Gamification of Lean Training : designing a lean simulation for fast food employees
Deshapriya, Madhavi (2025)
2025
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025120733246
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025120733246
Tiivistelmä
The thesis focuses on the design of the interactive learning game “Lean Shift: Fast Food Edition,” which enhances Lean training in fast food establishments. The intended purpose was to simplify the 7 Wastes of Lean and other major Lean principles (i.e. 5S, Standardised Work, Kaizen, Pull/Just in time) into formats that are easy for fast food employees to grasp.
The research for the game was a practice based project conducted in collaboration with ASJ Fast Food in Sri Lanka and used a no code platform called Genially to develop a working prototype of the learning game. The prototype integrates theoretical knowledge from Lean with actual kitchen settings so users can see identified wastes, take appropriate actions to reduce them, and receive feedback on the actions taken. Gamified training products are expected to increase employee engagement, reinforce Lean culture, and reduce the time required to learn Lean.
Additionally, comparisons were made between the framework proposed for training employees in multimodal ways within the context of Lean and those in other fast food or service industry settings to make Lean training enjoyable rather than stressful.
Moreover, the employee training model incorporating Lean principles and its implementation in other quick service and fast casual service settings was examined in order to understand whether Lean training was more enjoyable and less stressful. The results indicated that the training offered through a more gamified, multimodal approach was more satisfying and resulted in greater understanding, more motivation, and higher levels of engagement compared to traditional approaches to training. The results of the piloted training program strongly demonstrated that the participants expressed great satisfaction with the gamified simulation, as indicated by the mean satisfaction scores in training quality (4.58/5) and overall experience (4.42/5), showed increases in the self reported levels of expeditiousness, accuracy, and confidence, particularly relating to the use of Lean tools, and described 5S, process flow, and waste identification as the primary training objectives that, together with the interactive training, were most clearly targeted.
The research for the game was a practice based project conducted in collaboration with ASJ Fast Food in Sri Lanka and used a no code platform called Genially to develop a working prototype of the learning game. The prototype integrates theoretical knowledge from Lean with actual kitchen settings so users can see identified wastes, take appropriate actions to reduce them, and receive feedback on the actions taken. Gamified training products are expected to increase employee engagement, reinforce Lean culture, and reduce the time required to learn Lean.
Additionally, comparisons were made between the framework proposed for training employees in multimodal ways within the context of Lean and those in other fast food or service industry settings to make Lean training enjoyable rather than stressful.
Moreover, the employee training model incorporating Lean principles and its implementation in other quick service and fast casual service settings was examined in order to understand whether Lean training was more enjoyable and less stressful. The results indicated that the training offered through a more gamified, multimodal approach was more satisfying and resulted in greater understanding, more motivation, and higher levels of engagement compared to traditional approaches to training. The results of the piloted training program strongly demonstrated that the participants expressed great satisfaction with the gamified simulation, as indicated by the mean satisfaction scores in training quality (4.58/5) and overall experience (4.42/5), showed increases in the self reported levels of expeditiousness, accuracy, and confidence, particularly relating to the use of Lean tools, and described 5S, process flow, and waste identification as the primary training objectives that, together with the interactive training, were most clearly targeted.