📈 The Production Rate represents the speed at which products are manufactured on a line, cell, or workstation. Generally expressed in units per hour, per shift, or per day, it is one of the most important key performance indicators (KPI) for manufacturing management.
What gets measured, gets improved. The production rate shows the factory’s pace — and how well it aligns with demand.
🧮 How to calculate the production rate?
The basic formula is:
Example:
If a station produced 120 units in 4 hours → 120 ÷ 4 = 30 units/hour
🧩 Factors affecting the production rate
| Factor | Possible Impact |
|---|---|
| Long setup time | Reduction of available production time |
| Machine stoppages | Unplanned breakdowns and changes affect the pace |
| Failures and rework | Defective products do not count as good |
| Operator efficiency | Direct influence on speed and quality |
| Organization (5S, Kanban) | Impact on process fluidity and ergonomics |
| Equipment capacity | Physical production limit of the machine or bench |
🎯 Why monitor the production rate?
- Check if the line is hitting the planned target (takt time)
- Detect deviations and bottlenecks before they become larger losses
- Estimate real delivery time based on production pace
- Feed indicators like OEE, productivity, and lead time
- Evaluate the impact of process and maintenance improvements
🧪 How AJOLLY Testing applies production rate control
At AJOLLY Testing, we develop test benches and integrated systems that allow real-time monitoring of the production rate, with dashboards, alerts, and customized reports.
🛠️ Included features:
- Automatic counters of tested DUTs
- Measurement of time between tests (test cycle time)
- Identification of failures by operator, bench, or shift
- Integration with MES and Power BI for line comparisons
- Visualization of planned vs actual production in dashboards
- Andon triggers in case of below-expected pace
Knowing how many products are tested per hour is crucial. But knowing why this rate varies — and how to improve it — is where the real value lies.