Interest in takt production has grown globally amongst lean practitioners within the last decade. In Finland, several successful takt implementation cases within the last five years have radically increased the interest in leveraging takted production systems. However, the discussion on how to transform the first success stories of takt production to the systemic improvement of productivity has remained scarce. This study aimed to conceptualize the requirements for systemically implementing takt production within projects and organizations in the form of a maturity level model. The study was conducted as an explorative, qualitative multiple case study. Through synthesizing the learnings of 24 takt implementation cases in Finland, we propose fifteen requirements for effectively implementing takt production, structured in the form of three maturity levels: i) technical takt planning, ii) social integration & takt control, and iii) continuous improvement. The study has implications for the industry players and researchers to develop an understanding of where they are now and where they should focus next to improve their takt production processes to achieve a systemic change. For further research and development, the proposed model should be validated by testing the model with the industry players.

Takt production is the most recent iteration of location-based production planning and control methods, adopting insights from lean construction and manufacturing operations management literature. In this research, we aim to advance the discussion between these domains further, especially considering the client's viewpoint. We approach takt production as a form of a project's operations strategy, allowing an explicit connection between client value-creation, production flow, and takt planning and control. Five key performance indicators are proposed to aid the client's understanding in assessing (and challenging) the effectiveness and value-creation capability of a specific takt production system. Furthermore, the approach is illustrated by applying it to a master planning phase of a large hospital project. The study has implications for clients and other stakeholders to evaluate their capability to operate with takt production from the lenses of valuecreation and production flow. We also hope that the study encourages scholars and practitioners to engage in further discussion with the nature of takt production, observing it from various theoretical and practical viewpoints.