
Takt Time: How Ford Learned to Make WWII Bombers 24x Faster - iamviqui
https://www.process.st/takt-time/
======
eesmith
It covers very little of how Ford learned the process.

It mostly covers Takt time, with only a few paragraphs about its application
at Ford's Willow Run facility.

Even then, it was mostly a description of the breakdown of some of the
operations.

Some questions which I left with, unanswered, were:

1) how did Ford/Sorensen learn about Takt time? What method was used
previously?

The given citation to
[http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_liberator_produ...](http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_liberator_production_pool.html)
says "Ford attempted to apply automotive mass production methods to the
production of heavy bombers. However this was a complex process and early
progress was very slow." so was Takt time already in place in Ford automotive
plants?

2) what problems did they have putting it into place?

That is, if it took years to get right, then it can't be simply a matter of
breaking things down into time blocks, with a buffer factor, and letting it
go.

3) If the method comes from Germany, and "By monitoring and setting guidelines
for this single figure, Ford (and company) was able to build a facility which
could produce the same as half of the entire German aircraft industry.", then
why wasn't Germany using Takt time for the same production improvements?

