What is my takt time?
Type your shift length, breaks, shifts per day and customer demand. The takt time calculator shows the pace each unit must keep to meet demand.
- Takt time
- 43 s
With 860 min of production time a day and 1,200 units of demand, takt time is 43 s per unit.
- Takt time in minutes
- 0.72 min
- Available production time per day
- 860 min
- Units per hour to keep pace
- 83.72
Takt time: 43 s. With 860 min of production time a day and 1,200 units of demand, takt time is 43 s per unit.
Takt time by customer demand per day
How to calculate
Works out takt time, the pace that meets customer demand: the available production time in a day (shifts × shift length less breaks and planned stops) divided by the units customers want that day.
Example with the default inputs (Shift length 8 h, Breaks and planned stops per shift 50 min, Shifts per day 2, Customer demand per day 1,200): With 860 min of production time a day and 1,200 units of demand, takt time is 43 s per unit.
Method: Available production time = shifts per day × (shift length − breaks and planned stops). Takt time = available production time ÷ customer demand per day. Units per hour = customer demand ÷ available hours.
- Every shift has the same length and the same breaks; demand is for the same day the shifts cover.
- Unplanned downtime is not taken off: takt time sets the pace demand needs, not what the line achieves.
- A shift lasts from 1 second to 24 hours.
Worked examples
Each example is checked against the calculator on every build.
- Shift length 8 h, Breaks and planned stops per shift 0 min, Shifts per day 1, Customer demand per day 240 gives Takt time 120 s, Available production time per day 480 min, Units per hour to keep pace 30.Source: Lean Enterprise Institute, Lean Lexicon: Takt Time (available production time ÷ customer demand; 480 minutes a day and 240 widgets a day give 2 minutes), https://www.lean.org/lexicon-terms/takt-time/
- Shift length 8 h, Breaks and planned stops per shift 50 min, Shifts per day 2, Customer demand per day 1,200 gives Available production time per day 860 min, Takt time 43 s, Units per hour to keep pace 83.72093.Source: Lean Enterprise Institute, Lean Lexicon: Takt Time (available production time ÷ customer demand; 480 minutes a day and 240 widgets a day give 2 minutes), https://www.lean.org/lexicon-terms/takt-time/ (available time = 2 × (480 − 50) minutes)
- Shift length 7.5 h, Breaks and planned stops per shift 30 min, Shifts per day 3, Customer demand per day 500 gives Available production time per day 1,260 min, Takt time 151.2 s, Units per hour to keep pace 23.809524.Source: Lean Enterprise Institute, Lean Lexicon: Takt Time (available production time ÷ customer demand; 480 minutes a day and 240 widgets a day give 2 minutes), https://www.lean.org/lexicon-terms/takt-time/
How it works
- Available production time per day = shifts per day × (shift length − breaks and planned stops per shift)
- Takt time = available production time per day ÷ customer demand per day
- Units per hour = customer demand per day ÷ (available production time in hours) = 3,600 ÷ takt time in seconds
Times may be typed in hours, minutes or seconds; the calculator works in seconds.
Exact arithmetic. Each typed time is read back as the exact decimal you typed in its unit (7.5 h is exactly 27,000 s), and each result is an exact fraction, rounded once for display.
Output format. Takt time shows in seconds and in minutes per unit, available time in minutes, and units per hour, each with 2 decimal places, rounded half up.
When there is no answer.
- Breaks and planned stops as long as the shift or longer: no production time is left.
- Times and a demand so far apart in size that the takt time or the hourly pace is beyond the largest number the page can hold.
Assumptions
- Every shift has the same length (1 second to 24 hours) and the same breaks.
- Demand and shifts cover the same day. For a week, type a day's average demand and a day's shifts.
- Unplanned downtime is not taken off the available time.
Worked examples by hand
The Lean Lexicon's widget factory. 480 minutes a day, no breaks taken off, 240 widgets a day: takt = 28,800 s ÷ 240 = 120 s (2 minutes) per unit; units per hour = 240 ÷ 8 = 30.
Two 8-hour shifts. Available = 2 × (480 − 50) = 860 minutes = 51,600 s. Demand 1,200 a day: takt = 51,600 ÷ 1,200 = 43 s per unit (0.72 minutes); units per hour = 1,200 ÷ 14.333 = 83.72.
Three 7.5-hour shifts. Available = 3 × (450 − 30) = 1,260 minutes = 75,600 s. Demand 500 a day: takt = 75,600 ÷ 500 = 151.2 s (2.52 minutes); units per hour = 3,600 ÷ 151.2 = 23.81.
Other questions people ask
How do you calculate takt time?
Takt time = available production time ÷ customer demand. The Lean Lexicon’s example: a factory that runs 480 minutes a day for customers who want 240 widgets a day has a takt time of 480 ÷ 240 = 2 minutes per widget.
What counts as available production time?
The time the line is meant to run: shift length minus planned breaks, meals, meetings and planned cleaning, times the number of shifts. Do not take off unplanned breakdowns; takt time is the pace demand needs, not the pace the line manages.
What is the difference between takt time and cycle time?
Takt time comes from demand: it is how often a unit must be finished. Cycle time is measured on the floor: how often your process actually finishes one. If the cycle time is longer than the takt time, you cannot keep up with demand without more time, people or machines.
What happens to takt time when demand changes?
Takt time moves the other way. With the same available time, twice the demand halves the takt time, and half the demand doubles it. Recalculate takt whenever demand or the shift pattern changes.
How is takt time different from lead time?
Lead time is how long one order takes from being placed to being delivered. Takt time is the rhythm of production that matches demand. A short takt time does not mean a short lead time.
Why does the calculator show units per hour?
Units per hour = customer demand ÷ available hours, the same pace as the takt time written the other way round: 3,600 ÷ takt time in seconds. A takt time of 43 seconds is about 83.7 units an hour.