Work out equipment time allocation instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.
Shared instrument time is almost always oversubscribed. Sixty hours a week less six for maintenance leaves 54 usable, but seven researchers requesting twelve hours each demand 84 - 156% of capacity. An equal split gives 7.7 hours each, a 4.3 hour shortfall per person, which is what prioritisation policies exist to resolve.
Usable hours
usable = available hours - maintenance hours
Oversubscription
demand = total requested / usable hours
Common approaches are priority by grant contribution, rotating priority, or reserving a share for time-critical work with the rest booked first-come.
Because skipped calibration produces unusable data. Booking it as unavailable is the only reliable way to protect it.