Business, finance and operations

Capacity utilisation

  • Business, finance and operations

Definition

How much of the available capacity is actually being used.

Example

Producing 8,000 units in a factory that can make 10,000 gives 80% capacity utilisation.

For your role

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Why it matters

Too low wastes resources, and too high risks delays and burnout.

Where it is used

Operations reviews and capacity planning.

How to calculate it

Actual output ÷ maximum possible output × 100

Worked example

Producing 8,000 units in a factory that can make 10,000 gives 80% capacity utilisation.