Production calculator
Calculate sewing capacity for a period in standard minutes and pieces from lines, operators per line, hours, working days, efficiency, absenteeism and product SMV.
Capacity for the period
56,908pcs
Plan bookings a little below this figure to leave room for sampling, re-work and unexpected loss.
Capacity minutes = lines × operators × (1 - absenteeism) × hours × 60 × days × efficiency
| Symbol | Meaning | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| L, O | Lines and operators per line | - |
| a | Absenteeism as a fraction | - |
| H, D | Hours per day and days in the period | h, days |
| η | Average efficiency as a fraction | - |
Capacity pieces = capacity minutes / SMV
Operators present = lines × operators per line × (1 - absenteeism). Available minutes = operators present × minutes per day × working days. Earned (produced) minutes = available × efficiency. Capacity in pieces = earned minutes / SMV, rounded down.
See garment capacity calculation for loading orders against capacity.
Defaults: 2 lines of 40 operators, 8 hours, 26 days, 60% efficiency, 5% absenteeism, SMV 10.
Compare the minutes required by your orders (quantity × SMV) with the earned minutes. Leave some room for changeovers and delays. Check capacity line by line too, because not every line can make every style.
Minutes let you compare styles with different SMVs. Convert to pieces only for a specific style.
Achieved efficiency for similar styles over recent weeks, not the target. Using target efficiency makes capacity look larger than it is.
How to calculate sewing capacity in available minutes and in pieces, for a line or a whole factory, and how to use it to check whether an order fits. Includes efficiency, absenteeism, working days and a full worked example.
How garment production planning works: capacity in minutes, loading orders onto lines, learning curves, material readiness and critical path, with a simple example and the checks that keep a plan realistic.
How to set an hourly and daily production target from SMV, manpower, working minutes and planned efficiency. Worked examples for new and running styles, learning curve targets and why a target at 100% efficiency is not a real target.
Line efficiency compares the minutes a sewing line earned with the minutes it had. Learn the formula, work through examples, understand what drives efficiency up and down, and avoid the reporting mistakes that make the number meaningless.