Prep Shift Labor Load Calculator

Checks whether today's prep list fits the preppers and hours on the schedule, and how many people the list really needs, for restaurant and commissary kitchens.

Your estimate

Labor hours the list needs, with buffer...

Shift utilization...

Slack after the list (negative means it runs over)...

Preppers needed to finish within the shift...

Estimates only. Assumptions are listed below, and you can change every input.

A prep list can look reasonable on paper and still be impossible to finish before service. The usual reason is that the list was written from what needs doing, not from how many hands and hours are on the schedule. Cooks then skip items, rush, or stay late. This calculator compares the minutes on the list with the minutes actually available and tells you, before the shift starts, whether it fits.

You enter the total estimated minutes for every task on the list, how many preppers are scheduled, the shift length and how much of each person's shift goes to breaks, setup, cleanup and handoff. A buffer percentage covers interruptions, since nobody preps at full speed for six hours straight. Available minutes are the preppers times their usable minutes; required minutes are the list plus the buffer. The tool shows utilization, the slack or shortfall in minutes and the smallest number of preppers who could finish the list within the shift.

How to use this tool

Put an estimated time next to every task on today's prep sheet and add them up.
Enter the preppers scheduled, their shift length and the non-prep time each one loses.
Read utilization and slack; if slack is negative, cut tasks, add a person or start earlier.

What the math assumes

Every prepper is treated as equally fast; the minutes on the list are whatever you estimate them to be.
Non-prep minutes are subtracted from each person's shift before anything else, so a shift shorter than the non-prep time gives zero usable minutes.
The buffer is applied as a percentage on top of the total list minutes, not task by task.
Preppers needed is the required minutes divided by one person's usable minutes, rounded up; it ignores tasks that cannot be split between people.
No allowance is made for tasks that must run in sequence, such as a stock that has to simmer before it can be strained.

Frequently asked questions

What shift utilization should a prep kitchen aim for?

That depends on your kitchen, and this tool does not assume a number. Anything over 100 percent means the list does not fit as written. Most kitchens want room below that for the unplanned, and the buffer input is where to express it.

How do I estimate the minutes for each prep task?

Time a few tasks over a week and write the average on the recipe card or prep sheet. Estimates get better quickly once they are written down and compared with what actually happened.

Can I run this for a single station instead of the whole kitchen?

Yes. Enter that station's tasks and the people assigned to it. Running it per station shows which station is overloaded when the kitchen total looks fine.

Link to this toolhttps://prepdeckr.com/tools/prep-shift-labor-load/

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