Benchmarks
The operational numbers behind uptime, scrap, and delivery, each compared to where custom molders typically land, so you can see whether it is strong or weak.
The operational numbers behind unit cost, quality, and delivery, measured against custom injection-molding benchmarks. The presses are the constraint here, so press OEE leads.
Of the time the presses are scheduled to run, the share that comes off as a good, saleable part.
Availability x Performance x Quality
68%
uptime, the weakest of the three
82%
cycle speed vs a fair standard
95%
good parts, first time
TEEP (every clock hour, nights and weekends too)
53% OEE across ~two shifts of the clock
Read OEE next to on-time delivery, never alone. A press can post a high OEE running long, easy jobs while the orders customers actually want run late. High OEE on the wrong parts is a trap.
Press OEE
OEEOf the time the presses are scheduled to run, the share that turns into good, saleable parts. It combines three things: how often the presses are actually running, how fast they run, and how many parts come out good.
On-time delivery
The share of orders that ship by the date promised. It keeps OEE honest: a press can post a high OEE running long, easy jobs while the orders customers actually want run late.
Scrap rate, by weight
Of all the plastic you buy, the share that never becomes a good, shipped part, measured by weight. Resin is the biggest cost in the plant, so every point of scrap is wasted money.
Customer reject rate
PPMOf the parts you ship, how many per million reach the customer defective, the scale buyers use to score quality. A range of 500 to 2,000 is normal for general and commodity parts; automotive buyers demand under 50 and medical under 10.
Machine utilization
Of the press time you could sell, the share actually filled with running work. The gap is hidden capacity you already own, no new press needed.
Mold changeover
Time a press sits dead while one mold is swapped for the next. The single biggest lever on uptime here, and the same swap can take two to three times longer on a bad day, so the schedule cannot be trusted.
Sales per employee
Your yearly sales divided by the number of people on the payroll, so it shows how much revenue each person brings in. It follows the floor rather than driving it: if it stays low even after the presses run more, the fix is pricing or which jobs you take, not the crew.
Metric detail
Unplanned downtime
est.~14%
8-15% typical
Share of scheduled press time lost to breakdowns, maintenance, and waiting on people or material. The biggest thing holding availability down.
Mold changeover
est.~75 min
45-90 min typical, best under 30
How long a press sits dead during a mold swap. Worse, the same swap can run two to three times longer on a bad day, so planning cannot rely on it.
Cycle-time efficiency
est.~78%
80-90% typical
How close the real cycle runs to the fastest the part could safely be made. Cooling is most of a cycle, so trimming cool time that runs longer than the part needs frees real capacity.
Lead time, order to ship
est.~4 weeks
2-4 weeks typical
How long a reorder on a tool you already have takes to reach the dock. The best shops ship existing-tool reorders in days.
First-pass yield
FPYlive95%
95-98% typical
Share of parts that pass the first time, with no scrap or rework.
100% minus the 5% scrap rate
Scrap rate, by weight
live5%
3-8% typical
Of all the plastic you buy, the share that never becomes a good, shipped part, measured by weight. This runs higher than a simple count of rejected parts.
Regrind used
est.~20%
10-30% typical
Share of feed that is reground runners and scrap blended back in. Not better or worse on its own; too much on the wrong part degrades it, so it is a spec choice, not a scrap fix.
Sales per employee
live$200K
$180-250K typical
Your yearly sales divided by the number of people on the payroll. It follows the floor rather than driving it: if it stays low even after the presses run more, the fix is pricing or which jobs you take, not the crew.
~$18.0M sales / ~90 employees
Presses per operator
live~1.2
1-3 typical
How many running presses each operator tends at once. Robots and automation on the press push this up, so fewer people run more machines.
26 presses / ~23 operators a shift
Direct labor, share of sales
live~16%
12-20% typical
What you pay the operators and material handlers, as a share of sales. Smaller and steadier than resin or machine time, which is why the presses, not the crew, are what matters here.
Energy cost per pound
est.~$0.08/lb
$0.05-0.10/lb typical
Process power to mold one pound of resin, in dollars. Runs on a Midwest power rate; ABS and glass-filled grades draw more.