Takt Time

Takt time is the available production time divided by customer demand. It gives the rate at which a product must be completed to match demand, and is used as the pacing reference for a lean production system. For example, 480 available minutes per day divided by 240 units of daily demand gives a takt time of two minutes.

Source checked5/5 values · 2026-10-25Metric

Specification

1 source

Kind	metric
Origin	German aircraft industry, 1930s; Toyota, 1950s

Formula

Takt time = T / D

Symbol	Name
T	Available production time
D	Customer demand

Worked example: T = 480, D = 240 → 2

Study notes

Takt is German for a precise interval of time, such as a musical meter.
First used as a production management tool in the German aircraft industry in the 1930s, as the interval at which aircraft were moved to the next production station.
Widely utilized within Toyota in the 1950s and in widespread use throughout the Toyota supply base by the late 1960s.
Toyota typically reviews the takt for a process every month, with a tweaking review every 10 days.
The stated purpose is to precisely match production with demand.
A second worked case in the source: demand of two new products per month gives a takt time of two weeks.