John Bicheno

The Lean Games Book John Bicheno

Games have been an integral part of Lean Education and Training ever since Hewlett Packard made their 'Stockless Production' video in 1982. Over two decades John Bicheno had been developing and refining games for all aspects of Lean and Operations Management. These have been assembled together to produce a compendium that will be useful to Lean and Operations trainers everywhere. Although one cannot learn about Lean exclusively from playing games, games do allow quick experiential learning that reading about Lean, or listening to a lecture, cannot convey. Games allow players not only to learn about the interaction of particular Lean tools, but also to develop the richness of discussion, participation, and decision making that are essential requirements for successful Lean implementation. This collection covers a wide field including waste reduction, 5S, scheduling, layout, TPM, design, quality, and changeover, as well as an appreciation of the effects of variation and utilization. Some specific and perhaps lesser-known concepts such as Drum Buffer Rope, CONWIP and Bucket Brigade line balancing are also included. All the games presented here have been thoroughly tested and played in plant, academic, and workshop settings.