Rework Cost Calculator
Cost the extra labour, material and overhead spent making units good.
What this calculator does
Per-unit rework cost built from hours, material and overhead, multiplied by the units reworked, with any one-off cost added.
Inputs and what they mean
- Currency
- — Amounts are shown in the currency you pick. No exchange rate is applied..
- Units reworked
- — number value.
- Rework labour hours per unit
- — number value.
- Labour cost per hour
- — number value.
- Replacement material per unit (optional)
- — Optional component. Leave at 0 to exclude it from the result..
- Overhead applied per reworked unit (optional)
- — Optional component. Leave at 0 to exclude it from the result..
- Fixed rework cost (optional)
- — Optional component. Leave at 0 to exclude it from the result. Inspection, handling or anything the rework run costs once..
How to use it
- Enter your own figures — the calculator never fills in a rate, price or benchmark for you.
- Press Calculate to see the result.
- Read the formula, variables, assumptions and source below the result before you rely on it.
Formula
Rework cost = Units reworked × ((Rework hours per unit × Labour rate) + Material per unit + Overhead per unit) + Fixed rework cost
Worked example
60 units put back through the line
Rework hours at your own labour cost, with any replacement material and overhead added.
Reading the result
The headline figure is the main answer. Any breakdown underneath shows the parts that make it up, so you can check the working and see what changes when you adjust an input.
Limitations and assumptions
Results depend entirely on the figures you enter and are rounded for display. They are for general information and education, not professional advice.
Reference: American Society for Quality — Cost of quality — prevention, appraisal and failure costs
Last reviewed:
Common questions
Formula, source and verification
The extra labour, material and overhead spent making defective units good, plus anything the rework run costs once.
The question it answers: What is the scrap, the rework and the yield loss on this line actually costing us?
The formula
Rework cost = Units reworked × ((Rework hours per unit × Labour rate) + Material per unit + Overhead per unit) + Fixed rework cost
- n — Units reworked
- (count). Units put back through.
- h — Rework hours per unit
- (hour). Extra labour each unit needs.
- r — Labour rate
- (currency). The user's own cost per hour.
- m — Material per unit
- (currency). Optional. Replacement material.
- o — Overhead per unit
- (currency). Optional. Overhead applied to rework.
- F — Fixed rework cost
- (currency). Optional. Cost the rework run carries once.
Units: Currency; hours; counts.
What kind of calculation this is
Deterministic formula. The same inputs always give the same answer. The maths is fixed and does not depend on judgement.
Method
Per-unit rework cost built from hours, material and overhead, multiplied by the units reworked, with any one-off cost added.
Assumptions built into the result
- Industry: Every cost, rate and standard is the figure the user entered, in the currency they chose; no exchange rate is applied.
- Mathematical: Costs and output cover the same period or the same job.
Figures this calculator will never guess for you
- No industry average, benchmark or target cost is supplied.
- No standard rate, wage or material price is assumed on the user's behalf.
- Optional components are excluded from the result when left at zero.
- No acceptable rework level is implied.
Limitations
- Arithmetic over the figures entered — it cannot tell whether the costs, standards or allowances behind them are right.
- A target cost, an industry benchmark and the organisation's own standard are different things; only the figures entered are used.
- Direct rework cost only; delay, expediting and lost goodwill are not included unless entered as a fixed cost.
Source and version
- Standard or reference
- Cost of quality — internal failure cost — ASQ (ASQ cost of quality — scrap, rework and yield loss are internal failure costs: the cost already invested in output that cannot be sold as it is, less anything recovered.)
- Published source
- American Society for Quality — Quality resources
- Formula version
- Version 1
- Verification
- Reviewed against the cited source on
- How much weight the source carries
- Standards or government
- Applies to
- Currency
- Amounts stay in the currency you choose; no exchange rate is applied.
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