Takt Time

[als-uk]

Hey all

Hope all is well

I am trying to get my head around Lean for process improvement for the first time and attempting to apply Takt time to a service-based industry (end-to-end vocational rehabilitation, so telephone assessment >> work in progress, while medical services arranged, coordinated and monitored >> case closed and final assessment report produced, when individual returns to some form of employment or case is closed).

I don’t think it would be logical to apply takt time to an entire process, as that process (“case”) could be open for 6 months plus? So would it be best to apply takt time to the major operations within the process, essentially just the telephone assessment as I see it?

If my assumption is correct, I would also assume that:

Takt time = 420 minutes (7 hours per day) ÷ number of new referrals for a telephone assessment

• Available time – is this based on 1 employee, or would you multiply 420 by the number of staff you have on average? i.e., if you had 5 staff = 2,100 minutes, or is it simply 420 regardless of how many staff you have?
• Number of new referrals for telephone assessment – Assume this would just be based on the average number of referrals received per day?

Thanks so much in advance

 

[Newchodge]

What is Takt Time?

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

WTF !

 

[MOIC]

WTF 2!

 

[als-uk]

Thanks for the responses!

Takt time is the rate at which you need to complete a "product" to meet customer demand. For example, if you receive a new "product" order every 4 hours, your team needs to finish a "product" in 4 hours or less to meet demand.

Takt time is your sell rate and can easily be categorised as the heartbeat of your work process. It allows you to optimise your capacity in the most appropriate way to meet demand without keeping too much inventory in reserve.

Takt Time: What Is It and How to Measure It?

Takt time is a key concept in Lean manufacturing. It's the production rate at which you need to complete a product or service to meet customer demand. Learn how to calculate takt time and how it is different than cycle and lead time.

kanbanize.com

 

[fisicx]

Not sure it applies to your business. Lean only really works for production processes.

 

[Mark T Jones]

This might be a case of one specific methodology (and the jargon that goes with it) rule your business, rather than building it into your business?

 

[The Byre]

Wow! Another German word makes its way into the English language from German business practice! (They'll be talking about Ist-Aufnahmen next - you'll see!)

Takt - the German word for a beat. Taktzeit - beat time. The time a regular process takes.

But usually, it is used in production, not for the kind of thing the OP is referring to. So I suppose individual steps can be broken down into 'Taktzeit' measures, but a whole medical procedure with aftercare? Does not sound logical.

Example from German medical practice compared to UK practice using Taktzeit measures to improve productivity -

It takes c.a. 5 mins for a gynecologist to inspect a woman. In the UK a consultant gynecologist takes 15-20 minutes because he talks to the woman and discusses her general health and then she has to get her kit off and get on the inspection chair, etc., etc. He/she also needs some time to enter any findings into the patient's records.

A busy German gynecologist will have a medical assistant do all that and enter all spoken details into the patient's medical records which are stored centrally with the health insurance society and accessible with the health ID card. The gynecologist dictates all findings to the assistant and then moves to the next inspection room where another assistant will have prepared the next patient and entered all details and be ready to take dictation.

So the UK gynecologist's Taktzeit is five minutes: their UK counterpart's Taktzeit is 15-20 minutes.

Two reasons -

1. A gynecologist gets three-to-five times the pay of an assistant - sometimes much more.
2. German medical units (hospitals, gynecological practices, whatever) get paid by the process. The UK doctor is paid by the hour.

(There is also the added complication that gynecological inspections are often done by lowly GPs and in Germany, all doctors must be specialists and have had a scientific doctoral thesis accepted to call themselves 'Doktor'. But that is a whole different subject!)

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

This might be a case of one specific methodology (and the jargon that goes with it) rule your business, rather than building it into your business?

Only you could tell someone they are talking boll££cks in such a diplomatic way

 

[als-uk]

Only you could tell someone they are talking boll££cks in such a diplomatic way

So anything you don't understand is just boll££cks?

 

[Newchodge]

So anything you don't understand is just boll££cks?

Can I suggest you read your first paragraph - the one that lasts more than 4 lines on my screen, and consists of a single sentence. How do you expect anyone to understand that stream of consciousness?

 

[The Byre]

I actually sort of agree with @als-uk. I say sort of, because he/she does not seem to have grasped the reason that one breaks down processes into routine steps that must be rationalised and made more efficient if necessary.

But, yes, as Cindy states, the opening sentence is worse than rambling. It is five lines of gobbledygook.

The principle of Taktzeit must be taken within a whole analysis of the entire process. Like any magic bit of business jargon, it is all too often taken as an instant fix-it and not as a small part of a whole philosophy that is too large to explain here.

The danger is that one adopts a small part of some business philosophy that sounds sexy, without adopting the whole philosophy. For example - Just-in-time supply lines without the vital accompanying sensitivity analysis that MUST go with that way of doing business.

But it is all part of what is called Procedural Modeling. (Not to be confused with procedural modeling in computer graphics!) A procedural model organises a process into different, structured sections, which in turn are assigned corresponding organisational methods and techniques. In other words, the opposite of muddling through!

The component steps (my translation from the German) are -

• preliminary examination
• situation recording
• situation criticism
• solution generation
• solution evaluation and selection
• introduction and implementation
• evaluation and further development.

Knock yourselves out kids! It's all good fun! It was created by the German Business Studies professor Erwin Grochla and is known in German as a Vorgehensmodell.

 

[als-uk]

Then ask for clarity if I’ve not been clear in my question. Thank you to everyone who provided meaningful input

 

[fisicx]

You problem is not the use of Takttime. The problem is you have used it in isolation on something to which it doesn't apply. You need to reassess if Lean is the correct methodology for your business (it's not).

Have you built a set of process/procedure models? Have you got a critical path analysis? Have you identified inputs, outputs, controls and resources? If so you will understand why Taktzeit (probably) isn't applicable.

 

[als-uk]

You problem is not the use of Takttime. The problem is you have used it in isolation on something to which it doesn't apply. You need to reassess if Lean is the correct methodology for your business (it's not).

Have you built a set of process/procedure models? Have you got a critical path analysis? Have you identified inputs, outputs, controls and resources? If so you will understand why Taktzeit (probably) isn't applicable.

Thanks for your response. My problem is not trying to use it in isolation, as I know this is just a small part of Lean, I was just trying to see how Takt time may best apply to my situation. It clearly may apply to my business (healthcare), and appears to be used within the NHS:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/improvement-hub/wp-content/uploads/sites/44/2017/11/Bringing-Lean-to-Life.pdf p.23

Yes, I have process clear process/procedure models etc.

Anyway, I have managed to find the answers I need, so thank you again to all those who provided input