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<\/p>\nSometimes you have to slow down in order to reach your destination faster. Sounds contradicting, doesn\u2019t it? Well it\u2019s true nonetheless.<\/p>\n
In a previous article, we introduced takt time planning on a theoretical level. However, some principles are best understood when supported with an example.<\/p>\n
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The other day I was planning a project in a traditional CPM way when the PM came to me and said: \u201cwe have to speed up a lot\u201d. Everything that\u2019s linked finished to start doesn\u2019t really have to wait until the previous activity is entirely finished. They should overlap as much as possible but always leave a day lead to start or finish the next trade. Also double the resources for Reinforcement installation.\u201d Soon enough my planning went from the above to the one below, using a lot of SS- and FF- links with lags. Notice that the relationships in orange depict driving relationships.<\/p>\n
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The operation reduced the schedule from 39 workdays to 19. \u00a0Not too bad I would say. However, the PM wasn\u2019t fully satisfied. \u201cWhich activities\u2019 duration should we change to reduce the schedule to 3 weeks?\u201d
\nEarthworks is an obvious candidate. It\u2019s the only activity where decreasing its duration would decrease the overall length of the schedule. However due to mobility on site it wasn\u2019t possible to reduce earthworks to less than 3 days bare minimum. Also, the rebar installation was limited to at least 5 working days due to resource constraints.<\/p>\n
Can you figure out a solution that would fit inside 3 weeks?<\/p>\n
Try as you like, with the above limits and using the standard tool of speeding up critical activities, you\u2019ll only get to 16 days tops.<\/p>\n
However, the solution can be found using takt time planning. Instead of looking for tiny improvements, go for one continuous flow. By defining your takt, and allowing all your trades to have the same duration, an optimal solution can be found.<\/p>\n
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Contradictory to our intuition, extending the duration of activities such as \u2018Pile Cropping\u2019 and \u2018Blinding Concrete\u2019 have had a positive effect on the duration of the overall schedule. We even managed to gather 2 days of positive float!<\/p>\n
Did you notice the solution right away? Have you got questions regarding takt and what it can mean for your projects? Let us know in the comments.<\/p>\n