Takt-Time Planning and the Last Planner Production Planning and Control 571 TAKT-TIME PLANNING AND THE LAST PLANNER Adam Frandson 1 , Klas Berghede 2 and Iris D. Tommelein 3 ABSTRACT Introduction of the Last Planner™ System helped to improve predictability and overall productivity in the construction industry. In manufacturing, the use of takt- time resulting in production to a set beat, has long been a center piece in leveling work flow and optimizing production lines. This paper will explore how we successfully merge the rigorous and more pre-determined structure of takt-time planning with the fluid, more interactive and responsive Last Planner™ System. The paper will use the Cathedral Hill Hospital Project as an example of takt-time planning in use and describe how the production team can work together with Last Planners to make sure that the structure and alignment from the takt-time plan also improve and simplify the Last Planner’s ability to plan their work successfully. We are especially interested in the dynamics around worker buy-in and the notion of manageable ‘chunks’ of work to improve the ability for workers to plan successfully. KEYWORDS Takt-time planning, Last Planner™ System, production system design INTRODUCTION Production system design in construction is inherently complex, for the production system is project-based with a dynamic team of individuals trying to create a unique product in a fixed amount of time. As such, the theory to help project teams solve production system design problems should aim to be more prescriptive (Rooke et al. 2012). This paper identifies how takt-time planning contributes to production theory by providing a method for work structuring around the principles of continuous flow and production leveling using the four language games described by Rooke et al. (2012). This approach to work structuring aligns with the two-part lean implementation strategy outlined by Ballard and Howell (1998). Takt-time planning is possible with the use of a production control system like the Last Planner™ System, which has proven to increase plan reliability and create the environment for continuous improvement to take place (Ballard 2000). This paper examines how takt-time planning expands the Last Planner™ System. The paper also 1 Graduate Student, Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-1710, USA, Phone +1 (510) 642-3261, AFrandson@berkeley.edu 2 Production Manager, The Boldt Company, Western Operations, 2150 River Plaza Drive, Suite 255, Sacramento, CA 95833, Klas.Berghede@boldt.com 3 Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, and Director of the Project Production Systems Laboratory (p2sl.berkeley.edu), 212 McLaughlin Hall, Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-1712, USA, Phone +1 (510) 643-8678, tommelein@ce.berkeley.edu