One of my readers, Darren, commented with some great questions about the “Takt Time-Cycle Time” post on my blog. He wondered which system is more efficient, a fixed, rigid takt-based production line or a flexible one-piece flow?

In terms of designing a manual-based production line to meet a theoretical forecasted “takt time,” (10 fixed workstations need 10 operators), how do you fluctuate in a seasonal business (±25% per month) to ensure you don’t end up overstocking your internal customer? Would one-piece flow be more efficient on the whole value chain in this instance due to its flexibility?

Through the evolution of answering his questions, this article had four titles, and I don’t think there is a single sentence of the original draft that survived the rewrites. I started the post with a confident analysis of the problem and the likely solution. Then I realized something: I don’t know.

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