Pitch

Pitch is the amount of time needed in a production area to make one container of products. It is calculated by multiplying takt time by the pack-out quantity. Used together with a heijunka box and material handling based on paced withdrawal, pitch helps set the takt image and pace of a facility or process.

Source checked4/4 values · 2026-10-25Metric

Specification

1 source

Kind	metric

Formula

pitch = takt time * pack-out quantity

Symbol	Name
takt time	Takt time
pack-out quantity	Pack-out quantity

Worked example: takt time = 1, pack-out quantity = 20 → 20

Study notes

Takt time itself is defined in the document as available production time per day divided by customer demand per day.
In the document's example, a takt time of 1 minute and a pack-out quantity of 20 give a pitch of 20 minutes.
The term pitch is also sometimes used to indicate the span or time of a person's job.
The document lists heijunka box, paced withdrawal, pack-out quantity and takt time as related terms.