Comments on: Really Long Takt Times http://theleanthinker.com/2007/12/03/really-long-takt-times/ Thoughts and insights from the shop floor. Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:11:11 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Christopher Wood http://theleanthinker.com/2007/12/03/really-long-takt-times/comment-page-1/#comment-1721 Christopher Wood Wed, 23 Jan 2008 16:49:33 +0000 http://theleanthinker.com/2007/12/03/really-long-takt-times/#comment-1721 One other factor people tend to forget goes back to the takt time calculation. Avaliable time/# need in the time period. I've been working with a solar inverter company that needed to produce 20 residential units per day (7hrs)with a 21 minute takt time. Working with takt times in seconds is so much easier and you can find so much more waste to take out. I dislike anything over 60 seconds and really hate anything over 10 minutes. They where worried about not having enough space and the ability to ramp up the demand in their current facility. What I saw was no understanding of their true capacity. After doing a quick process walk, noting the "side of the barn, not through the window" cycle time of each work station, I concluded all the work could be completed in 20 minutes each day. What they had not considered was that they didn't need the 420 minutes. All they needed was 20 work stations with the work balanced to 60 second cycle times in each station and 20 people for 20 minutes each morning to complete the work. It was a small startup at that point and they had 27 total people, so that was totally possible. We need to remember to make sure the available time assumptions are correct too. One other factor people tend to forget goes back to the takt time calculation. Avaliable time/# need in the time period. I’ve been working with a solar inverter company that needed to produce 20 residential units per day (7hrs)with a 21 minute takt time. Working with takt times in seconds is so much easier and you can find so much more waste to take out. I dislike anything over 60 seconds and really hate anything over 10 minutes.
They where worried about not having enough space and the ability to ramp up the demand in their current facility. What I saw was no understanding of their true capacity. After doing a quick process walk, noting the “side of the barn, not through the window” cycle time of each work station, I concluded all the work could be completed in 20 minutes each day. What they had not considered was that they didn’t need the 420 minutes. All they needed was 20 work stations with the work balanced to 60 second cycle times in each station and 20 people for 20 minutes each morning to complete the work. It was a small startup at that point and they had 27 total people, so that was totally possible. We need to remember to make sure the available time assumptions are correct too.

]]> By: Richard Abercrombie http://theleanthinker.com/2007/12/03/really-long-takt-times/comment-page-1/#comment-1479 Richard Abercrombie Tue, 18 Dec 2007 21:00:04 +0000 http://theleanthinker.com/2007/12/03/really-long-takt-times/#comment-1479 The same strategy (time based intervals) works effectively on training operators on long cycle time jobs. Break it down into portions and train systematically on each portion until the whole job can be done independently. It goes hand in hand with takt time management. If your takt time progress marks are associated with job portions then the operator can easily guage whether they need to call for assistance. The same strategy (time based intervals) works effectively on training operators on long cycle time jobs. Break it down into portions and train systematically on each portion until the whole job can be done independently. It goes hand in hand with takt time management. If your takt time progress marks are associated with job portions then the operator can easily guage whether they need to call for assistance.

]]> By: Conrad http://theleanthinker.com/2007/12/03/really-long-takt-times/comment-page-1/#comment-1218 Conrad Mon, 03 Dec 2007 19:28:03 +0000 http://theleanthinker.com/2007/12/03/really-long-takt-times/#comment-1218 Mark, I think you really hit the nail on the head at the end of your post, when you say, in summary, "the key to managing really long takt times is to break the work into time-based intervals..." I read a paper somewhere on lean manufacturing that suggested a similar 'break down' into what the author suggested to be 'mini-intervals' or something of that nature. Sorry I can't remember where I read the paper but the concept was well explained. Mark,

I think you really hit the nail on the head at the end of your post, when you say, in summary, “the key to managing really long takt times is to break the work into time-based intervals…” I read a paper somewhere on lean manufacturing that suggested a similar ‘break down’ into what the author suggested to be ‘mini-intervals’ or something of that nature. Sorry I can’t remember where I read the paper but the concept was well explained.

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