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PlantBench / Optical sorter ROI calculator

Optical sorter ROI calculator

Sorters are the labor math that usually works, plus a yield argument that is easy to get backwards. This page separates the two.

Labor is why most sorters get bought

A manual inspection belt is person-hours. The default is a large grading crew, cut in half, on both shifts. That is a strong assumption. Optical sorters still need someone upstream and someone watching ejectors.

If the customer or the audit still requires eyes on the belt, use a smaller reduction. Fifty percent is only honest if graders actually leave the line.

Yield can go either way

A good sorter pulls defect and also pulls some good product. Net saleable pounds rise if hand graders were throwing good product away. They fall if the machine is tighter than your current spec.

The default assumes you currently over-cull. If the machine will tighten spec and you will sell fewer pounds of a better grade, set yield improvement to zero and raise product value to the premium. Doing both double-counts.

Air is electricity

Cameras and vibrators are a small load. Compressed air is the one plants forget, and it shows up on the compressor. The default steps electricity up modestly. If you are buying a compressor, put it in capital, and do not also invent a huge kWh figure for a compressor you already own.

Claims

One avoided rejected load can dwarf the labor savings, and it is the easiest number to exaggerate. If you put a claim in yield or in product value, be able to name the loads. Capital at the default is a single-lane placeholder. Lanes, platforms, and a reject takeaway change it quickly.

Run the numbers

Your plant

These stay put when you switch equipment. Seasonal lines often run 30–40 weeks; year-round plants run closer to 50. Edit to match your calendar.

Choose a state to fill industrial averages for power, gas, and a production wage. Every figure stays editable.

lb

Annual throughput 4,800,000 lb. Operating days 240.

$/hr
%

Loaded wage $25.74 per hour.

$/lb

Price of the recovered pounds, not a premium and a yield gain for the same upgrade.

$/kWh

Typical industrial rate. Replace it with your local rate.

$/therm

Rough assumptions

Sorter / optical

Inspection-belt labor, cut hard. Yield assumes you currently throw good product away.

Whole crew on this step. Four people for 8 hours is 32.

%
%

Percent of input weight lost at this step today.

pts

Points of input weight you expect to sell instead of lose.

kWh

kWh per 1,000 lb of throughput.

kWh

43,200 kWh/year, about $3,672 .

therms

Therms per 1,000 lb. Use 0 if this step has no gas.

therms

0 therms/year, about $0 .

$

Optional. Leave blank to hide payback. Fold installation into this number if you want it counted.

Annual result

$284,256

Total annual savings, before capital.

Payback
10 months
Simple ROI
118%
5-year net
$1,181,280
Largest term
Labor
Annual savings breakdown
Labor saved9,600 hours$247,104
Yield gain72,000 lb$39,600
Energy deltaExtra operating cost-$2,448
  • Energy is a net new cost on these assumptions, so it reduces annual savings.

Sensitivity

Payback and five-year net at half, full, and one-and-a-half times the labor reduction and yield improvement
MeasureConservativeBaseAggressive
Payback1.7 years10 months7 months
5-year net$464,520$1,181,280$1,898,040

Sensitivity only — edit the main inputs for a full recalculation.

These figures are rough estimates for discussion, not a quote, bid, or engineering study. Defaults are industry-style assumptions and will not match your plant until you edit them. The model ignores maintenance, installation, freight, water, wastewater, depreciation, taxes, incentives, and the time value of money. Yield math treats improvement as extra saleable pounds of input weight, which is the wrong model for some drying and grading decisions. Confirm every assumption before a capex meeting.

Annual savings

$284,256

Details

Questions

Is a 50% labor cut realistic?

Only if those people come off the belt. If two graders stay for the customer, lower the percentage and see if the case still stands.

Color, laser, or camera?

The sheet does not care which sensor it is. It cares about hours removed and about false rejects. Those are the fields.

Where does the compressor go?

In capital if you have to buy one. In the kWh fields if you will run a compressor you already have harder than you do today.

Is this a food-safety validation?

No. The PDF is an internal capex summary. It will not satisfy a customer audit by itself.

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