Operator Capacity Study

What this template does#

A capacity study measures what each operator on a running line can actually produce. You time five normal cycles for each operator, and the sheet calculates the average cycle time, capacity per hour and the gap against the line's hourly target. Stations with negative gaps are bottlenecks.

It is the floor check that follows a planned balance. See bottleneck analysis.

When to use it#

• A few hours after a new style starts, once operators have settled.
• When the line misses its target and the cause is not clear.
• After rebalancing, to confirm the change worked.

How to complete it#

1. Enter line, style and target per hour.
2. List operations and operators in line sequence.
3. Time five normal cycles for each operator with a stopwatch, from the same start point to the same end point each time. Include handling, not only sewing.
4. Leave out abnormal cycles (thread break, missing parts) and note them separately.
5. Read the capacity and gap for each row. Sort or highlight rows with negative gaps.

If one operation has several operators, add their capacities to get the station capacity.

After the study#

• Fix the lowest-capacity station first: method, machine, operator allocation or support.
• Recheck after each change; the bottleneck moves.
• Record the results with the line balancing worksheet for the style.

Common mistakes#

• Timing only the machine time and forgetting handling.
• Timing operators while they are being watched closely and working unusually fast or slow. Explain the purpose and observe normal work.
• Using too few cycles when times vary a lot.

Download formats#

The Excel workbook contains formulas and a landscape print layout. The CSV contains headings and an example row only.