uses four formulas, one for each solve mode.

Find PPH (from a finished run):

PPH = Good Pieces / (Elapsed Hours − Downtime Minutes / 60)

Cycle time (from machine or station data):

PPH = 3600 × Good Pieces per Cycle × Stations × (Productive Time % / 100) / Cycle Time in Seconds

Expected output (from total rate and available run time):

Expected Pieces = Total Rate × Run Time in Hours

Plan target (time needed to hit a target):

Time (hr) = Target Good Pieces / Total Rate
  • PPH – pieces per hour
  • Total Pieces – good pieces produced (scrap excluded)
  • Hours Worked – elapsed time minus entered breaks or downtime, expressed in hours
  • Pieces per Cycle – good pieces from one cycle of one station
  • Cycle Time – measured time for one station to complete a cycle (Lean Enterprise Institute); this differs from the aggregate output interval of parallel stations
  • Stations – identical independent stations running at the stated cycle time
  • Productive Time – a user-entered percentage greater than zero and up to 100, divided by 100 in the cycle formula; it is not an industry benchmark
  • Total Rate – combined good pieces per hour, already including all stations; do not multiply it by station count again

Use good pieces for customer-usable output. Counting scrap gives a gross rate instead. Cycle mode assumes identical stations run independently. Use the same time basis for a total rate and its output or time projection, and count each time loss once.

Reference Tables

Quick conversions for one station making one good piece per cycle at 100% productive time. The eight-hour column assumes eight run hours on the same basis, without added breaks:

Cycle Time Pieces / Hour Pieces / 8-hr Shift
2 sec1,80014,400
5 sec7205,760
15 sec2401,920
30 sec120960
1 min60480
2 min30240
5 min1296

These productive-time percentages are hypothetical planning illustrations, not industry benchmarks or recommended defaults. Use your own observed time basis:

Illustration Productive Time
Example A100%
Example B90%
Example C75%
Example D50%

Example

A line ran from 7:00 AM to 3:30 PM with a 30-minute lunch and produced 1,920 good units. Worked time is 8 hours.

PPH = 1,920 ÷ 8 = 240 units/hr, or 4 units per minute, or 15 seconds per unit.

To produce 3,000 more units at the same rate: 3,000 ÷ 240 = 12.5 hours. Adding a second identical station cuts that to 6.25 hours.

FAQ

Should I use good pieces or total pieces? Use good pieces if you care about throughput that customers actually receive. Use total pieces if you are measuring raw machine output.

Do I subtract breaks from time worked? Yes, if the line is stopped during breaks. The clock-time mode handles this with the break field.

Why does my cycle-time PPH look higher than my actual PPH? At 100% productive time, cycle mode assumes continuous production. Changeovers and stops may reduce actual output. Apply an observed productive-time percentage only for losses not already included in the cycle time or run-time basis; do not subtract the same loss twice.