Metrics & reporting
What is throughput?
Throughput is the number of completed print jobs or parts an operation produces in a given period. It measures output rather than how busy the fleet appears.
Also known as: print throughput, output rate
Throughput vs. utilization
Utilization measures how busy the machines are. Throughput measures what came out. They come apart in two directions, and both are worth knowing about:
- High utilization, low throughput: the fleet is busy producing failures, reprints, or low-value work.
- Low utilization, adequate throughput: capacity exists that the queue is not feeding, usually a scheduling or intake problem rather than a hardware one.
The levers, in order of usual impact
- Reduce idle gaps between jobs, including the time a finished printer waits to be cleared or assigned more work.
- Reduce failure rate: every failure costs its own runtime plus the reprint’s.
- Improve routing so eligible work reaches whichever machine is free.
- Add machines: last, because it is the only one that costs capital and the first three usually leave room.