Operator tools

Downtime cost calculator

Put a number on unplanned downtime — per hour, per event, per month, and per year — then see what cutting it is worth. Want the price side instead? Run the breakeven calculator.

Your downtime inputs

Lost output

Value of lost output per hour$/hrUse lost gross margin per hour if you know it. Lost revenue per hour works, but it counts costs you don't actually incur while down — the usual critique of downtime math.

Workers idledpeoplePeople still on the clock while the line or lease is down.Loaded hourly wage$/hrWage plus burden (taxes, benefits, insurance).Other fixed cost per hour$/hrEnergy, lease, depreciation, and overhead that keeps accruing while you're down.Restart / scrap per event$/eventOne-time cost each time you come back up: scrap, purge, callouts, expedited parts.Downtime events per montheventsUnplanned stops only. Planned maintenance doesn't belong here.Average hours per eventhoursDetection to full production, including travel and diagnosis.

Idle labor $270/hr · 4 events × 3 hrs = 144 hrs down per year

What it costs you

Cost per hour

$5,570

Cost per event

$18,210

3 hrs + restart

Cost per month

$72,840

4 events

Cost per year

$874,080

Assumes 4 unplanned events a month at 3 hours each (144 hours a year), valuing lost output at $5,000/hr.

Where the hourly cost comes from

Lost output$5,000/hr90%
Idle labor$270/hr5%
Fixed overhead$300/hr5%

Reduce unplanned downtime by 30%10%70%

Annual savings

$262,224

43 production hours back per year. Predictive maintenance and real-time monitoring typically cut unplanned downtime 20–50%.

You're losing $874,080 a year to downtime you can't see coming. Heartland's sensors and AI dashboard flag failures before they happen and notify your team when they do — cutting downtime by just 30% is worth $262,224 a year.

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See how it works: predictive maintenance

Estimates for informational purposes only.