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Daubert Standard For Takt

The Daubert standard, named after the legal case Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (1993), is a criterion used by courts in the United States to assess the admissibility of expert witness testimony. This standard replaced the Frye standard, which focused mainly on the general acceptance of scientific methods within a particular field.

Under the Daubert standard, when a court is presented with expert testimony, it must evaluate whether the expert’s methods and reasoning are scientifically valid and reliable. The court considers factors such as whether the expert’s theory or technique can be tested, whether it has been subjected to peer review and publication, its error rate, and whether it is generally accepted within the scientific community.

In the context of forensic analysis, such as in scheduling cases, the Daubert standard requires that the methods used by forensic experts in analyzing schedules must be scientifically valid and reliable. This might involve demonstrating that the techniques used to analyze schedules, such as algorithms or statistical methods, have been rigorously tested, are subject to peer review, and have an acceptable error rate. Additionally, the expert may need to show that these methods are generally accepted within the forensic analysis community. If the court determines that the methods used by the expert meet these criteria, the expert testimony may be deemed admissible. Otherwise, it may be excluded.

The Daubert standard outlines several criteria that courts consider when determining the admissibility of expert testimony. These criteria include:
  • Testability: The scientific method or technique used by the expert must be capable of being tested and subjected to empirical validation.
  • Peer Review and Publication: The method or theory should have been subject to peer review and published in reputable scientific journals. This helps ensure that the method has undergone scrutiny and validation by other experts in the field.
  • Known or Potential Error Rate: The method should have a known or potential error rate, and the expert should be able to provide data or studies supporting the reliability of their method and the accuracy of their conclusions.
  • Existence of Standards and Controls: The method should be based on established standards and controls commonly accepted within the relevant scientific community. The expert should demonstrate adherence to these standards in their analysis.
  • General Acceptance in the Scientific Community: While not the sole determinant, the court may consider whether the method or theory is generally accepted within the relevant scientific community.
  • Applicability to the Case at Hand: The expert must demonstrate how their method is relevant and applicable to the specific facts and issues in the case.

Overall, the Daubert standard aims to ensure that expert testimony is based on reliable scientific principles and methods, rather than subjective opinions or speculation. Courts use these criteria to assess the reliability and validity of expert testimony to make well-informed decisions about its admissibility in legal proceedings.

We have created standards for the Takt Production System® where possible to enable TPS® to eventually allow Takt planning to be used in court cases in lieu of CPM.

Testability: The scientific method or technique used by the expert must be capable of being tested and subjected to empirical validation.:

  • Schedules in Takt can be verified with the following methods:
  • Milestones: Milestones must be set at the end of a sequence, Line of Balance, and buffer applicable to the phase.
  • Sequences: Sequences can be verified with a pull plan in accordance with these rules:
  • No trade stacking.
  • No trade burdening.
  • No out of sequence work.
  • No unsafe or unnatural work.
  • Line of Balance: LOB is a method of drawing a line on a timescale that represents repetitive work. The line indicates the speed of the work. The speed can be verified by using the Realized Flow Potential formula. For Macro Level Takt plans the range is 35% to 50%. For Norm Level Takt plans the range is 50% to 80%. For backup plans it is 80% to 100%.
  • Buffer: The buffer in the phase can be verified and compared to the risk analysis for that phase.

Peer Review and Publication: The method or theory should have been subject to peer review and published in reputable scientific journals. This helps ensure that the method has undergone scrutiny and validation by other experts in the field.

  • Not Yet Available.

Known or Potential Error Rate: The method should have a known or potential error rate, and the expert should be able to provide data or studies supporting the reliability of their method and the accuracy of their conclusions.

  • Not Yet Available.

Existence of Standards and Controls: The method should be based on established standards and controls commonly accepted within the relevant scientific community. The expert should demonstrate adherence to these standards in their analysis.

  • Takt Plans must meet the following criteria:

Takt Overview in Summary

Takt planning is the ideal First Planner System. It is a planning method that brings flow to the project. Additionally, it prepares work for Last Planner® and Scrum by queueing work up for those systems with workflow, trade flow, and logistical flow. It is effective in doing this because the plan is crafted early on when information, material, and manpower procurement can align with the flow and sequence.

