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Add up everything an unplanned stop costs, separate what grows with the stop’s length from what is fixed per event, and see how much a preventive and predictive maintenance program returns per year.
Pre-sizing and estimating tool: the results do not replace a design, calculation, or report signed by a qualified professional, nor verification against the applicable standards.
Technical responsibility. This calculator is under verification. The reference values and examples are hypothetical, to illustrate the calculation, and are not technical references. The user is responsible for the data entered, the choice of parameters, and the use of the results, and must validate them with a qualified professional before any decision, purchase, application, or construction work.
Costs that grow with duration, and fixed costs per event.
The fixed part (repair, restart, scrap, fines) weighs more in short stops.
The program cost goes in the proposal column.
Drag the controls to simulate data different from what you entered (from 30% less to 30% more) and watch the result change instantly.
Cost of a stoppage, cost per hour and annual cost for different durations, with the other data entered.
The calculation done in steps, with the values you entered.
Total cost for stoppages of 1 to 7 days, with the area and loss entered; the highlighted bar is your duration.
Total cost for losses of 0.1% to 1% per day of delay; the point is your calculation.
Cash flow: investment in year 0 and annual savings for each stoppage avoided, adjusted by the entered increase and discounted at the TMA.
Improvement cash flow: investment in year 0 and annual savings adjusted by the entered increase, discounted at the minimum attractive rate of return (TMA).
The calculation memo gathers this page's inputs, results, equations, assumptions, and references, with fields for project, responsible person, and review. The full report also includes the charts and interpretations, in color. In the print window, choose Save as PDF.
The page has two parts. The first calculates the real cost of idle time of the line or equipment: production, margin, idle staff, energy, scrap, repair, fines and the effect of a prevention program, with return on investment. The second, Top-up: cost in the harvest window, calculates the cost of a breakdown during harvest from the delayed area, the yield loss per day of delay and the daily cost of downtime, plus the return on preventive maintenance or a spare machine.
Use the first part for the plant and the second for the farm operation. The values in each part are independent.
Hypothetical values, to understand the calculation. They are not technical or market references.
Harvest top-up: 300 ha delayed, expected yield of 65 bags/ha, bag at R$ 130, loss of 0.5% per day of delay, 2 days of stoppage and daily downtime cost of R$ 3,000.
Bags lost: 300 × 65 × 0.5% × 2 = 195 sc. Cost of the loss: 195 × R$ 130 = R$ 25,350. Fixed cost of downtime: 2 × R$ 3,000 = R$ 6,000. Total cost: R$ 31,350, or R$ 15,675 per day of downtime.
If preventive maintenance costs R$ 15,000 and avoids 1 stoppage per year, first-year savings are R$ 31,350. With a TMA of 12% per year and a 3% annual increase in the cost of a stoppage, the payback is about 0.5 years.
Add the contribution margin that will not be recovered, the extra cost to recover the rest, the idle labor and the energy used while stopped. Then add the fixed costs per event: repair, restart, scrap and fines.
Because a stoppage does not only remove revenue: it also stops spending on raw materials and direct energy. What is lost is the contribution margin, and only the part that is not recovered later.
It depends on your history. The DOE O&M guide cites reductions of 35% to 45% in downtime and 70% to 75% in breakdowns with mature predictive programs. Use numbers from your own equipment.
Important notice: the Agrocalcs tools make estimates and preliminary sizing based on the data entered and on published engineering methods. They do not replace a design, a calculation report or a report signed by a qualified professional (CREA/ART), nor verification against the applicable technical standards and legislation, such as the Regulatory Standards of the Ministry of Labor. Material and fuel properties vary: check with the manufacturer or with analyses of your process before deciding. By using the site, you agree to the Terms of Use.
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