Came across this little formula a long time ago and been using it ever since to schedule our embroidery.
# Stitches in design ÷ Stitches Per Minute (higher for flats, lower for caps = A
A X # Pieces in Order = B
B ÷ # Heads Running = C
C X 1.5 = Total Production Minutes (includes goods check in, thread changes, hooping, thread breaks, bobbin changing, needle breaks, unhooping, trimming, steaming, boxing, paperwork, etc.)
TPM ÷ 60(minutes) = Hours to run job.
For Example: 19822 stitch crest design, 48 pc order on our 6 head Barudan with 1 operator doing everything.
19822 ÷ 850/Stitches per min = 23.32 min. per piece X 48 pcs = 1119.36 minutes ÷ 6 (number of heads) = 186.56 X 1.5 = 279.84 Total Production Minutes ÷ 60 min. = 4.7 Hours
Sometimes it seems like a lot of time for a job, and sometimes when the stars all line up, it is. Other times, I could quadruple it and it still wouldn't be enough. So it's a nice, comfortable average.