Operations Management Basics

We’ve taken the core concepts of Operations Management, gamified them, and put them into one convenient mobile application. The game consists of 5 modules: Inventory Management, Line Balancing, Capacity, Batching, and Finances.

Inventory Management

Description: Students master both "Continuous Review" and "Periodic Review" inventory models. In each scenario, they will make two decisions: Review Period/Reorder point and Reorder Quantity.

Learning outcomes: Players will understand the costs related to holding inventory as well as how to efficiently meet upstream demand.

Line Balancing

Description: This section of the production line includes an incoming orders station, three queues, and three stations. Players need to decide how many machines to have at each station.

Learning outcomes: Upon completing this level, students will understand how to weigh the costs vs benefits of buying machinery, identify bottlenecks, and understand the advantages and disadvantages associated with producing at capacity.

Capacity

Description: This level has a very simple production line. Players will have orders coming to the line, a queue, and a production station. The only decision is how many machines to have.

Learning outcomes: Players will know how to calculate the ROI for new machinery as well as understand the impact that increasing capacity has upstream.

Batching

Description: This level includes an incoming orders station, one batching station, and one regular station. Players have two decisions to make: batch size and number of machines.

Learning outcomes: Students will understand the relationship setup times have with capacity.

Finances

Description: This line includes an inventory station, a manual station, and a delivery station. The inventory is managed using the continuous review policy. The three decisions that are made include: reorder point, reorder quantity, and the number of employees to have at the manual station.

Learning outcomes: Players will be able to identify and calculate break-even points and opportunity costs.