Free Takt Time Calculator

The Trouble with Calculating Takt Time and Kanbans

At first glance, the formulas seem so easy.

Takt Time =
Work Time Available / Customer Demand

# Kanbans =
Reorder Point rounded to container size

So why are they so often calculated wrong?

Try this experiment...

Ask 5 of your people
to calculate takt time for the same process.

In most organizations,
you will get at least 3 different answers.

Why? Units of Measure Does that formula use daily demand? weekly? monthly? Work Time Available

Jack deducted time for set-ups and change-overs. Jill deducted time for the daily Stand Up Meeting. Jim didn't realize that this team has a different break schedule than most other teams. The new-hire, John, didn't even deduct lunch.

Demand

Jack just blindly plugged in the number he got from his supervisor. Jim got the math wrong when converting monthly demand, trying to factor in the consideration that this team will be working every other Saturday next month. Jack was the only one who remembered to include multiple sources of demand (like spare parts, service parts, prototypes...)

Benefits of your Systems2win Takt Time Calculator

1. It correctly handles units of measure
2. It reminds you to consider all factors that affect Work Time Available
3. It allows you to (optionally) consider multiple sources of Demand
4. It calculates Pitch (which experienced lean workers care about more than Takt Time)
5. You have a written archive to clarify "Where did that number come from?"
6. With the click of a button, you can instantly add a Takt Time Calculator sheet to ANY Excel document
7. It comes with training
   (so that all of your people calculate Takt time in one standardized consistent way)

And perhaps best of all...

It's free

Yes, there is no trial expiration on this template.

So when you download the latest free trials,
you can keep and use this Takt Time Calculator template for the rest of your career - as a free gift.

Why re-invent?

Even if you already own a license,
you can download the latest trials any time.

And also try
the Kanban Calculator

If you ask 5 of your people to calculate kanbans for the same process... you will probably get at least 4 different answers.

Why?

Because calculating kanbans involves even more factors than Takt Time.

1. Did you consider all elements of Lead Time? (e.g. requisition cycle, order cycle, fulfillment cycle...)
2. How and why did you choose that factor for Buffer Stock? (to protect against Demand Variation)
3. How and why did you choose that factor for Safety Stock? (to protect against Process Variation)
4. Did you correctly use Average or Median? (based whether your source data fits a Normal curve)
5. Did you consider whether the kanban is released when the container starts to be used vs. when the container is empty?

Preparing your 2017 Annual Budget

This is the time of year that many organizations prepare their annual budget.

As you juggle all of the factors to attempt to maximize the productivity of each of your employees...

Consider these questions

1. How much more productive could our employees be if we got serious about training and coaching for process improvement?
2. How much might difference might it make to empower our people with tools and online training for consistent, teachable, repeatable standardized ways of improving processes?
3. What's the opportunity cost? What costs are we already incurring (or might we incur) by NOT getting serious about process improvement?

If you would like to request a quote to consider a number of seats vs. a site license for unlimited users...

then contact us to open a dialog about:

• what your goals are for process improvement in 2017
• which tools and methods might help most

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