diff --git a/drivers/watchdog/hpwdt.c b/drivers/watchdog/hpwdt.c
index 77ca72c..a5d36ae 100644
--- a/drivers/watchdog/hpwdt.c
+++ b/drivers/watchdog/hpwdt.c
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@
 #include <asm/cacheflush.h>
 
 #define HPWDT_VERSION			"1.1.1"
+#define SECS_TO_TICKS(secs)		((secs) * 1000 / 128)
 #define DEFAULT_MARGIN			30
 
 static unsigned int soft_margin = DEFAULT_MARGIN;	/* in seconds */
@@ -410,7 +411,7 @@
  */
 static void hpwdt_start(void)
 {
-	reload = (soft_margin * 1000) / 128;
+	reload = SECS_TO_TICKS(soft_margin);
 	iowrite16(reload, hpwdt_timer_reg);
 	iowrite16(0x85, hpwdt_timer_con);
 }
@@ -443,7 +444,7 @@
 	printk(KERN_DEBUG
 		"hpwdt: New timer passed in is %d seconds.\n",
 		new_margin);
-	reload = (soft_margin * 1000) / 128;
+	reload = SECS_TO_TICKS(soft_margin);
 
 	return 0;
 }