How do you calculate takt time and cycle time in your plant?

1 What is takt time?

Takt time is the rate at which you need to produce your products or services to meet the demand of your customers. It is calculated by dividing the available working time by the customer demand. For example, if you have 8 hours of working time per day and your customer orders 400 units per day, your takt time is 8 x 60 / 400 = 1.2 minutes per unit. This means you need to complete one unit every 1.2 minutes to satisfy your customer demand.

2 What is cycle time?

Cycle time is the actual time it takes to complete one unit of your product or service at a given workstation or process step. It is measured by observing the start and end time of a unit as it passes through the workstation or process step. For example, if it takes 2 minutes to assemble a part at a workstation, the cycle time of that workstation is 2 minutes per part.

3 Why are they important?

Takt time and cycle time are important because they help you align your production process with your customer demand. By comparing takt time and cycle time, you can identify bottlenecks, overproduction, waiting, and other forms of waste in your plant. You can also use them to balance your workstations, so that each workstation has a cycle time that is equal to or less than the takt time. This way, you can avoid inventory buildup, uneven workloads, and quality issues.

4 How to calculate them?

To accurately calculate takt time and cycle time in your plant, you need to collect data about your working time, customer demand, and production process. First, determine the available working time per day, excluding breaks, maintenance, and other non-value-added activities. Then, calculate customer demand per day based on orders, forecasts, or historical data. Divide the available working time by the customer demand to get your takt time. Additionally, observe and record the start and end times of each unit as it passes through each workstation or process step in your plant. Calculate the average time for each workstation or process step by adding up the times and dividing by the number of units. Finally, compare the average times with the takt time to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement.

5 How to use them?

Once you have calculated takt time and cycle time in your plant, you can use them to optimize your production process. For example, you can balance your workstations by adjusting the number of workers, machines, tools, or tasks at each workstation to match the takt time. A line balancing chart can be used to visualize the cycle times and takt time of each workstation and make changes accordingly. Additionally, you can reduce waste by eliminating or minimizing activities that cause cycle time to exceed takt time, such as defects or overprocessing. A value stream map can be used to identify the sources of waste and apply lean tools and techniques to eliminate them. Finally, you can increase customer satisfaction by delivering your products or services on time, in the right quantity, and with the right quality. A control chart can be used to monitor the variation and stability of your cycle times and takt time, and take corrective actions if they deviate from the target.

6 How to improve them?

Takt time and cycle time change depending on customer demand, working conditions, and process performance. To keep your plant running efficiently and effectively, you should continuously measure, analyze, and improve them. You can review takt time and cycle time regularly and update them if customer demand or working time changes. Utilize a takt time calculator to simplify the calculation and adjust production rate accordingly. Kaizen or continuous improvement activities can be used to identify and eliminate the root causes of waste, variation, and inefficiency in your plant. A PDCA cycle or an A3 report can help plan, do, check, and act on improvement initiatives. Involve workers and stakeholders in the improvement process by using a suggestion system or a gemba walk to encourage participation and communication.