388. Takt Time
The pace of production needed to match customer demand. From German Takt (beat, rhythm).
If customers want 80 units in an 8-hour shift, the line must produce one unit every minutes.
388.1. Why takt time matters
Takt is the target cycle time for each station and the line overall:
- Slower than takt: line can’t keep up — backlogs accumulate
- Faster than takt: line overproduces — inventory accumulates (waste)
- At takt: production synchronized with demand — lean ideal
In lean manufacturing, every station is designed to complete its work in less than or equal to the takt time, with engineered slack absorbed by Heijunka boxes / standard WIP.
388.2. Calculating takt
Available time: net production time available, after deducting:
- Breaks
- Meetings
- Changeovers (or carefully scheduled outside production)
- Planned maintenance
Customer demand: actual delivery requirement, including:
- Customer orders
- Forecast adjustments
- Safety / replenishment stock targets
388.3. Worked example
Factory:
- Two shifts, 8 hours each, 1 hour total breaks per shift
- Net available time: hours/day minutes/day
- Customer demand: 200 units/day
So each station must complete its task in 4.2 minutes or less. The overall line cadence is one unit out every 4.2 minutes.
388.4. Takt time vs cycle time
- Takt time: external (driven by demand) — target cadence
- Cycle time: internal (driven by process) — actual time per unit
Goal: . When equality holds, line runs perfectly to demand — no over- or under-production.
388.5. Takt time vs throughput
| Takt time | time between units leaving the line |
| Throughput | units per unit time = |
Inverses. Both convey same information.
388.6. Heijunka — level loading
Demand is rarely flat — peaks Monday, valleys Friday, etc. Heijunka (here) smooths production by aggregating demand and producing in a level cadence. Takt is then calculated from average demand, not peak.
388.7. Limitations
- Volatile demand — takt changes; need flexibility to adjust
- Mix complexity — multiple products with different cycle times need EPEI or sequenced production
- Setup-heavy lines — takt time may be longer than nominal cycle time once setups are included
388.8. See also
- Line Balancing — designing stations to meet takt
- Heijunka — level loading
- Kanban Sizing — pull control matching takt
- Little’s Law