Plant Downtime Cost Calculator
Quickly estimate the hourly cost of plant sitting idle during a construction delay. Enter your downtime window, select plant, adjust rates, and see an estimated total before optionally emailing yourself a copy.
Estimated Plant Downtime Cost
Estimated plant downtime cost: —
- Start time
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- End time
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- Downtime
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| Plant item | Qty | Rate | Downtime | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Add plant items to see a breakdown. | ||||
| Total | — | |||
This is a general estimate based only on the information entered. Default rates are editable examples and do not confirm entitlement, approval, or recoverability under any contract.
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Keep plant records, site diary notes, photos, dockets, and delay correspondence with the delay event.
What is plant downtime cost?
Plant downtime cost is the estimated cost of machinery or equipment sitting idle while planned construction work is delayed. This calculator uses hourly downtime rates only — it does not apply day rates, standby charges, or contract-specific entitlements.
When should you calculate plant downtime?
Useful times to estimate idle plant cost include:
- Access delays or late deliveries holding up plant on site
- Inspections, hold points, or client directions stopping work
- Weather disruption affecting planned plant use
- Design issues or incomplete predecessor works
What records support plant downtime costs?
Contemporaneous records often include:
- Plant records and hire or internal rate sheets
- Site diary entries and photos
- Delay notices and correspondence
- Delivery dockets and dayworks records
How DelaySolve helps
DelaySolve helps subcontractors track delays, labour, plant, evidence, costs, and dayworks in one place — so site records stay linked from the field through to commercial follow-up.
Track plant downtime with your delay records
Log delays on site, attach evidence, cost labour and plant, and keep records ready for dayworks and commercial follow-up.