Resources
How to measure black belt time
Black belt time is the time a belt runs without material. Use a clear operating period and review the events with the site team.
Set the operating period
Record the hours the plant is scheduled to produce. Exclude planned breaks, shift changes and maintenance windows.
Confirm the period with the people who run the shift before comparing one day with another.
Keep missing data separate
A camera outage, blocked view or network gap produces no data. Record that period as unknown rather than black belt time.
Report unknown time beside the result so the team can judge whether the coverage is sufficient.
Review the cause
A gap in material can follow a late truck, blocked chute, oversize event or deliberate hold. The response depends on the cause.
Compare selected events with video and the team's shift notes before using the record for operating decisions.
Estimate the production opportunity
Multiply additional productive minutes by sustained hourly throughput and operating days. Use the plant's normal running rate rather than nameplate capacity.
For a financial estimate, apply the sellable share and incremental contribution margin. Keep plant capacity, operating conditions and demand in the final review.
Talk to our team
Tell us which belt, crusher or truck circuit you want to measure.
Talk to our teamRelated pages
- Conveyor monitoring and empty belt time
What material presence on the belt can and cannot show.
- Crusher feed monitoring
Review feed interruptions, oversize events and crusher downtime.
- Production opportunity calculator
Put your own figures against recovered running time.