Behavioral implications of the learning curve for production capacity analysis

Learning curves traditionally have been an important assumption in production capacity analysis. The slope of a learning curve for an operation is generally assumed to vary as a function of the complexity of the product and the process. Yet, many other factors can also affect the slope. Several personal and situational variables can influence the properties of the traditional learning curve. A hypothetical production system is simulated using different workers with different levels of personal factors when two different situational levels are present. The results of the simulation are compared to the traditional log curve, and the impact on capacity planning is demonstrated.