Definition
Available capacity is the time a resource — machine, operator, fixture, partner — can genuinely produce work, after subtracting planned maintenance, scheduled calibration, training, holidays, certifications, and known constraints. It is the upper bound a finite-capacity scheduler can promise against, and it is almost always 60–75% of the nameplate calendar.
Why it matters
Quoting and promising against nameplate capacity (24 hours per day, 7 days per week) is one of the most common sources of optimistic lead times. Honest available-capacity accounting moves a 168-hour-per-week machine to its real 100–120 productive hours, which immediately corrects the math behind every customer promise.
Common failure mode
A shop quotes lead times assuming 168 hours per week on every machine. Real available capacity is 110 hours. Every quote is 35% too optimistic before any disruption is added. The shop then explains the misses one at a time, with a customer call.
How Skody approaches it
Skody models real shift calendars, maintenance windows, calibration intervals, certification gaps, and outside-processing partner hours as first-class capacity reductions. The scheduling model and the quoting model see the same available capacity.
Related terms
Questions
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