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Most factories have substantial hidden production capacity.
The way we look at the productive capacity of a plant is limited by our own point of view. A plant seemingly running at full steam, with all its employees busy doing work, has a lot of hidden capacity if we challenge our paradigms, the layout, production processes, work practices and the underlying assumptions.
Inefficient layouts with more material handling, internal transportation and in-process manual quality inspections create more WIP and limit the useful capacity. Lean layouts result in faster processing and higher production output. Similarly, production processes designed for large batches also limit the available capacity by compromising on flexibility. The practice of closing a production line for lunch and tea breaks takes away about 15% of the capacity.
In my experience, the biggest limitation has been the widely prevalent assumption that rated capacity of an equipment is sacrosanct and defines the upper limit of production.
Challenging these paradigms requires us to first believe that hidden capacity does exist and then to find it with a fresh, unbiased, inquisitive set of eyes.