How beer helps with lean

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beer How beer helps with lean

From the ASQ forums: Are you familiar with the “Beer Game” simulation?

It was developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the 1960s, so it pre-dates Lean (though, obviously, it does not pre-date beer!). Even so, it can be used to demonstrate several lean-related concepts.

It is used to demonstrate the advantages of taking an integrated approach to managing the supply chain, especially the value of sharing information across the various supply chain components.

It is useful for explaining several lean-related concepts, especially the “Bullwhip Effect” (aka the “Whiplash Effect”), Kanban, and the advantages of “Just-in-Time” (JIT).

The Beer Game can be a very useful addition to Lean classes (especially those in manufacturing environments that depend on a good supply chain):

Here is the quick Wikipedia explanation of the Beer Game:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_Distribution_Game

Here is the MIT guide to the Beer Game:
http://beergame.mit.edu/guide.htm

Here is the On-line Beer Game simulator from MIT:
http://beergame.mit.edu/default.htm

Here is information you about supplies you will need if you do the Beer Game:
http://www.solonline.org/pra/tool/beer.html
http://www.solonline.org/pra/tool/bibl.html

And, here is a set of tips from a Professor at Arizona State University in the U.S. who has used the Beer Game for a while:
http://www.public.asu.edu/~kirkwood/sysdyn/BGame/BGame.htm

Here is some additional about the “Bullwhip Effect”:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullwhip_effect

lean, TPS

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