Short Takt in Construction: A Systematic Literature Review

Over the past decade, Takt planning has steadily gained ground as a production system design scheme in construction projects. The approach entails organising trades as wagons in a train and running that train through a set of designated work areas in a building, with the train making regular stops and the wagons spending a fixed amount of time – the takt – in each area. The most common takt in construction projects is weekly takt. While using a shorter takt in combination with smaller work areas yields a shorter overall execution time, there is limited research on the actual consequences and feasibility of reducing takt time in practice. This paper conducts a systematic literature review on using short takt in construction projects, seeking to consolidate existing knowledge and suggest avenues for future research. From searches in the Scopus and IGLC.net databases, the paper identifies 13 articles related to using short takt in construction projects. The articles are analysed using thematic coding, revealing seven themes: maturity, planning and preparation, production monitoring, visual management,mock-ups, logistics, and collaboration. Key insights include the importance of rigorous follow-up during production and the advantage of experience in managing short takt times. The paper concludes that the sum of existing knowledge on short takt times in construction is limited, offering minimal practical guidance for implementation. This identifies an urgent need for further research to fill this significant gap.