Declare the input contract before using the formula
Capacity reconciliations fail when one row uses scheduled hours, another uses paid hours and the commitment row uses estimated billable hours. Write the selected team, week or month, time zone where relevant, time-record cut-off and inclusion rules above the table. If the selected base changes, rebuild every row rather than patching the result.
| Input | Unit and basis | Acceptable source class | Do not infer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team capacity base | Hours per named period | Roster plus explicit non-delivery plan | Customer demand or safe maximum workload |
| Absence | Hours in the same period | Observed record or labelled scenario | Cause, diagnosis or future absence rate |
| Rework | Hours consuming this team and period | Job, quality or time record | Blame, preventability or customer liability |
| Committed delivery | Hours in the same scope and period | Accepted work and current delivery estimate | Automatic revenue or contribution |
Build the capacity record before changing a commitment
Prerequisites, sequence and checkpoints
- Name the team, delivery scope, period and hours basis; keep the same cut-off date throughout. (not complete)
- Start from delivery-capable hours after planned non-delivery work, but before the absence and rework adjustments in this guide. (not complete)
- Subtract absence only when it has not already been removed from the selected base. (not complete)
- Subtract only the rework hours that consume the same team and period, with the source record attached. (not complete)
- Compare deliverable capacity with accepted commitments and label the result as headroom or shortfall. (not complete)
- Test one lower-capacity branch, name a reversible response and assign an evidence owner and review date. (not complete)
Keep the time categories mutually exclusive
Deliverable capacity = selected delivery-capacity base − absence hours − rework hours; headroom = deliverable capacity − committed delivery hours
- Selected delivery-capacity base
- Hours available for delivery after planned non-delivery work, before the separately listed absence and rework adjustments (hours per declared period) — roster, capacity plan and labelled planning assumptions
- Absence hours
- Observed or explicitly scenario-labelled unavailable hours not already removed from the base (hours per declared period) — approved attendance records or labelled scenario
- Rework hours
- Hours required to correct prior work using the same capacity in the selected period (hours per declared period) — job, quality or time records
- Committed delivery hours
- Accepted work that must use the selected team capacity in the same period (hours per declared period) — current delivery plan and accepted commitments
- Headroom
- Positive remaining hours, or a negative shortfall, after the stated adjustments (hours per declared period) — calculated scenario
The selected base must already exclude planned administration, training, sales and other necessary non-delivery work. Never remove the same hour again under absence or rework.
| Record | Evidence to retain | Reconciliation checkpoint |
|---|---|---|
| Delivery-capacity base | Team, period, roster and planned non-delivery categories | Every hour belongs to one visible category before absence and rework. |
| Absence | Observed record or explicitly labelled lower-capacity assumption | The hour was not already removed as leave, closure or unavailable time. |
| Rework | Job or quality record, responsible team and expected completion period | Only same-period hours using this capacity are subtracted. |
| Commitments | Accepted scope, service requirement, due period and estimated delivery hours | Hours use the same scope and time basis as capacity. |
| Safety and local obligations | Applicable local requirements and qualified advice where needed | No commercial sensitivity overrides a hard obligation. |
Reconcile baseline and downside delivery capacity
Reproducible user scenario
Fictional weekly hours for one team. The selected 1,000-hour base already excludes planned administration and other necessary non-delivery work. Absence, rework and commitment figures are user scenarios, not benchmarks.
| Step | Input or arithmetic | Decision meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Baseline deliverable capacity | 1,000 base − 40 absence − 60 rework = 900 hours | Each adjustment appears once on the same weekly basis. |
| Baseline headroom | 900 deliverable − 880 committed = 20 hours | A small positive scenario balance, not permission to sell every hour. |
| Combined downside | 1,000 base − 80 absence − 90 rework = 830 hours | Lower capacity follows from entered assumptions, not a prediction. |
| Downside shortfall | 830 deliverable − 880 committed = −50 hours | The current commitment exceeds this scenario by 50 hours. |
Use sensitivity to find the decision branch, not to predict absence
| Case | Reconciliation | Decision checkpoint |
|---|---|---|
| Baseline | 1,000 − 40 absence − 60 rework − 880 commitments = 20 hours | Confirm that 20 hours is sufficient for the business-specific service and risk constraints. |
| Absence sensitivity | 1,000 − 80 − 60 − 880 = −20 hours | Identify the last reversible commitment; do not infer why absence changed. |
| Rework sensitivity | 1,000 − 40 − 90 − 880 = −10 hours | Inspect the quality/job record and timing before assigning a process response. |
| Combined downside | 1,000 − 80 − 90 − 880 = −50 hours | Do not accept additional work until a feasible, lawful response closes the shortfall. |
Common mistakes and the next review
- Do not subtract planned leave in the base and again as absence. (not complete)
- Do not subtract rework from capacity and also add the same hours to committed delivery unless those are genuinely different work records. (not complete)
- Do not call released hours a cash saving or revenue opportunity without a feasible use. (not complete)
- Do not hide required administration, training, quality or safety work to improve the percentage. (not complete)
- At period close, replace assumptions with actual category totals, explain residuals and version the next capacity case. (not complete)
Limitations, evidence and next action
Use the calculation owner for the next step
- Unassigned Capacity Cost Planner
Measure the cost and user-entered revenue-capacity effect of paid but unassigned hours
- Employee and Contractor Mix Planner
Compare cost and productive capacity across a user-defined workforce mix without classifying workers
- Utilisation to Headcount Planner
Translate billable demand into headcount
Questions and boundaries
- What percentage of capacity should be kept free?
- This guide supplies no percentage. Build a business-specific case from observed categories, service constraints and a lower-capacity sensitivity.
- Should absence be subtracted from available hours and again here?
- No. Subtract an hour once. If the selected base already excludes that absence, do not remove it again.
- Is every rework hour avoidable?
- No. Use records to distinguish required correction, normal variation and separately preventable causes. The arithmetic does not assign blame or prove causation.
Sources and scope
- ILO Helpdesk: Business and working time — International Labour Organization: Supports the global safety boundary around working time and recovery. It supplies no capacity target, absence allowance or financial default.
- Fatigue — UK Health and Safety Executive: Supports treating workload, overtime and staffing as risk-management inputs. UK duties and guidance are not presented as universal law.
- Worker fatigue prevention — U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration: Supports keeping workload, hours, staffing and absence in the safety review. It supplies no global legal rule or monetised fatigue factor.