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Educating Students On Lean Manufacturing And Pull Production Using Games

Article  in  Balkan Region Conference on Engineering and Business Education · January 2014

DOI: 10.2478/cplbu-2014-0034

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 The 6th Balkan Region Conference on Engineering and Business Education & Sibiu,
The 5th International Conference on Engineering and Business Education & Romania,
DOI 10.2478/cplbu-2014-0034 The 4th International Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship October, 18th – 21st, 2012

EDUCATING STUDENTS ON LEAN MANUFACTURING AND PULL

PRODUCTION USING GAMES

Livia Dana, Beju

Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania, livia.beju@ulbsibiu.ro

ABSTRACT: The paper presents a pull production mechanism that based on Kanban cards and a Heijunka panel. Based on this
model, a game was developed that enables students to get a better understanding of pull production in manufacturing streams. The
game is played in several rounds. Emphasis is laid upon the importance of work balance in manufacturing cells, as well as on the
necessity to reduce the time required to switch production. The game also underlines the dependency between the number of cards in
the process and the level of interoperational stocks. Last but not least, students are confronted with aspects of teamwork. Based on
suggestions from the students and from the acquired experience, some ideas were formulated for the improvement of this
educational activity.

Key words: lean manufacturing, Kanban, Heijunka, game

employee needs, as well as individual and group improvement

1. INTRODUCTION is equally important.
Research performed by psychologists and teachers in education Generally, all companies, irrespective of whether they desire or
has shown the existence of a number of so-called laws of not to implement the principles of agile manufacturing in the
learning. long term, start off by improving the layout of space. This is
Some of these have been discovered by Thorndike [2], while accomplished through the 5S and visual management
the others by Hilgard and Bower [1], as well as Seligman [8]. methodologies, without the necessity to implement any other
These laws are: readiness (the individuals learn if they are specifically lean methods. It is not uncommon that with a
physically, mentally and emotionally ready to learn); exercise rather small financial effort a significant diminishing of losses
(whatever is being repeated is easier to remember); effect be attained.
(learning is easier when it is accompanied by a feeling of Many companies, and especially those which manufacture a
pleasure or satisfaction); primacy (the first student experience wide array of products, keep the push production system. They
is the foundation on which all that follows is built, and it is use management systems such as MRP (Manufacturing
therefore important that this experience is a positive one); Resources Planning) or, more recently, ERP (Enterprise
recency (recently learned items are easier to refresh); intensity Resources Planning). Even these companies use the Kanban
(a learning experience that is vivid, clear and dramatic enriches supply system, as it enables them to work with small
the pupil far better than a boring routine) and freedom (items intermediary product stocks.
that are learned freely and in an unconstrained way are better
remembered and fixated). In companies producing a narrower array of products, having
stable clients and suppliers and trying to maximise production
The understanding of the principles of learning explains the efficiency without the high costs associated to ERP systems,
success that learning games have in the educational process. the pull manufacturing stream and the Kanban production
The game enables the students in a mental state of maximum system are implemented. This system is somewhat harder to
mental focus and enjoyment towards getting involved or understand as it requires a detailed understanding of the daily
following a process. Basically all the principles of learning are planning mechanism, as well as of the pull production system.
obeyed whenever the game is a success. This is the reason why This is the system we will focus on further on.
games are increasingly used within educational processes.
The purpose of this paper is to present a game that can aid the
understanding of the organisation of the pull production
mechanism via the Kanban cards and the use of the Kanban
Heijunka panel, which is a fundamental methodology of
organising modern companies.
2. LEAN MANUFACTURING
Lean manufacturing is a production management concept,
devised by the company Toyota, whose main purpose is
removing any form of waste. To apply this methodology one
has to implement a series of step-by-step methodologies inside
continuous improvement projects (kaizen). Additionally, an
Figure 1. Steps of the implementation of the lean methodology
honest organisational culture, teamwork, awareness of
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There are also other production optimisation instruments, such Lemonade Tycoon”, a game in which groups of students
as SMED (single minute exchange of die) or quality produce and sell lemonade. The continuous improvements of
enforcement instruments. However, all of them are mere parts businesses are performed by applying the main Lean
of larger production management systems, which can be of instruments [7]. Shannon et al. propose a simulation exercise
either push or pull type. that provides students a hands-on experience in developing and
evaluating alternative lean implementation strategies [9].
It is to be noted that the instruments of agile manufacturing are
Yazici developed a game that allows students to better
applied successively and repeatedly. After applying 5S and
understand layout modelling and evaluate various
Visual Management, it is frequent that the Kanban supply
manufacturing and labour-allocation strategies [10]. "Goldratt's
management system be implemented, followed by the Kanban
Game" is an Excel simulation with the purpose of helping the
production system, and of course alongside improvements to
participants understand the impact and interaction of statistical
the previously implemented systems. Continuous improvement
fluctuations and dependent events on the process flow [4].
is an important axis in the life of an organisation. (fig. 1)
In order to achieve understanding of certain aspects of the
2.1. Lean Manufacturing Games Kanban concept, Excel simulations were created, which
Lean implementation processes largely depend on the way in explain how the number of products to be manufactured each
which they are understood by all the participants to the process. day has to be computed, according to the number of products
In order for this understanding to be as clear as possible, a ordered by the client. There are also simple games that portray
number of educational games were devised until now. They are the functioning of the withdrawal kanban system.
useful to both students delving into the subject matter and to Functional models of Kanban production systems that use
employees working in companies that apply the Lean Kanban board and production pull systems are less present in
Manufacturing methodology. literature. Kumar presents a synthesis of the types of Kanban
In order to grasp the effectiveness of the 5S method, games methods that appear in literature [5]. Matzka models a more
were devised on the principle of having to quickly recognize detailed Kanban system with production levelling, but does not
shapes. The number of firms who use such games is relatively show all the functions that a Kanban Heijunka board possesses
large. [6].

