Free tool
Takt time calculator with bottleneck and line balance
Enter your shift pattern and demand to get takt time. Add station cycle times to see the bottleneck, line balance efficiency, the minimum number of stations and whether the line meets demand.
Takt time
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What takt time tells you
Takt time is how often the line has to deliver a part to meet customer demand on time. More demand or less working time means a shorter takt, and every station's cycle time has to stay below it. In the calculator's example takt is 36 seconds; station 4 at 40 seconds exceeds it, so the line can make at most 1,350 parts a day.
Takt time is the pace demand sets; OEE is how effectively the line actually runs in its planned time. Stops and speed losses at the bottleneck come straight off line capacity; see them with the OEE calculator and record their causes with downtime tracking.
Taking cycle times from the machine instead of a stopwatch shows the real differences between stations. Our production tracking guide and machine data collection page explain how. All tools are on the tools page.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions
How do you calculate takt time?
Takt time = available production time / customer demand. Available time is shift time minus planned breaks. With 2 shifts × (480 − 30) min = 900 min a day and a demand of 1,500 parts a day, takt time = 900 × 60 / 1,500 = 36 seconds.
What is the difference between takt time and cycle time?
Takt time is the pace set by demand: how often a part must leave the line to deliver what the customer ordered on time. Cycle time is how long a station actually takes to finish one part. Every station's cycle time must stay below takt time.
How do you find the bottleneck station?
The station with the longest cycle time is the bottleneck; it sets the line's capacity. If its cycle time exceeds takt, the line cannot meet demand: rebalance the work, add a station or shorten the cycle.
What is line balance efficiency?
Line balance efficiency = total cycle time / (number of stations × longest cycle time). The more evenly work is spread across stations, the closer it gets to 100%; a low figure means some stations wait for the bottleneck.
Do planned stops count in takt time?
Breaks, planned meetings and planned maintenance come out of available time. Availability losses such as breakdowns, changeovers and set-up (even a scheduled changeover) show up in OEE rather than takt time; use the OEE calculator to see real capacity.
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