Using a Simulation of a Real Process to Drive Change

What happens when you alter a generic process simulation normally used only for training to mirror the steps used in a real-life process you would like to change?

In a recent Lean Six Sigma Champion course, I knew that I would be training folks who would later work on improving a kit-making process. Because I had access to a current-state process map of the kit-making process, I changed all of the labels on my training simulation to match those from the current-state map. Then, I altered the flow of materials in the training simulation to mirror the flow of materials in the real-life kit-making process.

I was a bit surprised with the result. The students would not stay "in" the simulation. Every conversation would begin in how we could improve the simulated process, but it always ended in how we could improve the actual process. The simulated process gave them permission to make previously impossible changes to the kit-making process, pilot test them, and refine them.

I'll follow my students' activities back on the job with great interest. I'd like to see if the real changes we made in the simulated environment translate into real changes in the real environment.

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