ROI Calculator

Set the sliders to match your operation. Every number is conservative and anchored in PMMI's 2025 packaging industry research.

"Operator training is the biggest impact we have in terms of downtime."
— End user, PMMI Vision 2030 (2025). PMMI found 74% of packaging manufacturers consider knowledge transfer a significant problem, and 59% cite training time vs. production time as their #1 barrier.

Your operation

Number of machines on the floor 10
Unplanned downtime hours per month 30 hrs/mo
Across all machines combined. Typical small-to-mid packaging ops: 20–80 hrs/month total.
Daily output value (revenue when line runs) $17,500
Dollar value of a normal day's production output.
Production hours per day 12 hrs
8 = single shift  ·  12 = 1.5 shifts  ·  16 = two shifts  ·  24 = continuous.
True cost of one downtime hour: $2,917/hr (revenue lost + idle labor + scrap, using the Oxmaint/ABB 2.0× multiplier)

OEM on-site visits

OEM on-site visits per year 1
Visits where a technician travels to your site. Remote/phone support isn't counted here.
Average all-in cost per visit $5,000
Typical: $120–$200/hr × 4–8 hrs, plus travel. Service contracts ($5K–$10K/yr for 2 visits) divide out similarly.

Mechanic productivity

How much time do your mechanics spend searching for documentation, calling OEMs, or hunting for tribal knowledge instead of actually fixing the line?

Number of mechanics 1
Maintenance/mechanic team size on the floor.
Fully-loaded mechanic hourly wage $25/hr
Wage + benefits + taxes. US packaging mechanics typically $25–$45/hr fully loaded.
Hours/week mechanic spends searching 2.5 hrs/wk
Time hunting for SOPs, manuals, or escalating to OEMs. Even 2–3 hrs/week per mechanic adds up.

Training & ramp-up

New operators hired per year 5
PMMI 2025: 62% of packaging operators have less than 2 years' experience. Typical turnover drives 1–5 new hires/year for small-mid ops.
Fully-loaded operator hourly wage $15/hr
Wage + benefits + taxes. US packaging operators typically $14–$22/hr fully loaded.
Current ramp-up period 45 days
Industry average: 60–90 days at reduced productivity. Complex lines can run longer.

Your Automated Pack plan

Line — 1–10 machines
$14,900/yr annual prepaid · save $2,980 vs month-to-month
Effective rate: $124.17/machine/month
Annual prepaid (pay 10, get 12)
17% savings vs month-to-month
Content Engagement
Payback Period
—months
Time for savings to exceed total year-one investment
Year-One ROI
—
Savings vs. total investment (platform + content)
Annual Savings Breakdown
Downtime recovered
36 addressable hrs × $2,917/hr × 40%
$42,000
OEM visits avoided
35% of 1 visit eliminated
$1,750
Mechanic productivity
1 mechanic, 50% of search time recovered
$1,625
Faster new-hire ramp
5 hires, 40% faster to full output
$5,400
Total annual savings
$50,775
Year-One Investment

Calculating…

Year 2+ ROI
—
return on platform spend
Only the platform fee recurs — content is a one-time investment. This is your annual return every year after year one.
Start a 30-day pilot  →

Methodology — Conservative and PMMI-anchored. Hourly downtime cost: (daily revenue ÷ production hours) × 2.0 multiplier for idle labor, scrap, and hidden costs (Oxmaint / ABB methodology). Addressable share: 10% of total unplanned downtime — the portion genuinely answerable by an AI knowledge system (excluding parts availability, mechanical failures requiring physical intervention, and process-engineering decisions). Industry research attributes 23% of downtime to human error + knowledge gaps combined (Plant Engineering 2021, ABB Value of Reliability 2024); we apply a conservative fraction of that. Recovery rate: 40% of addressable downtime in year one. OEM savings: 35% visit volume reduction. Mechanic productivity: mechanics × hours/week searching × wage × 52 weeks × 50% time recovered with PackAssist. Ramp savings: wage × 8 hrs/day × ramp days × 50% productivity drag × 40% acceleration. Content investment: scoped to your machine count via Assisted (you provide materials) or Visual Knowledge Capture (we film on-site). Platform pricing: per machine, unlimited seats. Annual prepaid: pay 10 months, get 12.

Industry anchors. 74% of packaging manufacturers consider knowledge transfer a significant problem (PMMI, Knowledge Transfer for Machine Operators, 2025). 59% cite training time vs. production time as the #1 barrier to effective operator training (PMMI, Beyond Manuals, 2025). 62% of operators have less than 2 years' experience (PMMI, 2025). 66% of operators prefer scannable QR codes on machinery as their primary access method (PMMI, 2025). This calculator is a decision aid — actual results are validated during the 30-day pilot.