A bakery oven can bake 200 loaves per hour but bread cooling racks limit output to 180 loaves per hour. Which term describes the cooling rack?

A capacity cushion is the extra capacity used to handle demand fluctuations and ensure that production can meet unexpected increases in demand. In this case, the cooling rack does not provide any additional capacity; instead, it restricts the output, making this term inapplicable.

Effective capacity refers to the maximum output that can be realistically achieved under normal operating conditions, accounting for factors like maintenance and downtime. While the cooling rack's output is part of the overall effective capacity, it is not the term that specifically describes the limiting factor in this situation.

Design capacity is the maximum output that a system can theoretically achieve under ideal conditions. Although the oven has a design capacity of 200 loaves per hour, the cooling rack's lower capacity means that it cannot reach this potential, so this term does not accurately describe the cooling rack's role.