A Takt plan is
  • A visual location-based schedule showing time and space
  • Showing work, trade, and logistical flow (when, what, where, who, how)
  • Scheduled on a rhythm
  • With the appropriate buffers
  • That stabilizes the pace of work with one-process flow and limiting work in process
  • With a reasonable overall project duration
  • It is a system that creates stability in the field which enables—
  • Additional team and builder capacity
  • Consistent crew sizes
  • Consistent material inventory levels
  • The ability to find and remove roadblocks ahead of the work
  • The ability to finish as we go
  • A solid quality program

It is the only scheduling system that shows all three types of flow—

  • Workflow
  • Trade flow, and,
  • Logistical flow

Flow is identified by evaluating the schedule’s—

  • Rhythm
  • Continuity, and,
  • Consistency

And the structure not only enables, but almost forces the user to obey four key production laws—

  • Little’s Law
  • The Law of Bottlenecks
  • The Law of the Effect of Variation, and,

Which results in—

  • Healthier project durations
  • A complex project communicated in a simple to read visual schedule
  • A respectful and stable environment
  • The ability to gain time in the overall project duration
  • This is the way.

Takt Integrity Checklist

We have also been asked to provide a quick integrity checklist to remind project teams of the requirements they must meet to have completed a Takt plan that is whole. This list is also included in the Takt Excel template.
Does my Takt plan…
Meet the following requirements…
  • Visual schedule showing time and space
  • Showing work, trade, and logistical flow (when, what, where)
  • Scheduled on a rhythm
  • With the appropriate buffers
  • That stabilizes the pace of work with one-process flow and limiting work in process
  • With a reasonable overall project duration
Does my Takt plan…
Comply with my Takt Schedule Health Metrics…
  • The value parametric
  • The efficiency parametric
  • The stability parametric
  • It has trade buy-in.
  • It includes buffers according to the risk analysis.
  • It has the proper percentages of flow.
  • 80% for trade flow
  • 60% for trade flow
  • It has all ancillary, infrastructure, and support activities included in it.
  • It shows interdependence ties between phases.
  • It shows critical milestones and where they land in the schedule.
  • It blocks out Thanksgiving and Christmas as a buffer week.
  • It shows come-back areas.
  • It shows the impact of weather on the Takt plan.
  • It was reviewed in a “fresh eyes” meeting with a group of peers that will make, when combined, over 100 years of experience in the review of your plan before submitting a GMP.
Does my Takt plan…
Have a solid…
  • Rhythm
  • Continuity
  • Consistency, and,
  • Overall Duration
Does my Takt plan…

Obey…

  • Little’s Law
  • The Law of Bottlenecks
  • The Law of the Effect of Variation
  • Kingman’s Formula
  • Brooks’s Law
Does my Takt plan…
Enable you to…
  • Show it on one page?
  • See all three types of flow?
  • Bring materials JIT?
  • Prefabricate on a rhythm?
  • Have Trades control geographical areas?
We hope this checklist has been helpful in deciding if your Takt plan is whole and serving you well.

Commandments:

  • Takt plans must be highly visual & clear
  • Takt plans must protect work, crew or trade flow without stacking
  • Takt plans must be scheduled on a rhythm, with continuity & consistency
  • Takt plans must include the appropriate buffers to absorb the risks of the phase
  • Takt plans must be on a takt time by takt zone, and shown with space on the left & time on the top
  • Takt plans must be properly leveled according to work density and optimized with little’s law
  • Takt projects must limit work in process with one-process flow
  • Takt projects must focus on quality by planning it first, building it right the first time, and finishing as you go
  • Takt projects must focus on roadblock removal ahead of the train and the adjustments of constraints in the train
  • Takt plans must have a reasonable overall project duration that will not hurt workers

Takt Principles:

  • Always begin with identifying zones with zone density when beginning a schedule.
  • You must have a schedule you can see that is beautiful & clear.
  • Takt plans are made no later than schematic design so we can protect the budget and duration.
  • The person building the job always makes or aligns with Takt schedule.
  • You need a production system, not just a schedule.
  • Cost, production, quality, and safety are all equal, but the schedule comes first and enables the rest.
  • A schedule is not functional without a functional way to manage procurement from the start.
  • Your quality control plan is a flow system. Build it right and you will go fast.
  • Masters study logistics. Your logistics plan is part of the schedule.
  • A plan, schedule, and production system must be complete and reviewed before leaving pre-con.
  • Always protect trade flow.
  • You should always be able to see your buffers compared to the end date.

General Acceptance in the Scientific Community: While not the sole determinant, the court may consider whether the method or theory is generally accepted within the relevant scientific community.

  • Not Yet Available.

Applicability to the Case at Hand: The expert must demonstrate how their method is relevant and applicable to the specific facts and issues in the case.

  • Case by case.
We invite industry experts and educators everywhere to help us finalize the re quirements to meet all the Daubert standard requirements for the Takt Production System®
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