Capacity Utilisation

Capacity utilisation compares what a process, machine, warehouse, or factory actually produces with the most it could produce in the same period. It works because the ratio tells you what fraction of total available capability is being turned into output, and multiplying by 100 converts that fraction into a percentage. A higher percentage means the resource is being used more intensively, while a lower percentage suggests spare capacity or inefficiency.

Use this when you want to measure how busy or productive a production line, vehicle fleet, warehouse, or service team is relative to its maximum possible output. It is also useful for spotting underused resources or planning whether extra capacity is needed.

• Using the wrong capacity figure, such as planned output instead of maximum possible output
• Forgetting to multiply by 100, which leaves the answer as a decimal instead of a percentage
• Mixing up output and capacity, which gives a value above 100% or an incorrect result