Cycle Time Analyzer

Cycle Time Analyzer

Overview

The Cycle Time Analyzer skill provides comprehensive capabilities for analyzing and reducing cycle times. It supports time and motion studies, takt time comparison, line balancing, and value stream cycle efficiency calculations.

Capabilities

• Time and motion study
• Cycle time distribution analysis
• Takt time comparison
• Line balancing analysis
• Bottleneck visualization
• Queue time identification
• Value stream cycle efficiency
• Improvement simulation

Used By Processes

• LEAN-001: Value Stream Mapping
• LEAN-005: Standard Work Documentation
• TOC-001: Constraint Identification and Exploitation

Tools and Libraries

• Time study software
• Process mining tools
• Simulation software
• Video analysis tools

Usage

skill: cycle-time-analyzer
inputs:
  process: "Assembly Line A"
  takt_time: 60  # seconds
  workstations:
    - name: "Station 1"
      cycle_times: [55, 58, 52, 60, 57]
    - name: "Station 2"
      cycle_times: [62, 65, 63, 61, 64]
    - name: "Station 3"
      cycle_times: [48, 50, 47, 52, 49]
  value_stream_data:
    total_lead_time: 10  # days
    value_added_time: 45  # minutes
outputs:
  - cycle_time_summary
  - bottleneck_analysis
  - line_balance_chart
  - improvement_recommendations
  - cycle_efficiency

Cycle Time Components

Time Study Process

Step 1: Preparation

• Select process to study
• Break down work elements
• Prepare observation form
• Train observer

Step 2: Observation

• Multiple cycle observations
• Document each element
• Note abnormalities
• Capture variability

Step 3: Analysis

• Calculate averages
• Identify variation sources
• Compare to takt time
• Identify improvement opportunities

Line Balance Efficiency

Line Balance Efficiency = Sum of Cycle Times / (Number of Stations x Longest Cycle Time)

Example:
Station 1: 57 sec
Station 2: 63 sec
Station 3: 49 sec

Efficiency = (57 + 63 + 49) / (3 x 63) = 169 / 189 = 89.4%

Value Stream Cycle Efficiency

Cycle Efficiency = Value-Added Time / Total Lead Time

Example:
Value-Added Time: 45 minutes
Total Lead Time: 10 days = 14,400 minutes

Cycle Efficiency = 45 / 14,400 = 0.31%

Bottleneck Identification

Signs of a bottleneck:

• Longest cycle time
• WIP accumulation before station
• Downstream stations starved
• Overtime required

Improvement Strategies

Integration Points

• Manufacturing Execution Systems
• Time tracking systems
• Simulation software
• ERP systems