{"id":"operating-rate-vs-availability","model_id":"Operational Availability vs Operating Rate","name":"Operational availability vs operating rate","summary":"Operational availability is the fraction of time a machine functions properly when it is needed, also called the operable rate. The operating rate is the amount of time within a period such as a shift or a day that a machine is actually used to make something. The document compares the two terms and shows that a high operating rate is not automatically good, whereas the ideal operational availability is 100%.","study_notes":["An automobile illustrates the difference: operational availability is the percentage of time the car runs properly when needed, while the operating rate is the percentage of time per day the car is actually driven.","From a lean perspective a high operating rate is not necessarily desirable; it is good if the equipment produces just what is needed and bad if it overproduces.","The ideal operational availability is 100%, because it refers to how well a machine runs when needed.","A machine can have high operational availability and a low operating rate, or the reverse, since the two measures answer different questions."],"safety_notes":[],"sources":[{"url":"https://www.lean.org/lexicon-terms/operation-availabilty-versus-operating-rate/","title":"Operation Availabilty versus Operating Rate - Lean Enterprise Institute","accessed":"2026-10-25"}],"verification":{"status":"source_checked","checked_at":"2026-10-25","values":1,"method":"llm_source_check"},"updated_at":"2026-10-25","type":"operational","spec":{"kind":"metric","related":["oee"]},"url":"https://machineschema.com/operational/operating-rate-vs-availability","license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"}