Glossary · MES and ISA-95
Production capability
German: Produktionsfähigkeit
In ISA-95 / IEC 62264, production capability is the information about the resources available for production over a defined time, such as personnel, equipment and material, including committed, available and unattainable capacity. It is the production-specific form of operations capability.
- MES
- Standards
In one sentence
In ISA-95, production capability describes the personnel, equipment and material available for production over a period, including free capacity.
Example
The MES reports that the extrusion line has 40 free hours next week, which the ERP uses to promise delivery dates.
How it applies
- Planning: Capability information allows business systems to plan orders realistically, instead of assuming nominal capacity.
- Engineering: It is built from equipment states, planned maintenance, shift models and staff qualifications, often with the help of the Work calendar.
- Operation: Unplanned downtime reduces capability; frequent updates keep planning accurate.
- Documentation: Specifications should define how capacity is calculated and what counts as committed or unattainable. Operator and planner manuals should explain what affects the displayed capacity. Planners also need to know how quickly capability information is refreshed after a breakdown, so that promised dates stay realistic.
Production capability vs. production performance
Production capability looks forward: what could be produced. Production performance looks back: what was produced.