Other games underline the power and benefits of creating flow 2.2. Kanban-Heijunka principle
in the working processes. The games are played in rounds each
In this paper the functioning of the pull production system is
of them demonstrating traditional layout, cell layout, single-
described, in which production is triggered by a Kanban
unit flow with pull, [3]. Ncube, L. proposes “The Lean
Heijunka board.

Figure 2. Production Kanban - Heijunka principle

Figure 3. Heijunka –Kanban board (principle)

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In this system the Kanban Heijunka board has both a role in organise and optimise the activity. Out of the total product
triggering the production and in triggering the supply operation request from the beneficiary, the proportions required from
(fig. 3). For this purpose, the cards are used on both sides. One each product are as follows: M – 40%; N- 20%; O – 20%; P –
side has a colour that is specific to a product, while the other 20%.There is a production triggering board constituted
one is white. The name of the product is written on both sides. similarly to the one in figure 3. Each card will accompany a
For example, let us consider that on the assembly line four batch of 2 products of the same type, which corresponds to a
products are being built. We shall label them M, N, O, and P. container. The students are given the task to organise
When the card is placed on the board with the white side facing themselves in the group and then to organise and control the
out, it means that supplies need to be brought in the production.
interoperational supermarket-type stock number 1 (fig. 2). This 3.2. Playing the game
rule must be checked for at regular intervals, and, whenever
necessary the stocks have to be updated accordingly. In this Several rounds are played and each time the number of pieces
moment, all the respective cards are turned with the other side produced in a unit of time (7 minutes) is followed, as well as
facing out, i.e. the coloured one instead of the white. The their percentage. Additionally, the duration on each job and the
number of coloured cards thus always indicates the number of lead time are timed. The production engineers optimise the
pieces waiting in the supermarket stock number 1 to enter the process after each round. The first round starts off with a
production of the respective product. number of 8 cards for product M and 4 cards for each of the
products N, O, and P. After more rounds they managed to
On the Kanban board, next to each product stack two arrows
reduce the time required to switch the production and finally, at
are drawn. Whenever the coloured cards reach up to the bottom
the last round they brought down the number of cards to 2
arrow, production can commence. Whenever the number of
cards for product M and 1 card for each of the other three.
coloured cards reaches or surpasses the top arrow, production
Every time stock levels are also being measured.
on the respective assembly line must commence.
For a product the number of cards and the position of the 3.3. Learning from the game
arrows is directly proportional with the number of products At the end of the semester the students filled out a
ordered by the beneficiary. questionnaire in which they were asked what they learned from
After the product starts being produced, the cards will be taken the game. The understanding of the way the Kanban production
off the board and will accompany the product up to its final principle works was still vivid enough so as of 85% of them
destination (supermarket number n). All along this path of were able to coherently explain the mechanism behind the
operations the FIFO principle must be obeyed (first in first Kanban board and pull production. The main conclusions
out). From the supermarket number n the free cards return to drawn about the functioning of a manufacturing stream (a
the board and the products are carried to the finite product manufacturing cell) were as follows: at the beginning, the
warehouse, from where they will be transported to the poorly optimised process had bottlenecks, the level of
