Is your capacity planning reasonable? For a sanitary ware factory, the answer does not depend only on how many machines are installed. It depends on whether yield rate, takt time, mold quantity, and workforce allocation are properly matched. Real capacity is not the maximum output on paper. It is the number of qualified products that can be delivered consistently every day.
1. Start with Yield Rate: Gross Output Is Not Effective Capacity
Many factories calculate capacity based on how many pieces can be formed per day, but ignore losses caused by drying deformation, trimming defects, glazing problems, firing cracks, and final inspection rejection. If daily forming output is 1,000 pieces but the total yield rate is 85%, the effective capacity is only 850 qualified pieces.
Therefore, capacity planning must be based on qualified output. Following the logic of ISO 22400 manufacturing operations KPIs, factories should continuously track first-pass yield, rework rate, scrap rate, and equipment utilization. The more unstable the yield rate, the less reliable theoretical capacity becomes.
2. Takt Time: The Bottleneck Sets the Capacity Limit
Capacity is not determined by the fastest process. It is determined by the slowest bottleneck. The Lean Enterprise Institute defines takt time as available production time divided by customer demand, helping production speed match market demand.
In sanitary ware production, the bottleneck may appear in casting, drying, glazing, kiln loading, or firing. If casting is fast but drying space is limited, semi-finished products will accumulate. If glazing cannot keep up, kiln loading becomes unstable. A reasonable capacity plan must identify bottlenecks first, then balance upstream and downstream processes.
3. Mold Quantity Determines Continuous Supply
More molds do not automatically mean higher capacity. Mold quantity must match product structure, casting cycle, demolding time, drying time, and order rhythm. Too few molds cause unstable supply at the forming stage. Too many molds increase space usage, maintenance work, and management cost.
This is especially important in sanitary ware manufacturing, where product sizes and structures vary greatly. Different products require different mold turnover cycles. Capacity planning should use a mold turnover model by product category, rather than judging capacity by total mold quantity alone.
4. Workforce Must Be Calculated from Standard Work
Workforce should not be estimated only by experience. It should be calculated from standard operations, labor time per piece, shift duration, and process takt time. Which tasks require human judgment? Which tasks can be supported by equipment? Which positions are created by waiting, handling, or rework? These questions determine real labor demand.
The Deloitte 2025 Smart Manufacturing Survey reports improvements in production output, employee productivity, and unlocked capacity among manufacturers adopting smart manufacturing. For sanitary ware factories, capacity improvement does not always require more workers. It often comes from reducing non-value-added work, stabilizing processes, and increasing output per worker.
Conclusion
To judge whether capacity planning is reasonable, a factory should not only review its equipment list or theoretical output. It must verify four variables: whether yield rate is realistic, whether takt time is balanced, whether mold quantity matches production rhythm, and whether workforce is calculated from standard work. Only when these four factors form a closed loop can capacity planning become executable, deliverable, and profitable.