TAKT Time
In Lean, TAKT Time is the rate at which a finished product needs to be completed in order to meet customer demand. If a company has a takt time of five minutes, that means every five minutes a complete product, assembly or machine is produced off the line because on average a customer is buying a finished product every five minutes. The sell rate – every two hours, two days or two weeks – is the takt time.[1]
The Importance of TAKT Time[2]
Defining TAKT time is crucial for optimizing a team’s capacity. It is important for reducing the waste of your process. Takt time can help you maintain a continuous flow of work and reduce Mura (unevenness) in your workflow. Nonetheless, takt time is valuable for optimizing storage costs as it will help you avoid overproduction. Takt time is one of the most important Lean metrics. By defining takt time for your workflow you can:
- Establish a continuous flow of work.
- Optimize your capacity to meet customer demand.
- Reduce storage costs by avoiding overproduction.