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Suspect Lot Sorting and Containment Cost Calculator

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.

Your numbers

Suspect quantity

pcs

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

Sort rate per inspector

pcs/hr

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

Inspectors assigned

4 people

Fully loaded labor rate

$/hr

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

Expected defect rate in lot

From the initial sample that triggered the hold.

Cost of each defective part

Value written off when a defective piece is scrapped.

Sort effectiveness

Share of real defects that a human sort actually catches.

Your results

Total containment cost

$5,143

Cost per piece sorted

Total labor hours

67 hrs

Elapsed time to clear the lot

17 hrs

Calendar pressure: how long the lot stays on hold.

Sorting labor cost

$2,533

Defects actually in lot

200

Defects found by sort

180

Defects likely missed

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

Scrap cost of defects found

$2,610

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

Save results:

Elapsed hours to clear the lot vs inspectors assigned

Sweeps Inspectors assigned from 1 to 20, holding your other inputs fixed.

Containment cost report from your ERP data

Optional: we can review how to pull sort labor, scrap and hold quantities into one report per NCR.

Optional. The tool and every export work without this. No spam.

How to use it

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

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.

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

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

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is sorting a permanent fix?

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?

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?

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?

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.

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.

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