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Efficiency and productivity get used almost interchangeably on a factory floor, but they answer different questions. Efficiency asks: how close did we get to the standard time? Productivity asks: how much did we actually make, per person or per machine? A line can be highly efficient at making a very simple, low-SMV product while producing far fewer pieces than a busier, harder-working but "less efficient" line on a complex style.
Efficiency (%) = (Minutes Produced ÷ Minutes Available) × 100
where Minutes Produced = Pieces Made × Operation SMV, and Minutes Available = Manpower × Working Hours × 60
Worked example: an operator attends an 8-hour (480-minute) shift and produces 400 pieces of an operation with an SMV of 0.50 minutes. Minutes Produced = 400 × 0.50 = 200. Efficiency = (200 ÷ 480) × 100 = 41.7%. This same formula scales up from one operator to a whole line or factory.
Productivity = Output ÷ Input (e.g. garments produced ÷ labour hours used)
Productivity is useful for comparing lines making the same product with the same manpower — but it breaks down as a comparison tool the moment styles, SMVs, or headcounts differ between lines. That's exactly the gap efficiency is designed to fill, since it accounts for how much work content (SMV) the product actually has.