What is the cycle time?
The
cycle time is the total time that has passed since the start of the process or the procedure until its completion. The production cycle times are usually carefully monitored as a means of maintaining and improving the production of various types of goods. Within the process, the staff will follow the effectiveness of the procedure to follow the complete cycle and be careful not to notice how long each of the steps included in the process takes, and perhaps give recommendations on how to shorten the cycle times in the future.
All types of tasks have a cycle time. Although this term is usually associated with the production of goods on the production floor, the concept can also be applied to administrative tasks, cleaning processes and any other situation where good or service is created. For example, the cycle time in the restaurant can begin when the customer plays the order and ends when the food is delivered to the table.
Many manufacturing companies take the idea of the cycle very seriously. To this end, it is not unusual to have the staff devoted to the analysis of the effectiveness of various processes involved in the production cycleu. In the textile plant it may take the form of observation operators of machines when it is a process of operating the assigned machine. It is easier to determine how long it takes to perform each of the tasks, to find out what the functional amount of hourly production represents, due to the type of machinery used and employee knowledge when operating equipment.
Along with the assessment of the production cycle time, the idea of analyzing the duration of any cycle can also be used to accurately calculate the production cycle time for other important tasks. The process can be used to evaluate the degree of completion for everyday tasks such as writing a letter, printing copies of documents, or entering data into the databuase. Even the tasks around the house can be divided into the time of the cycle, such as how long it takes to vacuum a specific room or wash clothes.
By looking in detail at how long it takes to complete the task, there may often be valuable information about the nature of the task. As observation of the cycle time continues, it may be clear that ProEducating minor changes in how the process is made will increase overall efficiency. For example, the placement of raw materials in front of the employee rather than on the side can trim a few seconds from each event repeat, resulting in a noticeable increase in productivity over an hour. Similarly, it can combine steps in the process to save time and remove repetition in a process that serves no useful purpose.