beneficiary. On the board the cards will be again displayed inoperable stocks was large, and the system suffered from long
with the white side visible, which means a new supply of work waiting times in changing the production. The result were long
pieces for the respective product. lead times and a small number of products. After the work load
was balanced, the production got more fluid, the same work
At any time the product with the highest level of supplies will could be performed by fewer workers and the stock levels
enter production. decreased dramatically. The shortening of the production
It is to be noted that the Kanban Heijunka board is genuinely a change times allowed the reduction of cards per process and,
pace maker of the production system. The adjustment of the therefore, also of stocks. Thus, the students grasped the overall
production commands (based on the quantities ordered by the functioning of pull production, the connection between the
beneficiary), as well as further adjustments of production number of cards and the level of stocks, the importance of
planning are all performed by adding or removing cards from work load balance in the manufacturing cell, as well as the
the circuit. For any product, the number of cards is directly importance of reducing the time assigned to changing the
proportional to the request of the beneficiary and should also production.
be proportional to the time required to change the production. 3.4. Game improvement
The longer it takes to switch the production, the larger the
number of cards should be for a certain product. Asked at the end of the semester about what improvements
they consider that should be brought to the game, they
3. KANBAN HEIJUNKA GAME emphasised the need of a previous presentation in which the
One objective was to elaborate a game whose main objective concepts behind agile manufacturing appearing in the game to
was to make students understand the complex mechanism be clarified.
underpinning the pull production system using cards and At the first games the instructions were oral, after which the
Kanban Heijunka boards. group had the freedom to lead the game by themselves. The
results were such that the groups that had a charismatic leader
3.1. Setup of the game had the best results, whereas the other groups were less
The story line of the game is that a group of 8 to 12 students effective. Therefore, at subsequent games the actions were led
start a company that produces four paper toys: M – a small by the teacher to a greater extent, with the aid of PowerPoint
paper boat made out of A5 paper, N – a boat made out of an A4 explanation of the characteristics of the round. The teacher then
paper sheet, O – a paper airplane and P – a paper helm. The set out to supervise the structure of the groups in such a way as
students take on the following roles: production manager, to achieve the best results, but at the same time avoiding to
logistics manager, 3 to 4 workers, transporter (of both work place too many constraints on the groups. If a group chooses its
pieces and finite products) and production engineers, who leader within the first 5 minutes, the game is left to develop
more freely. Otherwise it has to be d more rigidly through strict
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requirements on the organisation of each round, as formulated 5. REFERENCES
by the teacher.
1. Hilgard, E and G. Bower (1966). Theories of Learning.
It is useful to have a period in which students have a chance to New York: Appleton Century-Crofts.
learn how to build the paper toys, before the game itself starts. 2. Thorndike, E (1999) [1913]. Education Psychology. New
York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-21011-9.
The students were also stimulated to analyse the results and to 3. Dukovska-Popovska, I, Hove-Madsen, V., Nielsen, K.B.,
draw conclusions after each round. An important phase in Teaching lean thinking through game: some challenges,
learning was the summary of the game, the recapitulation on http://www.sefi.be/wp-content/abstracts/1092.pdf
how production pull is performed with Kanban cards, and the 4. Johnson, A., Drougas,A., Using Goldratt's Game to
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