Takt Time Calculator
Calculate the required production pace (Takt Time) to meet customer demand. This is the maximum time allowed to produce one unit to meet the schedule.
Enter your total Available Production Time for a period and the Customer Demand (number of units) for that same period.
Calculate Takt Time
Understanding Takt Time
What is Takt Time?
Takt Time (German for 'beat' or 'rhythm') is the maximum amount of time in which a product needs to be produced to satisfy customer demand. It sets the pace for your production process.
It synchronizes the pace of production with the pace of sales. If your process takes longer than the Takt Time to complete one unit, you won't meet demand. If it's faster, you're overproducing.
Takt Time Formula
The formula is simple and direct:
Takt Time = Available Production Time / Customer Demand
Available Production Time: The total time production is running, excluding planned breaks, meetings, and downtime. Make sure this time corresponds to the period for which you have demand (e.g., per day, per shift, per week).
Customer Demand: The number of units required by the customer in that same period.
Takt Time vs. Cycle Time vs. Lead Time
- Takt Time: Customer demand rate. (Time available / Demand)
- Cycle Time: Time it takes to complete *one* unit from start to finish, or the time between completing consecutive units *at a specific process step*. (Varies by step)
- Lead Time: Total time from when a customer places an order until they receive it. (Includes processing, waiting, production, delivery)
Ideally, your *average* cycle time should be less than or equal to your Takt Time.
Takt Time Examples
Here are 10 examples of calculating Takt Time:
Example 1: Standard Shift
Scenario: A team works an 8-hour shift with two 15-minute breaks and a 30-minute lunch. They need to produce 40 units in this shift.
Available Time: 8 hours = 480 minutes. Total breaks = 15 + 15 + 30 = 60 minutes. Available Time = 480 - 60 = 420 minutes.
Demand: 40 units.
Calculation: Takt Time = 420 minutes / 40 units
Result: Takt Time = 10.5 minutes per unit.
Example 2: High Volume Production
Scenario: A factory operates for 450 minutes per shift and needs to produce 900 small items.
Available Time: 450 minutes.
Demand: 900 units.
Calculation: Takt Time = 450 minutes / 900 units
Result: Takt Time = 0.5 minutes per unit (or 30 seconds per unit).
Example 3: Weekly Target
Scenario: A company needs to ship 250 units by the end of the week. Total available production time for the week (after accounting for all breaks, changeovers, etc.) is 2000 minutes.
Available Time: 2000 minutes.
Demand: 250 units.
Calculation: Takt Time = 2000 minutes / 250 units
Result: Takt Time = 8 minutes per unit.
Example 4: Using Hours
Scenario: An assembly line has 7 available production hours per day and needs to complete 28 large items.
Available Time: 7 hours.
Demand: 28 units.
Calculation: Takt Time = 7 hours / 28 units
Result: Takt Time = 0.25 hours per unit (or 15 minutes per unit).
Example 5: Very Short Takt Time
Scenario: In a highly automated process, there are 400 seconds of available time per production run to produce 100 components.
Available Time: 400 seconds.
Demand: 100 units.
Calculation: Takt Time = 400 seconds / 100 units
Result: Takt Time = 4 seconds per unit.
Example 6: Low Demand
Scenario: A custom workshop has 6 hours of available time per day but only needs to complete 3 custom pieces.
Available Time: 6 hours.
Demand: 3 units.
Calculation: Takt Time = 6 hours / 3 units
Result: Takt Time = 2 hours per unit.
Example 7: Daily Target with Minutes
Scenario: A bakery needs to produce 150 loaves of bread in a day with 390 minutes of oven time available.
Available Time: 390 minutes.
Demand: 150 units.
Calculation: Takt Time = 390 minutes / 150 units
Result: Takt Time = 2.6 minutes per unit.
Example 8: Multiple Shifts
Scenario: A manufacturing line runs two 7.5-hour shifts (each with 0.5 hours of breaks per shift), 5 days a week. Weekly demand is 1200 units.
Available Time (per shift): 7.5 hours - 0.5 hours = 7 hours = 420 minutes.
Total Available Time (per week): 2 shifts/day * 5 days/week * 420 minutes/shift = 4200 minutes.
Demand (per week): 1200 units.
Calculation: Takt Time = 4200 minutes / 1200 units
Result: Takt Time = 3.5 minutes per unit.
Example 9: Project-Based Takt Time
Scenario: A software team has 100 hours of development time available this sprint to complete 10 key user stories.
Available Time: 100 hours.
Demand: 10 units (user stories).
Calculation: Takt Time = 100 hours / 10 units
Result: Takt Time = 10 hours per user story.
Example 10: Using Seconds for Very Fast Process
Scenario: An automated packaging machine operates for 1200 seconds non-stop and needs to package 6000 items.
Available Time: 1200 seconds.
Demand: 6000 units.
Calculation: Takt Time = 1200 seconds / 6000 units
Result: Takt Time = 0.2 seconds per unit.
Frequently Asked Questions about Takt Time
1. What is Takt Time used for?
Takt Time is used to set the pace of production to match customer demand. It helps identify bottlenecks, balance workstations, and ensure processes are efficient enough to meet required output without overproduction or delays.
2. How is Takt Time different from Cycle Time?
Takt Time is the required pace (driven by demand and available time). Cycle Time is the actual time it takes to complete a process or unit. Takt Time is what you *need* to do; Cycle Time is what you *are* doing.
3. How is Available Production Time calculated?
Start with the total shift time (e.g., 8 hours). Subtract all planned non-production time such as scheduled breaks, lunch breaks, team meetings, planned maintenance, and shift handover time. Only count the time operators or machines are *actually available* for value-adding production.
4. Can Takt Time change?
Yes, Takt Time is dynamic. It changes whenever customer demand or available production time changes. It should be recalculated regularly (daily, weekly, etc.) to stay aligned with current conditions.
5. What happens if my Cycle Time is longer than my Takt Time?
If your actual Cycle Time is consistently longer than the Takt Time, you will not be able to produce enough units to meet customer demand within the available time. This indicates a bottleneck or an inefficient process that needs improvement.
6. What happens if my Cycle Time is shorter than my Takt Time?
If your Cycle Time is consistently shorter than Takt Time, you are producing faster than needed. This can lead to overproduction, increased inventory, wasted resources, and potential quality issues if rushing occurs.
7. What units should I use for Takt Time calculations?
Use consistent units. If your Available Time is in minutes, your Demand is in units, your Takt Time will be in "minutes per unit". You can convert units (e.g., hours to minutes, minutes to seconds) to get a Takt Time in the most useful unit for your specific process steps.
8. What if customer demand is zero?
If customer demand is zero for the period, Takt Time cannot be calculated as it would involve division by zero. In practice, zero demand means no production is needed for that period.
9. How does Takt Time relate to Lean Manufacturing?
Takt Time is a fundamental concept in Lean Manufacturing. It provides a clear target pace for production flow, helping to reduce waste (Muda), particularly the waste of overproduction and waiting.
10. Should I include unplanned downtime in Available Time?
No, Available Production Time should only subtract *planned* non-production time (breaks, meetings, etc.). Unplanned downtime (machine breakdowns, quality issues, material shortages) is a factor that affects your *actual output* and highlights areas for improvement to help you *meet* Takt Time, but it is not subtracted when calculating the target Takt Time itself.
