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Chaku-chaku line planner

Chaku-chaku, Japanese for load-load, is a way of running a cell in which the machines unload finished parts by themselves, so the operator carries each part straight to the next machine, loads it, starts it and moves on. The Lean Enterprise Institute describes it as one-piece flow in a cell where machines unload parts automatically. This planner checks whether a cell can run that way. Page 1 has demand and takt, a station table for up to 12 machines in walking order (auto cycle, load, unload only where a machine does not eject its part, walk to the next station), the results and a squared grid for the U-shaped layout. For each machine, the machine cycle is its manual time plus its auto cycle; it is ready when the operator returns if that cycle is no longer than the operator's loop (all manual time plus all walking). The cell cycle is the larger of the loop and the longest machine cycle, and it must fit inside takt. Page 2 explains how to measure, lists the cell rules and the formulas, and works through a six-station example with what happens when demand changes. The Excel version takes up to 15 stations and works out takt, each machine's cycle with ready and takt flags, the operator loop, the cell cycle and what paces it, operators needed, the operator's wait and output a day, with a chart of manual, walk and auto time by station.

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Page 1 of the chaku-chaku line planner: fields for cell, part, date and timed by, a demand and takt row, a 12-row station table with auto cycle, load, unload, walk, manual, machine cycle and Y or N checks for ready when the operator returns and within takt, a results box with operator loop, cell cycle, takt and operators needed, and a squared grid for the U-shaped layout.
Takt from demandAuto, load, unload, walkMachine cycleReady when the operator returnsOperator loopCell cycle against taktOperators neededU-shape layout grid

When to use it

When to use a chaku-chaku line planner

  • When you turn a group of machines into a cell where one operator loads them in turn, to check the machines will be ready each time the operator comes round.
  • When demand changes, to see whether the cell still meets takt and whether a machine, not the operator, now sets the pace.
  • Before buying or moving a machine into a cell, to check that its cycle fits the loop and takt.
  • To find where the operator waits, and which machine to work on first.

How to fill it in

  1. 1

    Work out takt

    Available time a day (shift minutes minus planned breaks and meetings, times 60, times shifts) ÷ demand a day.

  2. 2

    List the stations in walking order

    Every machine or manual station the operator visits, in the order of the path, ending with the walk back to the first.

  3. 3

    Time each station at the cell

    The auto cycle from start to eject, the operator's load time, an unload time only where the machine does not eject its part, and the walk to the next station. Time several cycles and use a typical value, not the best.

  4. 4

    Check each machine against the loop

    Operator loop = all manual time + all walking. A machine is ready when the operator returns if its manual time plus auto cycle is no longer than the loop; if it is longer, the operator waits and that machine paces the cell.

  5. 5

    Check the cell against takt

    Cell cycle = the larger of the loop and the longest machine cycle; it must be no longer than takt. Operators needed = loop ÷ takt, rounded up. A machine whose own cycle is over takt needs a shorter cycle or a second machine; more operators will not fix it.

  6. 6

    Sketch the layout and check the rules

    Draw the machines in a U or loop on the grid with the walk times, tick the cell rules on page 2, then write the standard work for the path on a standard work combination table.

What's on the planner

The 7 cell rules to check before you run a chaku-chaku cell

On the planner each rule is ticked, or marked Y or N in the Excel version. The machine and takt checks are worked out from your station times.

Cell rules

Check each before you run the cell as chaku-chaku

  1. 1Every machine unloads (ejects) its finished part by itself, so the operator only loads
  2. 2Parts move one at a time from machine to machine, with no piles between them
  3. 3Machines stand in process order, close together, in a U or loop that brings the last station back near the first
  4. 4The operator walks the same path in the same order every cycle
  5. 5Each machine's cycle (manual plus auto) fits inside the operator's loop and inside takt
  6. 6Machines detect errors and stop or warn the operator, so a bad part is not passed on
  7. 7The layout leaves safe walkways and loading heights that suit the operator

A filled-in example

Illustrative, not a benchmark

An example: a six-station flange cell (saw, two lathe operations, drill, deburr brush, gauge and pack), 450 minutes a shift, 2 shifts and 600 pieces a day (illustrative numbers).

  • Takt = 450 × 60 × 2 ÷ 600 = 54,000 ÷ 600 = 90 s.
  • Manual time adds up to 48 s and walking to 17 s, so the operator loop is 65 s. The lathe at op 10 needs 7 + 72 = 79 s, so it is not ready when the operator returns and the operator waits 79 − 65 = 14 s each cycle. The lathe at op 20 needs exactly 65 s, so it is ready.
  • Cell cycle = the larger of 65 and 79 = 79 s, within takt with 11 s spare. Operators needed = 65 ÷ 90 = 0.72, rounded up to 1. Output a day at the cell cycle = 54,000 ÷ 79 = 683 pieces.
  • Rules met: 6 of 7. The deburr brush does not eject its part, so the operator unloads it (4 s).

At 700 pieces a day, takt would fall to 54,000 ÷ 700 = 77.1 s and the lathe at op 10 would be over takt by 1.9 s, while one operator would still be enough. Moving about 7 s of cutting from op 10 to op 20 makes both lathes 72 s, a cell cycle of 72 s within takt and 750 pieces a day.

Common mistakes

  • Adding operators to a machine problem

    When a machine's own cycle is longer than takt, a second operator only waits with the first. Shorten that machine's cycle, split its work with another machine or add a machine.

  • Machines that do not eject

    Every manual unload adds hand time at that station and makes the loop longer. Note them and fit auto-eject where it pays, starting with the machines in the busiest loop.

  • Using the best cycle you saw

    Plan with a typical time from several cycles. A loop planned on the fastest cycle will run over takt on an ordinary day.

  • Forgetting the walk back

    The loop ends with the walk from the last station to the first. Leave it out and the operator loop, and every ready check, looks better than it is.

Download the template

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Run this template in LeanSuite

In LeanSuite, AI line balancing works from a video of the line: it splits the work into elements, charts every station as a Yamazumi against takt, and lets you test rebalancing scenarios before you change anything on the floor.

FAQ

Chaku-chaku line planner: common questions

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