The Downtime Cost Calculator
See what unplanned downtime is really costing your plant — backed by real research, not guesswork.
What unplanned downtime now costs the world's largest manufacturers every year — 11% of revenue, up from 8% in 2019–2020.
Siemens, The True Cost of an Hour's Downtime (2024)Downtime reduction achieved with a structured autonomous-maintenance program in a published, peer-reviewed case study.
Kose et al., Int'l Journal of Lean Six Sigma (2023)// Run the Numbers
Methodology
Estimate = (lines affected) × (avg. downtime hours per line per month) × (cost per hour) × 12 months. This is a directional estimate based on the numbers you enter — it does not account for cascading line-starvation effects, ramp-up/ramp-down losses, scrap or quality costs, or contractual penalties. Use your own plant data for the most accurate result.
Sources
- Ribeiro, Godina, Pimentel, Silva & Matias, "Implementing TPM supported by 5S to improve the availability of an automotive production line," Procedia Manufacturing 38, 1574–1581 (2019) — doi.org/10.1016/j.promfg.2020.01.128
- Kose, Muftuoglu, Cevikcan & Durmusoglu, "Axiomatic design for lean autonomous maintenance system," International Journal of Lean Six Sigma 14(3), 555–587 (2023) — doi.org/10.1108/IJLSS-01-2022-0020
- Gomaa, "Advancing Total Productive Maintenance in Smart Manufacturing," Intelligent and Sustainable Manufacturing (2025) — sciepublish.com/article/pii/572
- Siemens, "The True Cost of an Hour's Downtime" (2024) — blog.siemens.com
- Fluke Reliability, 2025 industrial resilience survey — reliability.fluke.com
Stop guessing. Start preventing.
LineKeep tracks tool wear and equipment lifecycle so replacements happen before failure — not after.
// Common Questions
What counts as unplanned downtime?
Any period a production line or work center stops running unexpectedly — equipment failure, tool wear-out, unplanned changeovers, or missing parts. It excludes planned maintenance, scheduled changeovers, and holidays.
How is the annual cost calculated?
Lines affected × average downtime hours per line per month × your cost per hour × 12 months. See the Methodology section above for the full formula and its limitations.
Why does the cost per hour vary so much between plants?
It depends on the value of what the line produces, contractual penalties for missed shipments, labor still paid during the stoppage, and how many downstream stations starve when one line stops. Automotive and semiconductor lines tend to run far higher per-hour costs than general manufacturing.
How can I reduce unplanned downtime?
Structured Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) — tracking tool wear, scheduling preventive replacement before failure, and giving operators visibility into equipment health — is the most consistently documented approach in published research. See how LineKeep tracks this.