Manufacturing uses several different time concepts that should not be confused.

Cycle time is the time required for a resource or process step to complete one repetition under defined conditions.

Lead time is the elapsed time experienced by an order or part from one defined point to another. It can include waiting, transport, queues and processing, so it is often much longer than the sum of touch times.

Takt time converts required customer demand into the average production pace needed from a system:

$$T_{takt}=\frac{\text{available production time}}{\text{required output}}.$$

If a shift provides 420 productive minutes and demand is 210 units,

$$T_{takt}=\frac{420}{210}=2\ \mathrm{min/unit}.$$

A workstation with a 90-second cycle is fast enough relative to that takt in isolation. A station requiring 150 seconds is not, unless work is redistributed, capacity is added or demand assumptions change.

Takt is not a physical machine limit and cycle time is not customer demand. Comparing them helps reveal whether the planned production system has enough capacity to meet the required pace.

Lead time adds a different perspective: a factory can have fast individual cycles yet long order lead time if work spends most of its time waiting between operations.