@Tari-S Thanks for pointing out the confusion.
I'd like to clarify the diff between calendar hours and full-time work hours (FTE). A person-year in reviewing is typically ~2,000–2,080 work hours, not 8,760 calendar hours.
Three scenario:
Skim pass (30 min/paper):
25,000 × 0.5 h = 12,500 h → 6.0–6.5 FTE-years (12,500 ÷ 2,080 ≈ 6.01; ÷ 2,000 = 6.25).
Single in-depth review (2 h/paper):
25,000 × 2 h = 50,000 h → 24.0–26.0 FTE-years (not 50+ yet).
What would make it 50+?
Typical programs use ≥3 reviews/paper.
3 × 2 h = 6 h/paper ⇒ 25,000 × 6 h = 150,000 h → 72–78 FTE-years.
Add meta-review/AC time (≈0.5–1 h/paper) and you’re at ~78–91 FTE-years.
So:
“1.4 person-years” uses the wrong denominator (calendar hours).
“50+ person-years” is too high for a single pass, but reasonable (and actually conservative) once you include multiple reviews and overhead.
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