Takt Time: Formula, Calculation and Examples
Takt time is the rate at which a process must finish one unit to meet customer demand. It equals net available working time divided by customer demand for that period: 27,000 seconds available for 600 orders gives a takt time of 45 seconds. It sets the pace for line balancing, staffing and pull production in Lean.
The word comes from the German Takt, a beat or pulse, like the beat a conductor sets for an orchestra. Takt time does not describe how fast a process can work; it describes how fast it needs to work. Comparing it with the actual cycle time of each step shows at once where the process falls behind demand and where it has spare capacity.
What is the takt time formula?
Takt time = net available working time ÷ customer demand (both for the same period).
- Net available working time is the time the process is scheduled to work, minus planned stops such as breaks, meetings and planned cleaning. Do not subtract unplanned downtime, changeovers or breakdowns; those are losses the process must absorb or eliminate, not part of the demand pace.
- Customer demand is the number of units customers need in the same period, from orders or a levelled forecast, not the number the process can make.
How do you calculate takt time? A worked example
The figures below are illustrative, chosen to show the method; they are not data from a real plant.
- Available time per shift: an 8-hour shift is 480 minutes. Subtract two 10-minute breaks and a 10-minute start-of-shift meeting: 480 − 30 = 450 minutes.
- Available time per day: two shifts give 2 × 450 = 900 minutes, or 900 × 60 = 54,000 seconds.
- Customer demand per day: 1,200 units.
- Takt time: 54,000 s ÷ 1,200 units = 45 seconds per unit. The line must finish one good unit every 45 seconds, or 80 units an hour (3,600 ÷ 45).
The same arithmetic works in services. A claims team that works 7.5 hours a day (27,000 seconds) and receives 300 claims a day has a takt time of 27,000 ÷ 300 = 90 seconds per claim. If processing a claim takes 6 minutes of work, the team needs at least 360 ÷ 90 = 4 people working in parallel to keep up.
Takt time vs cycle time vs lead time
| Measure | Question it answers | Set by | Formula or meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Takt time | How often must a unit be finished? | Customer demand | Available time ÷ demand |
| Cycle time | How often does a step actually finish a unit? | The process and its methods | Observed time between completed units at a step |
| Lead time | How long does one unit take from start to finish? | Process plus all waiting | With Little’s Law: WIP ÷ throughput |
| Throughput | How many good units come out per period? | The bottleneck | Good units ÷ time |
The rule of thumb: every step’s cycle time should be at or below takt time. If a step’s cycle time is above takt, the process will fall behind demand, overtime or a growing backlog follows, and that step is the constraint. If cycle times are far below takt, the process has spare capacity; running continuously without a demand signal can create the waste of overproduction (see the 8 wastes).
How is takt time used in Lean?
- Line balancing. In the example chart, station 2 (47 s) is over takt and station 4 (30 s) has 15 s spare. Moving about 5 seconds of work from station 2 to station 4 gives 38, 42, 41 and 35 seconds, all under takt. A yamazumi chart shows this visually; see also production line balancing.
- Number of operators. Minimum operators = total work content ÷ takt time. Here, 38 + 47 + 41 + 30 = 156 seconds of work ÷ 45 = 3.47, so at least 4 operators, rounded up.
- Planned cycle time. Because no process runs 100% of the time, many plants plan to a cycle time a little below takt. If the line typically runs 90% of available time, a planned cycle time of 45 × 0.9 = 40.5 seconds leaves room for small losses.
- Pitch. Pitch = takt time × pack-out quantity. With 20 units per container, pitch is 45 × 20 = 900 seconds (15 minutes): a container should be moved, and progress checked, every 15 minutes.
- Pull and kanban. Takt time sets the pace of a pull production system, and it is used to size kanban loops and supermarkets in just-in-time production.
- Value stream mapping. Takt time is written on a future-state value stream map so every process box can be compared with it.
What happens when demand changes?
Takt time moves with demand. If daily demand in the example rises from 1,200 to 1,500 units, takt drops to 54,000 ÷ 1,500 = 36 seconds; minimum staffing becomes 156 ÷ 36 = 4.33, so 5 operators. If demand falls to 900, takt rises to 60 seconds and 3 operators (156 ÷ 60 = 2.6) can cover the work. Many plants review takt time monthly, or when the product mix changes, and use heijunka (production levelling) so the takt does not swing from day to day.
Common mistakes
- Using capacity instead of demand. “The machine can make 100 an hour” is a capacity; takt comes from what customers need.
- Subtracting unplanned downtime. Breakdowns and changeovers are losses to remove, not part of the takt calculation.
- Mixing periods. Use the same period (a shift, a day) for both available time and demand.
- Confusing takt with cycle time. Takt is a target pace from demand; cycle time is what the process actually achieves.
- Treating takt as a speed-up target for people. The aim is to remove waste and balance work, so the pace is steady and sustainable, not to make people rush.
Sources and further reading
Definition and history: Lean Enterprise Institute: Takt Time. All numerical examples on this page are illustrative.
Frequently asked questions
What is the formula for takt time?
Takt time = net available working time ÷ customer demand, for the same period. For example, 54,000 seconds available ÷ 1,200 units demanded = 45 seconds per unit.
What is the difference between takt time and cycle time?
Takt time is the pace customer demand requires. Cycle time is the pace a step actually achieves. Each step’s cycle time should be at or below takt time.
Do you include breaks in takt time?
No. Subtract planned breaks, meetings and planned stops from the available time. Do not subtract unplanned downtime.
What does takt mean?
Takt is German for beat or pulse. In Lean it is the beat of production that matches customer demand.
See also: throughput, touch time and cycle time, yamazumi chart, pull production, and Lean production.
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