Definition
The overall turnaround time from receipt to completion of return.
In detail
Turnaround Time (TAT) refers to the total time required from receiving a task or order to completing and returning the result, commonly used to measure the efficiency of service or repair processes. It addresses the issue of process response speed; excessively long TAT leads to customer dissatisfaction and resource occupation. Unlike takt time or cycle time, TAT focuses on end-to-end duration, including waiting and processing time. Output is typically a TAT statistical report used to identify bottlenecks and drive improvement.
Example in practice
A medical device repair company finds that customers wait an average of 5 days to get equipment back after reporting a fault, and complaints increase. The company analyzes time spent at each step, finding parts waiting accounts for 3 days. By establishing a local spare parts inventory and optimizing scheduling, TAT is reduced to 2 days, and customer satisfaction recovers.