The games people play 

Christine Stewart, managing director, Macresco Limited 

 This session will look at what you can do with some money, stopwatches and dice to demonstrate not just one but two ideas for improvement in your processes and working practices. The Penny Game will be used to look at how to improve the flow of work through reduction in batching and queuing and also constructing processes that whilst standardised remain flexible to cope with unforeseen circumstances. 

This session will not only be structured to demonstrated the concepts of “Batch and Queue” and “Runners, Repeaters and Strangers” but also to provide participants with instructions on how to use these games in their own institutions. Participants will be given the opportunity to discuss the concepts being looked at, to participate in the games and then to talk over how they could be used in their environment and perhaps altered to highlight other key messages or principles that they would want to get across. 

Games have long been used by trainers to demonstrate various aspects of lean. Simulations have been created using Lego bricks, plugs even paper aeroplanes to enhance learning and embed concepts. These are fantastic but what if you have limited time? Whilst paper aeroplanes are easier to transport than the real thing sometimes you want something that doesn’t require too many parts and can be scaled up or down depending on the number of participants!