Capacity
The word ‘capacity’ refers to the maximum amount that can be produced, contained or accepted by a component or system.
In the construction industry, the word ‘capacity’ might refer to:
- Occupant capacity of a building or space.
- Heat capacity.
- Load bearing capacity or bearing capacity.
- The maximum capacity of a product or system such as a road or rail network, heating system, battery, data storage system and so on.
- The capacity of an organisation such as a supplier to take on and complete a piece of work. This will be dependent on the availability of appropriate staff, equipment and other resources, other work that the organisation is undertaking and so on. This can also refer more widely to a particular sector of industry, as for example in the CIOB report Capacity Constraints in Construction: Rethinking the Business Environment, which looks at the capacity of the construction industry as a whole.
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings
Featured articles and news
The roofscape of Hampstead Garden Suburb
Residents, architects and roofers need to understand detailing.
Homes, landlords. tenants and the new housing standards
What will it all mean?
The Architectural Technology podcast: Where it's AT
Catch-up on the latest episodes.
Edmundson Apprentice of the Year award 2026
Entries now open for this Electrical Contractors' Association award.
Traditional blue-grey slate from one of the oldest and largest UK slate quarries down in Cornwall.
There are plenty of sources with the potential to be redeveloped.
Change of use legislation breaths new life into buildings
A run down on Class MA of the General Permitted Development Order.
Solar generation in the historic environment
Success requires understanding each site in detail.
Level 6 Design, Construction and Management BSc
CIOB launches first-ever degree programme to develop the next generation of construction leaders.
Open for business as of April, with its 2026 prospectus and new pipeline of housing schemes.
The operational value of workforce health
Keeping projects moving. Incorporating unplanned absence and the importance of health, in operations.
A carbon case for indigenous slate
UK slate can offer clear embodied carbon advantages.
Costs and insolvencies mount for SMEs, despite growth
Construction sector under insolvency and wage bill pressure in part linked to National Insurance, says report.
The place for vitrified clay pipes in modern infrastructure
Why vitrified clay pipes are reclaiming their role in built projects.
Research by construction PR consultancy LMC published.
Roles and responsibilities of domestic clients
ACA Safety in Construction guide for domestic clients.