Rolled throughput yield (RTY) is the proportion of units that complete a defined process route while meeting every step’s requirements on the first attempt, without repair or rework.
In DMAIC projects, RTY exposes cumulative first-pass losses across successive operations or administrative handoffs. The measurement requires a defined unit, a process boundary and consistent acceptance criteria. A unit that fails an inspection and later passes after correction retains its first-attempt failure status.
For a hypothetical cohort of 100 purchase orders, suppose 80 pass all required checks without correction. RTY is 80%. An order corrected twice counts as one affected unit when calculating this proportion. Counting correction events instead would mix defect frequency with unit-level yield.
RTY is also calculated by multiplying step-level first-pass yields expressed as decimals. For three steps with yields of 90%, 80% and 95%, the product is 68.4%. That product represents end-to-end first-pass performance when the yields are conditional on passing all preceding steps first time. Multiplying standalone station yields requires an independence assumption; related failures across stations can make the product differ from the observed cohort result.
First-pass yield identifies losses at an individual step, while RTY measures performance across the stated route. A SIPOC establishes that boundary, and value stream mapping locates rework loops. Measurement System Analysis checks whether records reliably distinguish first attempts from corrected work. During project selection, rework hours and customer consequences help determine whether the lowest-yield step warrants investment. A control plan preserves acceptance criteria so later comparisons use a consistent failure definition.
