Ramp-up is the controlled increase of production volume, staffing, equipment use, or system activity from an initial level toward a planned operating rate. In manufacturing, it commonly refers to the period after a product launch, line start, process change, or capacity addition when output is increased while performance is monitored.
During ramp-up, teams typically track whether materials, work instructions, labor, equipment, quality checks, and system transactions can support the higher rate. In MES, ERP, and planning contexts, ramp-up may affect routings, work orders, schedules, inventory demand, inspection load, and throughput assumptions.
Ramp-up is not the same as startup, which usually refers to the initial act of bringing a process, line, or system into operation. It is also different from capacity, which describes the amount of output a process can support under defined conditions. Ramp-up is the transition toward that expected operating level.