unit requirement; specific consumption; intensity
Technical term used in engineering, manufacturing, and energy fields. Refers to the amount of a resource (energy, material, etc.) consumed or produced per unit of output, such as per product, per area, or per time. Often translated as 'specific consumption' or 'intensity' in technical contexts.
This factory improves the energy intensity per ton of product every year.
By reducing the unit requirement, cost reduction and environmental impact reduction can be achieved simultaneously.
Refers to productivity (output per input), while 原単位 focuses on the input required per unit of output, essentially the inverse perspective.
Compound of 原 (げん, 'original', 'fundamental') and 単位 (たんい, 'unit'). The term likely originated in industrial engineering to express resource usage per fundamental unit of production.