GIFSQ Tools · Module 18 — Manufacturing, Costing & Supply Chain · Tool 359 of 500
Work out how many people a production run needs: from the units to make, the standard minutes per unit, and the minutes in a shift — total labour minutes, labour hours, and the workers to roster.
Try sample values — fills the form with the worked example below.
–
Total labour (min)
–
Workers needed
–
Labour hours
Equation: Total labour minutes = units × standard minutes per unit. Workers needed = ceil(total labour minutes ÷ minutes per worker per shift). Labour hours = total labour minutes ÷ 60.
Method: Labour loading from the standard time: the standard minutes per unit (measured by time study or from the method sheet) multiplied by the run size gives the total labour content, which is divided by the productive minutes in a shift and rounded up to whole people.
Assumptions: the standard time is the same for every unit; the shift minutes are productive minutes (breaks already taken out); one worker does one unit at a time.
Limitations: the tool counts heads, not skills — it does not check that the rostered workers are trained for the task, and it does not include supervision, relief cover or absence.
Rounding: total minutes as a whole number; workers as a whole number (rounded up); labour hours to 2 decimal places; intermediates unrounded.
This is a calculation aid, not a laboratory report — confirm against your accredited method before citing a value.
Method: Labour loading from the standard time: the standard minutes per unit (measured by time study or from the method sheet) multiplied by the run size gives the total labour content, which is divided by the productive minutes in a shift and rounded up to whole people.
Assumptions: the standard time is the same for every unit; the shift minutes are productive minutes (breaks already taken out); one worker does one unit at a time.
Limitations: the tool counts heads, not skills — it does not check that the rostered workers are trained for the task, and it does not include supervision, relief cover or absence.
Rounding: total minutes as a whole number; workers as a whole number (rounded up); labour hours to 2 decimal places; intermediates unrounded.
This is a calculation aid, not a laboratory report — confirm against your accredited method before citing a value.
Worked example: 2,000 units at 3 minutes each, 480-minute shift: total labour = 6,000 min; workers = ceil(6,000 ÷ 480) = 13; labour hours = 100.00 h.
Enter values above to see results.
Rounding up to 13 workers leaves 240 spare minutes in the shift — use it for cleaning and changeover, not for starting another order. Tool 359 of 500 — GIFSQ
