Capacity Planning Template for Manufacturing (Excel)
This capacity planning template compares the hours each work center can supply with the hours your planned orders demand, week by week. Edit the sample rows, add your own work centers, and export the result to Excel.
| Work center | Week | Machines or stations | Hours per shift (h) | Shifts per day | Working days | Efficiency (%) | Available hours | Planned load (h) | Utilization | Spare hours | Overload (1 = yes) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
256 | 113.3% | -34 | 1 | |||||||||
196.8 | 109.2% | -18.2 | 1 | |||||||||
72 | 108.3% | -6 | 1 | |||||||||
256 | 130.9% | -79 | 1 | |||||||||
196.8 | 96.5% | 6.8 | 0 | |||||||||
72 | 83.3% | 12 | 0 |
Add one row per work center per week. If a week is a holiday, reduce working days. Treat anything above about 85 to 90 percent utilization as a risk for queue time and late jobs.
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How to use the capacity planning template
Create one row per work center per week. Enter the number of machines, hours per shift, shifts per day and working days. Enter an efficiency percentage that reflects real output, not the nameplate. Then enter planned load in hours, which is setup time plus run time from the orders you intend to release. The sheet computes available hours, utilization, spare hours and flags any row where load is above available hours.
- Use routing run times, not quote estimates, for load
- Include setup hours, they are real capacity
- Reduce working days for holidays and planned shutdowns
- Review the overload flags first, then the lowest utilization rows
The formula behind it
Available hours = machines x hours per shift x shifts per day x working days x efficiency. Utilization = planned load divided by available hours. Spare hours = available minus load. This is rough-cut capacity planning: it checks whether the plan fits in total hours, not the exact sequence of jobs. Finite scheduling then decides what runs when. Rough-cut is the right first check because it is fast and shows overloaded work centers before you commit to dates.
Reading the result and fixing overloads
In the sample, the CNC Mill is at about 91 percent in week 45 and over 100 percent in week 46. That is the signal to act: move work to an earlier week, add overtime or a shift, outsource a few operations, or move work to a different machine. Fix the overload in the plan, not on the shop floor. A work center loaded near 100 percent will have long queues, so keep a buffer for rework and emergency orders.
Common mistakes and ERP notes
Common errors are using 100 percent efficiency, forgetting setup time, and planning against the machine count on paper instead of machines that are actually running. Most ERPs hold this data as work centers, routings and calendars, and they report load against capacity. Use this template when you do not have that visibility, or to sanity check the ERP's capacity requirements planning output before you trust it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What efficiency should I enter?
Use a figure based on your own history of actual hours versus scheduled hours. Many shops land between 65 and 85 percent once changeovers, breaks, maintenance and waiting are counted. Start conservative and adjust after a few weeks of measured data.
Is this finite or infinite capacity planning?
It is rough-cut, which compares total load with total capacity per period. It shows where the plan does not fit. A finite scheduling tool or ERP scheduling run then sequences the jobs within the available hours.
How do I handle several machines with different speeds?
Give each machine type its own work center row, or convert load into standard hours on a common basis. Mixing slow and fast machines in one row hides bottlenecks and distorts utilization.
What utilization is too high?
Above roughly 85 to 90 percent, queues grow quickly and lead times lengthen. Plan critical work centers lower, and treat any overload flag as something to resolve before releasing orders.
If your work center, routing and order data sits in an ERP, Netray can add a private AI layer on your own servers that answers questions like which work center is overloaded next month, without exporting data to a spreadsheet.
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- How to Configure Work Centers in Infor SyteLineStep-by-step guide to configuring work centers in Infor SyteLine. Learn how to define capacity, efficiency rates, cost categories, and scheduling parameters.