capacity

[LyThuy]

Dear teachers,

When saying "the capacity of the plant is ...", it means the maximum ability of the plant or just the recent productivity?

What is the better expression of "ability" in "The ability to reduce A of the plant need to be improved further"? Note that I cannot use productivity here.

Many thank.

 

[Neillythere]

Hi LyThuy

It could mean either, depending how you qualify it.
It basically means what the plant is capable of producing.

A plant might have 4 manufacturing units each required to produce 1 Tonne per day, so its rated capacity is 4 Tonnes per day.

If it needs one person to run each manufacturing unit, but 1 of them is off sick, then it's actual (current) capacity would be limited to 3 Tonnes per day.

Although the units may be designed to produce 1 Tonne per day, every day, a plant doesn't normally function to well if continuously operated at its maximum capacity, so they may well be designed for 1.1 Tonnes per day maximum, but still have a 1 Tonne per day rated capacity

It's similar to the difference between a car/plane's maximum speed and its cruising speed.

Hope this helps

Best regards
NT

 

[LyThuy]

Thank you very much. I see it now.