The level of demand or “load” on a system that results in the lowest cost per unit produced or processed.
bill of capacity
A statement of the time required on each resource needed to produce a product.
bottleneck
A constraint in a production system.
capacity requirements planning
A detailed capacity planning approach in manufacturing that uses the planned releases from MRP to provide the quantity of units that must be produced.
constraint
Anything that inhibits a system’s progress toward its goals.
constraint management
A framework for managing the constraints of a system in a way that maximizes the system’s accomplishment of its goals.
demand chase
An aggregate planning approach that uses hiring and firing of employees to increase and decrease output to match fluctuating demand.
design capacity
The capacity a facility is designed to accommodate on an ongoing basis.
level production
An aggregate planning approach that uses inventory stored from period to period to reduce the need to change the output rate as demand changes.
rough-cut capacity planning
A detailed capacity planning approach used in manufacturing that uses the master production schedule to provide the quantity of units that must be produced.
yield management
An approach used in capital-intensive services that attempts to obtain maximum revenues through differential pricing, reservation systems, and overbooking.