In pull systems, the customer demand rate is translated into takt time, which is used to control the pace of the production line (Productivity Press Development Team, 2002)
In real world, two things play a vital role in determining takt time:
1. Serial V/S Parallel Flow
2. Product Mix
How should you determine the takt time in such situation? In these conditions, simple mathematical models, process mapping, or calculations do not help. Instead, discrete-event simulation can be used to predict the system behavior, and hence determine the optimal takt time.
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