Is the work spread fairly, and does it fit the customer pace? The Yamazumi ChartA stacked bar chart showing task times per worker or station, used to balance workload against Takt Time. Click term for full definition stacks every task and shows you at a glance. Watch the short video, then work with the toolkit PDF: it explains the method, shows a worked example and gives you a blank template to fill in.
Tool video
The short tool video will appear here.
Yamazumi Chart in short
- Observe and categorize. At the GembaJapanese for "the actual place"; going to directly observe a process rather than relying on documents or memory. Click term for full definition, time every task and sort it: value-added, necessary, waste.
- Calculate Takt TimeThe rate at which a product must be completed to meet customer demand: net time available divided by customer demand. Click term for full definition. Net available time ÷ customer demand. Draw it as a line.
- Stack the tasks. One bar per person or station: green at the bottom, yellow in the middle, red on top.
- Read the peaks. Above the line: overloaded. Far below: waiting. Lots of red or yellow: opportunity.
- Rebalance. Move or remove tasks until every bar sits just below Takt Time.
Key points
- One stacked bar per person or station.
- Takt Time = available time ÷ demand.
- Above the line overloaded, below waiting.
- Remove waste, then rebalance.