https://doi.org/10.24928/2024/0211

The Repair-Co Game: A Roadmap to Demonstrate the Importance of Problem-Solving Capabilities of Lean Tools

Ragavi Prabaharan¹, Ganesh Devkar², Zofia K. Rybkowski³ & Marimuthu Kannimuthu⁴

¹Senior Research Associate, Department of Research and Development, URC Construction (P) Ltd, India, +919788933592, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0002-2901-7047
²Sr. Associate Professor, Faculty of Technology, CEPT University, Ahmedabad – 380009, India +919099010303, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0002-5482-122
³Associate Professor, Department of Construction Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA, o: (979) 845-4354, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0002-0683-5004
⁴4Technical Secretary, Institute for Lean Construction Excellence (ILCE), India, +9173050 40838, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0002-8158-1868

Abstract

Lean Construction facilitators use the Repair-Co Game to introduce new stakeholders to the need for Lean. The game heightens participant awareness of the futility of impulsive finger-pointing to individual workers when an existing management system may instead be principally responsible for a company’s inability to reach its expressed goals. Although this current gaming approach has been shown to be effective, the authors of this paper observed that the Repair-Co Game can also be expanded to introduce players to the usefulness of Lean tools that can identify root causes and effective countermeasures. These tools include the Ishikawa Fishbone Diagram, Pareto Chart, 5 Whys Root Cause Analysis, Big Room Meetings, and Collective Kaizen, which are implemented during Big Room meetings. This expanded version of the Repair-Co Simulation has been tested with 35 graduate students at Texas A&M University, 45 students at CEPT University, and 33 members of the URC construction company. Despite the different locations of the test grounds and make-up of players, results from initial experimental sessions have been shown to be remarkably similar in some ways but also different in others, demonstrating the important nuances of an individual context. Qualitative feedback from participants demonstrate the potential of the game in helping participants solve problems at their root cause.

Keywords

Lean Simulations, Repair-Co Game, Ishikawa Fishbone (Cause-and-Effect) Diagram, Pareto Chart, 5-Whys Root Cause Analysis, Continuous Improvement (PDCA).

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Reference

Prabaharan, R. , Devkar, G. , Rybkowski, Z. K. & Kannimuthu, M. 2024. The Repair-Co Game: A Roadmap to Demonstrate the Importance of Problem-Solving Capabilities of Lean Tools, Proceedings of the 32nd Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC 32) , 1303-1313. doi.org/10.24928/2024/0211

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