What takt time is.
Takt time is available production time divided by customer demand: 480 minutes of production for 240 parts ordered give a takt of 2 minutes per part, the example given by the Lean Enterprise Institute.
The word comes from the German Takt, the beat in music. It is the beat the line has to follow: one part every 2 minutes, no faster, no slower.
Takt time does not depend on your machines. It depends on two things only: the time you can produce, and what your customers order.
The formula.
Takt time = available production time ÷ customer demand, both over the same period.
- Available time = (shift length − breaks and planned stops) × number of shifts. It is often expressed in seconds.
- Customer demand = the number of parts to deliver over the same period, per day or per week.
The result is a time per part. It changes as soon as demand or the shift pattern changes: recalculate it with every new sales forecast.
Takt time vs cycle time.
Three times often get mixed up:
| Time | What it measures | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Takt time | The pace at which one part must come out | Customer demand |
| Cycle time | The actual time to turn out one part, at a station or at the end of the line | The line and its machines |
| Lead time | The total delay, from order or material intake to delivery | The whole flow |
The rule fits in one line: as long as cycle time stays under takt time, the line keeps up with demand. Above it, the line falls behind with every part.
A worked example.
An assembly shop (example figures):
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Shifts | 2 shifts of 8 h (480 min) |
| Breaks | 40 min per shift |
| Demand | 1,320 parts per day |
| Measured cycle time | 38 s per part |
The calculation:
- Available time = 2 × (480 − 40) = 880 min, or 52,800 s.
- Takt time = 52,800 ÷ 1,320 = 40 s per part.
- Capacity at a 38 s cycle time = 52,800 ÷ 38 = 1,389 parts per day.
The line keeps up with demand, with a margin of 69 parts a day. At a 42 second cycle, it would only make 1,257: 63 parts behind every day.
Calculate your takt time.
Enter your shifts and your demand. Add your cycle time to see whether the line keeps up.
The figures you enter stay in your browser: nothing is sent.
Free Excel template
A production dashboard ready to fill in: one row per day and per machine, takt time, OEE, MTBF and MTTR computed with formulas. Get it by email.
When cycle time exceeds takt.
Three levers bring cycle time back under takt:
- Cut cycle time. Spread the load so that no station exceeds takt, remove waiting and walking. The slowest station sets the pace of the whole line.
- Add available time. Overtime, an extra shift, staggered breaks so that the line never stops.
- Spread demand. Move part of the volume to another line or level orders over the week.
Takt time also sets how many people you need: the total work content of one part, divided by takt, gives the theoretical number of operators.
Tracking the pace every day.
Takt time is compared with actual cycle time. The performance factor of OEE measures exactly the gap between actual and ideal speed. Failures show up in MTBF and MTTR.
These figures are worth the most when they are updated every day, on one screen: that is the job of a production dashboard.
That is the mechanism we built for Maeva & Co, a property management company: exports are collected, figures computed and the dashboard consolidated every 24 hours, with no manual re-entry. More than 400 hours freed up per year.
Source: definition and the 480 minutes for 240 parts example from the Lean Enterprise Institute lexicon.
Takt time: what people ask us.
How do you calculate takt time?
Divide the available production time by customer demand over the same period. Two 8 hour shifts with a 40 minute break each give 880 minutes, or 52,800 seconds. For 1,320 parts a day, takt time is 40 seconds.
What is the difference between takt time and cycle time?
Takt time is the pace the customer asks for. Cycle time is the time the line, or one station, actually takes to turn out one part. If cycle time exceeds takt time, the line does not keep up with demand.
Should breaks count in takt time?
No. Available time is the time you can actually produce: shift length minus breaks and planned stops. Counting breaks would give a takt that is too long, so a line that looks like it keeps up when it does not.
What if cycle time exceeds takt time?
Three levers: cut cycle time (balance the load across stations, remove waiting), add available time (overtime or an extra shift), or move part of the volume to another line. The calculator on this page shows the gap in parts per day.
What is the difference between takt time and lead time?
Takt time is a pace, in seconds or minutes per part. Lead time is a delay: the total time from the order, or from raw material coming in, to delivery of the part.