# Suspect Lot Sorting and Containment Cost Calculator

> Source: https://netray.co/tools/suspect-lot-sorting-containment-cost-calculator
> Publisher: Netray (netray.co), AI and integration engineering for ERP and manufacturing systems.
> Section: Free Tools

## Short answer

Cost and time to 100 percent sort a suspect lot, including defects found, defects likely missed and cost per piece.

## Category

quality

## Audience

- Quality manager
- Quality engineer
- Supplier quality

## Tool

**Kind:** calculator

**Currency:** $

**Inputs:**

#### Suspect quantity

**Key:** lot_qty

**Type:** number

**Default:** 8000

**Min:** 1

**Step:** 100

**Unit:** pcs

**Help:** Everything on hold: WIP, stock, and any shipped quantity you must recall and sort.

#### Sort rate per inspector

**Key:** sort_rate

**Type:** number

**Default:** 120

**Min:** 1

**Step:** 5

**Unit:** pcs/hr

**Help:** Measured rate for this specific check, not a guess. Visual checks and gauging differ widely.

#### Inspectors assigned

**Key:** inspectors

**Type:** slider

**Default:** 4

**Min:** 1

**Max:** 20

**Step:** 1

**Unit:** people

#### Fully loaded labor rate

**Key:** labor_rate

**Type:** number

**Default:** 38

**Min:** 0

**Step:** 1

**Unit:** $/hr

**Help:** Use the cost of the inspectors doing the sort, or the third party sort service hourly rate.

#### Expected defect rate in lot

**Key:** defect_pct

**Type:** number

**Default:** 2.5

**Min:** 0

**Max:** 100

**Step:** 0.1

**Unit:** %

**Help:** From the initial sample that triggered the hold.

#### Cost of each defective part

**Key:** part_cost

**Type:** number

**Default:** 14.5

**Min:** 0

**Step:** 0.5

**Unit:** $

**Help:** Value written off when a defective piece is scrapped.

#### Sort effectiveness

**Key:** eff

**Type:** select

**Default:** 0.9

**Options:**

##### 80% (fatigue, subtle defect)

**Value:** 0.8

##### 90% (typical visual)

**Value:** 0.9

##### 95% (gauged or fixtured)

**Value:** 0.95

##### 99% (automated)

**Value:** 0.99

**Help:** Share of real defects that a human sort actually catches.

**Outputs:**

#### Total labor hours

**Key:** labor_hours

**Expr:** lot_qty / sort_rate

**Format:** hours

#### Elapsed time to clear the lot

**Key:** elapsed

**Expr:** lot_qty / (sort_rate * inspectors)

**Format:** hours

**Description:** Calendar pressure: how long the lot stays on hold.

#### Sorting labor cost

**Key:** labor_cost

**Expr:** labor_hours * labor_rate

**Format:** currency

#### Defects actually in lot

**Key:** defects

**Expr:** lot_qty * defect_pct / 100

**Format:** integer

#### Defects found by sort

**Key:** found

**Expr:** defects * eff

**Format:** integer

#### Defects likely missed

**Key:** missed

**Expr:** defects * (1 - eff)

**Format:** integer

**Description:** These can still reach the customer. This is why a sort is containment, not a fix.

#### Scrap cost of defects found

**Key:** scrap_cost

**Expr:** found * part_cost

**Format:** currency

#### Total containment cost

**Key:** total

**Expr:** labor_cost + scrap_cost

**Format:** currency

**Primary:** true

#### Cost per piece sorted

**Key:** per_pc

**Expr:** total / lot_qty

**Format:** currency

**Primary:** true

**Chart:**

#### Elapsed hours to clear the lot vs inspectors assigned

**Type:** line

**X:** inspectors

**From:** 1

**To:** 20

**Steps:** 20

**Series:**

- elapsed

**Disclaimer:** Planning estimate. Replace sort rate and effectiveness with values measured on the actual lot and defect type.

## Content

**Intro:** When a lot goes on hold, the first question from operations is how long and how much a 100 percent sort will cost. This calculator turns sort rate, headcount and defect rate into labor cost, elapsed time and the number of defects a human sort will probably miss.

**Sections:**

#### How to use it

**Body:** Enter the whole suspect population, including stock and any shipped quantity you must recall. Use a sort rate you have timed on this characteristic. Pick the sort effectiveness that matches the defect: a gauged dimension is far more reliable than a cosmetic judgment at the end of a shift. The slider shows how adding inspectors shortens the hold, which is the number production usually cares about most.

#### The arithmetic

**Body:** Labor hours equal quantity divided by pieces per hour. Elapsed time divides that by the inspectors working in parallel. Defects in the lot are quantity times defect rate. Found defects are defects times effectiveness, and the remainder is the escape risk. Total cost is labor plus the scrap value of what you find. Rework labor and replacement production are not included, so add them if you plan to repair rather than scrap.

**Bullets:**

- Labor hours = quantity / sort rate
- Elapsed = labor hours / inspectors
- Missed defects = defects x (1 - effectiveness)
- Total = labor + scrap of found defects

#### How to read the result

**Body:** If missed defects are not close to zero, a single sort does not give you a clean lot. Many customers expect a second pass or an independent verification sample on sorted material, and some quality agreements require it. Compare the cost per piece with the part cost: when sorting costs a large fraction of the piece price, ask whether scrapping the whole lot or fixing the process first is cheaper.

#### Common mistakes

**Body:** Using the standard cycle time instead of a timed sort rate, forgetting that sorters tire and rates drop in the second half of a shift, and counting only labor while ignoring the scrap and the line disruption. Another frequent error is treating the sort as the corrective action. Record it as containment in the NCR or CAPA and keep the root cause work separate.

**Cta:** If containment cost data sits across ERP inspection, labor and scrap transactions, we can help pull it into one view per nonconformance so you do not rebuild this by hand each time.

**Faq:**

#### Is sorting a permanent fix?

**Answer:** No. Sorting is containment: it removes known bad parts but does not stop new ones. Pair it with a root cause investigation and a corrective action, and plan to end the sort once the fix is verified.

#### What sort effectiveness should I assume?

**Answer:** Visual inspection of subtle defects is often 80 to 90 percent effective at best. Gauging, fixtures or automated vision can be higher. Measure it by seeding known defects into a test sample when the stakes are high.

#### Should shipped product be included?

**Answer:** Yes, if it may carry the defect. Include quantity at the customer, in transit and in distribution. The cost of sorting at the customer site is usually higher than in your plant.

#### Does the calculator include rework?

**Answer:** No. It prices a sort with scrap of what is found. If you will repair defects, use the rework versus scrap tool to compare the two dispositions for the found quantity.

## Search terms

containment cost calculator, 100 percent sort cost, suspect lot sorting cost, sort inspection labor cost, containment plan cost, cost of sorting nonconforming parts, inspection sort rate calculator, quality hold cost

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