Lean Manufacturing & Operations worked example

Production Plan Variance with planned production target of 500 units: a worked example

This scenario runs the production plan variance calculation on the strong side: planned production target of 500 units, with every other input held at its documented default. Use this calculator to measure the gap between plan and actual, broken down by shift or day, to identify patterns in schedule misses and drive corrective action.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Planned production target: 500 units (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 200)
  • Actual production completed: 175 units (unchanged)
  • Authorized plan adjustments: 10 units (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Unexplained Variance = Planned - Actual - Authorized Adjustments) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 315 units for unexplained variance (units), the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 185 value for total gap from plan.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 500 value for planned production target.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 63 % for utilization.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where planned production target sits at 200 units and the headline result is 15 units, this scenario comes in 2,000% above the baseline at 315 units.
  • Use it after a shift or run when actual fell short of plan and you need to know how much of the miss is genuinely unaccounted for. Treat this as a target state: the delta against the baseline quantifies what the improvement is worth before you commit to chasing it.

Results at a glance

  • Unexplained variance (units): 315 units (headline result)
  • Total gap from plan: 185 value
  • Planned production target: 500 value
  • Utilization: 63 %

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Production Plan Variance calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.