# Leveling

**URL:** https://kaizumi.com/dictionary/leveling

**Description:** Leveling is the practice of smoothing workload over time to eliminate peaks and valleys that cause waste and overburden.

**Category:** lean-principles

**Tags:** flow

## Definition

Leveling is the practice of distributing work evenly over time to eliminate the mura (unevenness) that causes inefficiency and the muri (overburden) that causes quality problems, equipment wear, and worker burnout. Uneven workloads—peaks followed by valleys—require either excess capacity for peaks (waste during valleys) or insufficient capacity that can't handle peaks (overburden and missed commitments). Leveling smooths demand and production to enable sustainable pace and consistent resource utilization.

## Examples

### Manufacturing

> A plant received orders heavily weighted toward month-end as customers tried to meet their own targets. Rather than scrambling at month-end and idling early month, they negotiated with customers to spread orders throughout the month. Leveled demand enabled stable production schedules and reduced overtime.

### Healthcare

> Surgical scheduling showed extreme unevenness—packed Tuesdays and Thursdays, empty Mondays and Fridays. This created nurse overtime on busy days and idle time on slow days. Leveling surgeries across all weekdays improved resource utilization and reduced staff stress.

### Administrative

> Tax filing created extreme peaks in April with idle capacity the rest of year. By offering incentives for early filing and extending service for tax planning, the firm leveled demand throughout the year. This enabled better service and eliminated the April chaos.

## Key Points

- Leveling addresses both volume variation and product mix variation
- Uneven workload is wasteful even if average demand matches capacity
- Leveling requires coordination with customers, scheduling, and upstream processes
- Leveled workload enables sustainable pace and reliable delivery

## Common Misconceptions

**Leveling reduces flexibility.** Leveling actually increases flexibility by eliminating the chaos of peaks. Resources aren't exhausted during peaks, so they're available for genuine urgent needs.

**Customer demand can't be influenced.** Many demand patterns are created by business practices—billing cycles, promotion timing, deadline structures. Analyzing demand drivers often reveals opportunities for leveling.

## Try It

Leveling depends on the capacity left over once setups are paid for. Enter available minutes per day below, then each item with its demand, run time, and setup time. The tool separates daily run time from the capacity available for changeovers and returns the shortest interval that still fits. A shorter interval means smaller lots, and smaller lots are what make a level schedule possible.

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## See Also

- [Heijunka](/dictionary/heijunka) - The Japanese term for production leveling

Source: https://kaizumi.com/dictionary/leveling
Licence: free to quote and cite with attribution to Kaizumi.