How to calculate Capacity Utilisation

Formula

Utilisation % = capacity used ÷ capacity available × 100

SQL query

This example assumes: capacity(week, resource, available_units, used_units). It is written in PostgreSQL syntax; date functions differ slightly in MySQL, BigQuery and SQLite, and your column names will differ from these.

SELECT week,
       SUM(used_units) * 100.0 / NULLIF(SUM(available_units), 0) AS utilisation_pct
FROM capacity
GROUP BY week
ORDER BY week;

Common mistakes that make Capacity Utilisation wrong

• Weeks sorted as text (week 10 before week 2) give a scrambled trend; sort by date.
• Planned downtime should be excluded from available capacity.
• 100% sustained utilisation leaves no slack and usually hurts delivery.

Ask for Capacity Utilisation in plain English

Instead of writing the query yourself, you can type the question. SchemaChat turns it into SQL against your connected database or uploaded file, runs it, and shows the SQL and the figures it used so you can check the answer before you share it. It does not replace your judgement about the definition: check that the query matches the formula your business uses.

• How did capacity utilisation change by week?
• Which resources are above 90% utilised?