Takt Time Makes the Real Constraint Visible
Calculate and use takt time as the demand heartbeat for line balancing.
The move: Use takt as the customer beat, then compare actual cycle time to it. Takt time is available production time divided by customer demand. It is not a motivational slogan and it is not the same as cycle time. Takt tells the plant the rhythm required to satisfy demand; cycle time tells you how long a station or process actually takes. The gap between the two is where design, staffing, material flow, quality issues, or overburden become visible. The mechanism is alignment. If the line demands one vehicle every 120 seconds but a trim station regularly needs 142 seconds,…
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