What is TAKT?

Takt is a method to standardize the production rates by time and location. It started as an industrial process and now it is part of an evolution on the construction industry.

A Takt Plan has two primary elements: time (on the top row) and zone (on the left column). The intersection of those matches a color/code that means that an activity must be made. The time that requieres an activity to be done is called Takt Time.

The zoning of the spaces is made by the amount of work to be done and the production rates of the crews, that means that the sizes of the zones will vary but the amount of time it takes to complete them will be the same.

By splitting big working areas into smaller zones, the trades are able to start and finish earlier their work on each zone, and, as a result, the project is finishing earlier than expected (in comparative with a CPM schedule). 

Another element that part of a Takt Plan are the “Buffers”. While in some projects there is time between activities that acts as a buffer due to the start and finish, it was not really a programed buffer. In Takt, buffers must be considered and added to the schedule program, adding at least 5-20% of the total time of the project as a buffers.

Fun Fact: The Takt Method is so efficient that companies that work on this system consider a work week of 5 days instead of 6.