Fähigkeitsraum

19:58 Oct 8, 2016 

Hi Michael, thanks for your suggestion. Unfortunately "range of capability" has the same problem as scope/area etc., it sounds as if it means the range of things the product can do. In "product range", the "product" part makes clear what range it is. In this case, the important part is actually the term "variant", but the customer now decided to use "variant design capability" for the English. In the end, it seems the "Raum" part is not really significant here, as the other "Räume" (ETO, MTO etc.) get used just fine without having the term "Raum" in them.

14:11 Oct 8, 2016 

After all, you just brought up 'product range' in this context..

14:04 Oct 8, 2016 

(continue from previous entry), I could produce them without needing any new quality testing or (significant) engineering work. But if another customer asked if I can also build a stone pizza oven, that would belong to "Raum" ETO (engineer to order), as I'll have to test different types of stone, find suppliers, test how stone vs. metal influences the heat distribution, etc. So although I have enough know-how in my company to engineer a stone pizza oven on request, it is not in the Fähigkeitsraum of the products I already have. So because all variations of "area/scope/zone of capability/competence" etc. meant the reader interpreted it like Liane's "I could bake chocolate cake too" version, the customer finally decided on saying a product has "variant design capability", analogous to them having "series capability", and we are rewriting the sentences to skip the "Raum" where possible. I found some cases on the Internet where there was talk about an "ETO/MTO environment" etc., so where the Raum cannot be skipped, I'm using "environment". Thanks again for your answers, even though I did not use them directly they helped the discussion along!

13:56 Oct 8, 2016 

Hi everyone, thanks for your input. I asked the customer about this one, because none of the suggestions nor any of my ideas really fit in all sentences, and would likely conjure up false interpretations in the reader. I like your analogy, Liane, but it also illustrates the ambiguity that is present here, because Fähigkeitsraum as used by the customer does not mean not modifying the oven to bake chocolate cake, instead it has to do with what kind of other ovens can be made from the same parts. I.e. I am an oven manufacturer that offers a square metal oven than can bake cake, pizza, lasagna. I calculate that with what I know about my materials (quality testing) and the engineering involved (heat distribution in the oven etc), I could also build ovens that are narrow and high, for loafs of bread stacked one above the other, up to dimensions A x B, and wide but "flat" ovens up to dimensions C x D to be used for giant pizzas only. So my "Fähigkeitsraum" would be any other oven request within those dimensions and with those same materials and heat-generating methods, as, although the breadloaf oven and flat pizza oven are currently not part of my product range,

04:56 Oct 5, 2016 

For instance, my oven has the Fähigkeitsraum of baking cake, pizza, lasagne.. No need to modify the oven if I want to bake chocolate cake.