GIFSQ Tools · Module 18 — Manufacturing, Costing & Supply Chain · Tool 358 of 500
Check whether the order book fits the shift: enter the orders (units each), the line rate and the hours available — the tool totals the work, the hours it needs, the utilisation, and any overtime.
Try sample values — fills the form with the worked example below.
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Total units
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Hours required
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Utilisation (%)
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Overtime (h)
Equation: Total units = sum of the orders. Hours required = total units ÷ line rate. Utilisation (%) = hours required ÷ hours available × 100. Overtime = hours required − hours available (floored at 0).
Method: Capacity loading: the orders are summed and divided by the demonstrated line rate to give the hours the schedule needs. Utilisation over 100% means the plan does not fit and the excess is overtime, a second shift, or orders moved.
Assumptions: the line rate is steady for every order; changeover time between orders is not included — add it to the hours required when changeovers are long; the hours available are productive hours, not the shift length.
Limitations: the tool loads the orders in the order given and does not sequence them — it cannot minimise changeovers or meet due dates; use the utilisation as a go/no-go check, not a schedule.
Rounding: total units as a whole number; hours and overtime to 2 decimal places; utilisation to 2 decimal places; intermediates unrounded.
This is a calculation aid, not a laboratory report — confirm against your accredited method before citing a value.
Method: Capacity loading: the orders are summed and divided by the demonstrated line rate to give the hours the schedule needs. Utilisation over 100% means the plan does not fit and the excess is overtime, a second shift, or orders moved.
Assumptions: the line rate is steady for every order; changeover time between orders is not included — add it to the hours required when changeovers are long; the hours available are productive hours, not the shift length.
Limitations: the tool loads the orders in the order given and does not sequence them — it cannot minimise changeovers or meet due dates; use the utilisation as a go/no-go check, not a schedule.
Rounding: total units as a whole number; hours and overtime to 2 decimal places; utilisation to 2 decimal places; intermediates unrounded.
This is a calculation aid, not a laboratory report — confirm against your accredited method before citing a value.
Worked example: Orders 500, 300, 200 units, line rate 100/hour, 12 hours available: total = 1,000; hours required = 10.00; utilisation = 83.33%; overtime = 0.00 h — the plan fits.
Enter values above to see results.
Over 90% utilisation leaves no room for a breakdown — keep a buffer on any plan above that. Tool 358 of 500 — GIFSQ
