Takt time

Takt time is the pace production must hold to match customer demand: available production time divided by units of customer demand for the same period.

What it is

See it move

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A workshop operates 450 minutes a day and customers demand 90 units a day. Takt time is 450 ÷ 90 = 5 minutes per unit — the pace the line must hold to keep up with orders. If the line's measured cycle time is 6 minutes per unit, it is running slower than demand requires; at 4 minutes, it has slack capacity.

The formula

LaTeX

TT = \frac{T_{avail}}{D}

Variables

$T_{a v ai l}$: Available production time (minutes)
$D$: Customer demand (units) for the same period (units)

Gives the pace, in time per unit, that production must hold to exactly match customer demand for the period.

Check yourself

PracticeCORE

A packing line runs for 384 minutes a day and must meet daily customer demand of 96 units. What is the takt time?

Select an answer to check your understanding.