What Takt Time is
Takt Time comes from the German word Takt (beat, pace). It's the available production time divided by customer demand over the same period — in other words, how often a part needs to come off the line to match exactly what the market is asking for, no more, no less.
The formula and an example
Takt Time = Available production time ÷ Customer demand over the period
If a plant runs 450 minutes per shift and the customer orders 300 units a day, Takt Time is 450 ÷ 300 = 1.5 minutes per part. That means the line needs to deliver a finished part every 1.5 minutes to meet demand without overage or shortage.
Takt Time doesn't tell you how fast you can produce — it tells you how fast you need to produce.
Takt Time vs. Cycle Time vs. Lead Time
Takt Time
The pace required by customer demand (calculated, not measured).
Cycle Time
The actual time the line takes to produce one part (measured on the shop floor).
Lead Time
The total time from customer order to delivery, including all waiting.
The goal of line balancing is to bring Cycle Time as close to Takt Time as possible — producing faster than Takt causes overproduction; slower causes late deliveries.
Want to apply Takt Time to your standardized work?
Read the complete guide to standardized work.
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About the author
Lean Manufacturing & Behavioral Management Specialist
Over 20 years in the automotive and metalworking industries (GM and Dana), Lean Manufacturing practitioner since 2006. SENAI instructor and mentor in Brazil’s Brasil Mais Produtivo program, delivering consulting, training and audits for 50+ companies, combining quality, productivity and people development.