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Process capacity sheet template

A process capacity sheet works out how many pieces each machine or step in a part's routing can make in a shift, so you can see which one limits the cell before you design the operator's work. For each step it records the manual time, the automatic machine time, the completion time (manual + auto), the tool change interval and time, the tool change time per piece (change time ÷ interval), and the capacity per shift: available time ÷ (completion time + tool change time per piece), rounded down. It is one of the three standard work documents, with the standard work combination table and the standard work chart, and it comes first. Page 1 of this template has the time base (shift, planned stops, available seconds, demand and takt), 13 step rows and the limiting step against demand. Page 2 has how to fill it in, where it fits with the other two documents, and a worked example with a capacity chart. The Excel version takes up to 20 steps, finds the limiting step and any ties, checks the margin against demand, has a what-if for one step and charts capacity by step against demand.

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Page 1 of the process capacity sheet: fields for part, cell, preparer and date, a row for shift length, planned stops, available time, demand and takt, a 13-row table with step no., process name, machine no., manual time, auto time, completion time, tool change interval, tool change time, tool change per piece, total time per piece, capacity per shift and demand ÷ capacity, and a row for the limiting step, its capacity, demand, margin and result.
Manual and auto timeCompletion timeTool change per pieceCapacity per shiftLimiting stepDemand checkWhat-ifCapacity chart

When to use it

When to use a process capacity sheet

  • Before building a standard work combination table for a cell, to check every machine can make the demand.
  • When demand goes up and you need to know which machine runs out of capacity first.
  • To show what a shorter tool change or a longer tool life is worth in pieces per shift.
  • When a new part is added to a cell and the routing uses machines already in use.

How to fill it in

  1. 1

    Set the time base

    Available time per shift in seconds: shift length less breaks, meetings and other planned stops. 480 − 30 minutes is 27,000 seconds. Write the demand per shift for the part.

  2. 2

    List the routing in order

    One row per machine or manual step, with the step number, process name and machine number, in the order the part goes through.

  3. 3

    Time manual and auto time at the machine

    Manual time is the operator's time tied to the machine for one piece: unload, load and start. Auto time runs from the start until the machine can be unloaded. Time several pieces. Leave walking out; it belongs on the combination table.

  4. 4

    Add each tool change

    Write how many pieces a tool or die lasts between changes and how long a change stops the machine. Change time ÷ interval is the time each piece carries: 900 seconds every 200 pieces is 4.5 seconds a piece.

  5. 5

    Work out capacity

    Total time per piece = completion time + tool change time per piece. Capacity per shift = available time ÷ total time, rounded down. The step with the lowest capacity limits the cell; if two steps tie, both do.

  6. 6

    Compare with demand and act

    If the limiting capacity is below demand, or close to it, work on that machine: its auto time, tool life, change time, or a second machine. Moving operator work does not raise a machine's capacity.

The columns

What each column on the process capacity sheet means

Times in seconds. The columns follow the process capacity sheet as the Lean Enterprise Institute lists it among the standardized work forms.

  • Manual time

    What it is
    The operator's time tied to the machine for one piece: unload, load, start
    Example (mill M-03)
    7 s
  • Auto time

    What it is
    The machine running on its own
    Example (mill M-03)
    52 s
  • Completion time

    What it is
    Manual + auto: how long the machine is busy with one piece
    Example (mill M-03)
    59 s
  • Tool change interval and time

    What it is
    Pieces between changes, and how long one change stops the machine
    Example (mill M-03)
    200 pieces, 900 s
  • Tool change per piece

    What it is
    Change time ÷ interval
    Example (mill M-03)
    4.5 s
  • Total time per piece

    What it is
    Completion + tool change per piece
    Example (mill M-03)
    63.5 s
  • Capacity per shift

    What it is
    Available time ÷ total time per piece, rounded down
    Example (mill M-03)
    27,000 ÷ 63.5 = 425

A filled-in example

Illustrative, not a benchmark

An example: shaft S-20 in a five-step machining cell, 27,000 seconds a shift and demand of 400 a shift, so takt is 67.5 seconds (illustrative numbers).

  • Saw SAW-01: 6 + 30 = 36 s, plus 300 s every 500 pieces = 0.6 s, so 36.6 s and 737 a shift. Lathe L-02: 8 + 45 = 53 s, plus 600 s every 250 pieces = 2.4 s, so 55.4 s and 487.
  • Mill M-03: 7 + 52 = 59 s, plus 900 s every 200 pieces = 4.5 s, so 63.5 s and 27,000 ÷ 63.5 = 425.2, rounded down to 425.
  • Drill D-04: 5 + 25 = 30 s, plus 240 s every 1,000 pieces = 0.24 s, so 30.24 s and 892. Wash W-05: 10 + 40 = 50 s, no tool change, 540.
  • The mill limits the cell at 425 against demand of 400: a margin of 25 pieces, with the mill loaded to 400 ÷ 425 = 94%. Without tool changes it could make 457, so the cutter change costs 32 pieces a shift.

The cell meets demand, but only just at the mill. Cutting the cutter change from 900 to 450 seconds gives 2.25 seconds a piece and 440 a shift; after that the lathe, at 487, is the next limit. The team's next step is a quick changeover project on the mill, not a new operator layout.

Common mistakes

  • Leaving out tool changes

    A machine that looks fast on its cycle alone can be the limit once its tool changes are counted. In the example the mill drops from 457 to 425 a shift.

  • Adding walking to manual time

    Walking belongs to the operator's loop on the combination table, not to the machine's time. Adding it here understates what the machine can make.

  • Using calendar time as available time

    Take breaks, meetings and other planned stops off first. Capacity worked from the full shift is more than the cell can make.

  • Trying to fix a machine limit with operator work

    If a machine's capacity is below demand, rebalancing operators will not help. Work on the machine: its auto time, tool life or change time, or add one.

Download the template

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Run this template in LeanSuite

In LeanSuite you film the process and the AI times every element, separates operator time from machine time and links each figure to the video frame it came from, and you review, correct and certify the study.

FAQ

Process capacity sheet template: common questions

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