What is Ideal Capacity?

Ideal capacity is the maximum output that a manufacturing facility can produce, assuming no downtime and no waste. It is nearly impossible to attain the ideal capacity figure, since it involves 24x7 production with no maintenance downtime, no employee breaks, no damaged equipment, and no reworked goods. The concept can be used in budgeting for the output of a production facility but is not recommended, since the actual output will certainly be lower, generating an unfavorable variance.