PPE Burn Rate Calculator
Calculate Your PPE Supply Longevity
This tool helps healthcare facilities and businesses estimate how quickly they are consuming Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to plan for future procurement and avoid shortages.
Analysis Results
What is a PPE Burn Rate?
A PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) burn rate is the average consumption rate of specific items—such as masks, gloves, gowns, and face shields—within a healthcare facility or workplace over a specific period. Calculating this rate is essential for supply chain management and emergency preparedness.
The Importance of Tracking PPE Consumption
During health crises or busy operational periods, supplies can dwindle faster than expected. Using a burn rate calculator allows administrators to:
- Predict Shortages: Know exactly when your stock will hit zero before it happens.
- Optimize Procurement: Order precisely what is needed based on actual data rather than guesses.
- Resource Allocation: Identify which units or departments are consuming resources the fastest.
How the Calculation Works
The formula for the PPE burn rate is straightforward but requires consistent inventory tracking. The logic used in this calculator follows these steps:
- Calculate Total Used: (Starting Stock – Ending Stock)
- Calculate Daily Burn: (Total Used / Number of Days in the period)
- Project Sustainability: (Current Inventory / Daily Burn Rate)
Example Scenario
If a clinic starts the week (7 days) with 1,000 surgical masks and ends the week with 650 masks, they have used 350 masks in 7 days.
- Total Used: 350 masks
- Daily Burn Rate: 350 / 7 = 50 masks per day
- Sustainability: If they currently have 500 masks in stock, they have exactly 10 days of supply remaining (500 / 50).
Best Practices for PPE Management
To get the most accurate results, it is recommended to conduct inventory checks at the same time each day (e.g., every Monday morning). Different items (N95 masks vs. nitrile gloves) will have vastly different burn rates, so you should calculate the rate for each category of equipment separately.