Staffing

Crew Utilization Rate & Idle Capacity Cost

Find your crew's real utilization rate and what idle, non-billable hours actually cost you every year.

Actual billable hourshours / year, per workerAvailable hourshours / year, per worker (paid time available)Loaded labor rate$ / hour, per workerCrew sizeworkers

Idle capacity cost$32,500 / year

Utilization75.0%

Idle hours per worker500 hrs

How we got here

Utilization = actual / available = 1500 / 2000 = 75.0%
Idle hours = available - actual = 2000 - 1500 = 500
Idle cost = idle hours × rate × crew size = 500 × $32.5 × 2 = $32,500

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Next Decision

Based on your results, these related decisions are available.

Staffing Trigger PointSee whether your current utilization has crossed the point where hiring beats running hot.

Want to Learn More?

VisualCrew Utilization: The Idle Capacity CostA crew billing 1,500 of 2,000 available hours is running at 75% utilization, which sounds fine until it is priced: 500 idle hours per worker at a $32.50 loaded rate is $32,500 a year, paid whether or not a single job used it.

Methodology

Formula: utilization = actual billable hours / available hours. Idle hours = available - actual (floored at zero). Idle cost = idle hours × loaded rate × crew size.

Assumption: available hours defaults to 2000 per worker per year, a rough estimate of standard work hours minus a typical PTO/holiday allowance. Editable, not a legal standard.

Limitation: this measures idle paid time, not lost sales opportunity from turning away work. If billable hours exceed available hours (overtime), idle cost is zero and the result is flagged "overbooked" rather than showing a negative cost.