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Rolled Throughput Yield vs Overall Yield: The Metric That Exposes Hidden Rework
Key takeaways
- Overall yield = good parts out / parts in.
- Rolled throughput yield (RTY) = product of right-first-time rates at each step.
- Overall yield can be high while RTY is low, rework hides the difference.
- Tracking only overall yield masks the hidden cost of rework loops.
Short answer: Overall yield counts good output regardless of how many times parts went through rework. Rolled throughput yield (RTY) is the probability a part makes it through every step right-first-time. RTY exposes the hidden cost of rework that overall yield masks. See also Rolled Throughput Yield vs First-Pass Yield.
Example
A 4-step process. Each step has 95% right-first-time. Reworked parts pass.
- Overall yield: 100% (all parts eventually pass after rework).
- RTY: 0.95⁴ = 81.5%.
The 18.5% gap is rework. Cost: labor, time, scrap risk.
Why RTY matters more
Overall yield rewards rework. RTY exposes it. Plants that optimize for RTY reduce hidden cost; plants that optimize only for overall yield never see the issue.
How to calculate RTY
- Identify each process step.
- Measure right-first-time rate per step.
- Multiply.
Result is RTY. Express as percentage or DPMO.
What RTY drives
- Process improvement focus on first-time pass.
- Rework reduction.
- Cost transparency.
- Customer experience (less rework = faster delivery).
Common mistakes
1. Reporting only overall yield. Rework cost invisible.
2. Counting reworked parts as first-pass. RTY corrupted.
3. Not measuring per-step rates. Cannot calculate RTY.
4. Treating RTY < 90% as acceptable. World-class is 99%+.
How OEE relates
OEE Quality reflects good parts out. RTY drills into how many got there right-first-time. Plants pursuing six sigma focus on RTY; plants pursuing OEE alone may miss it.
How a modern OEE platform supports RTY
Fabrico's OEE module tracks first-pass and rework counts per step, calculates RTY automatically, and surfaces the worst step.
See how Fabrico captures this automatically, explore what OEE means or book a demo.
Related reading
- Rolled Throughput Yield vs First-Pass Yield
- OEE vs Yield
- OEE vs Throughput
- Overall Process Effectiveness (OPE)
Frequently asked questions
Is RTY the same as first-pass yield?
First-pass yield is per step. RTY is the product across all steps.
What is world-class RTY?
99%+ for high-volume processes.
Do I need to track both?
Yes. Overall yield for customer; RTY for internal improvement.
What about non-linear processes?
RTY extends to networks; multiply branch probabilities.
Main
Key takeaways
- Overall yield = good parts out / parts in.
- Rolled throughput yield (RTY) = product of right-first-time rates at each step.
- Overall yield can be high while RTY is low, rework hides the difference.
- Tracking only overall yield masks the hidden cost of rework loops.
Short answer: Overall yield counts good output regardless of how many times parts went through rework. Rolled throughput yield (RTY) is the probability a part makes it through every step right-first-time. RTY exposes the hidden cost of rework that overall yield masks.
Example
A 4-step process. Each step has 95% right-first-time. Reworked parts pass.
- Overall yield: 100% (all parts eventually pass after rework).
- RTY: 0.95⁴ = 81.5%.
The 18.5% gap is rework. Cost: labor, time, scrap risk.
Why RTY matters more
Overall yield rewards rework. RTY exposes it. Plants that optimize for RTY reduce hidden cost; plants that optimize only for overall yield never see the issue.
How to calculate RTY
- Identify each process step.
- Measure right-first-time rate per step.
- Multiply.
Result is RTY. Express as percentage or DPMO.
What RTY drives
- Process improvement focus on first-time pass.
- Rework reduction.
- Cost transparency.
- Customer experience (less rework = faster delivery).
Common mistakes
1. Reporting only overall yield. Rework cost invisible.
2. Counting reworked parts as first-pass. RTY corrupted.
3. Not measuring per-step rates. Cannot calculate RTY.
4. Treating RTY < 90% as acceptable. World-class is 99%+.
How OEE relates
OEE Quality reflects good parts out. RTY drills into how many got there right-first-time. Plants pursuing six sigma focus on RTY; plants pursuing OEE alone may miss it.
How a modern OEE platform supports RTY
Fabrico's OEE module tracks first-pass and rework counts per step, calculates RTY automatically, and surfaces the worst step.
Frequently asked questions
Is RTY the same as first-pass yield?
First-pass yield is per step. RTY is the product across all steps.
What is world-class RTY?
99%+ for high-volume processes.
Do I need to track both?
Yes. Overall yield for customer; RTY for internal improvement.
What about non-linear processes?
RTY extends to networks; multiply branch probabilities.
See how Fabrico unifies OEE and maintenance in one platform.
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