2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Introduction
A common limitation for students learning Lean Manufacturing is the lack of laboratories, real-world experiences or available processes for implementing lean tools and measuring the impact on KPI’s. In OUR UNIVERSITY, Industrial Engineering students learn concepts such as Visual Management, Poka Yoke, Manufacturing Cells and Kanban in the “Design of Innovative Processes”, in which participants design and plan the implementation of Lean tools within a real company. Nevertheless, due to the courses only having four to five weeks to work with the company, the actual implementation of these tools is not performed completely, so the students don’t see the results.
Recognizing these challenges, this paper explores an innovative use of virtual reality to simulate a manufacturing process and to implement Lean tools within a controlled environment. The aim of the study is to assess the impact that performing lean projects in Virtual Reality has on the students’ comprehension of lean implementation methodologies.

Literature Research
Previous studies about the training in Lean Manufacturing of engineering and business students have shown that implementation phase on projects is a key factor for the success of improvement initiatives [1]. However, participation of individuals in proper training and the attitude towards learning is strongly related to the perception of usefulness, the perceived benefits [2] and the integration of fun features in the education programs [3].
A possible way to achieve an educational structure in which application is perceived as fun and palpable is the integration of active, experiential learning to Lean Manufacturing training, in which students put in practice the conceptual framework by performing actual improvement activities [4]. Unfortunately, this kind of approach often requires investment in infrastructure and facilities to experiment Lean tools, which make necessary to look for new content delivery techniques that allow both, the conceptual and technical frameworks of Lean, to be learned [5].
Therefore, one of the newest methodologies that has transformed education is Virtual Reality. Its implementation in the educational field has been proven in several contexts, offering countless advantages for both students and teachers. One of the most outstanding benefits lies in its ability to provide immersive and realistic experiences [6], making it significantly easier for students to understand and retain complex concepts and methodologies. This technology allows students to explore and experience virtual environments that would otherwise be inaccessible or dangerous [9], thereby significantly expanding learning opportunities and enriching the educational experience [5].
Another key advantage is its encouragement of active, hands-on learning. Students can interact with virtual environments, manipulate objects [7], and engage in hands-on activities, which stimulates critical thinking, problem-solving, and experiential learning. This active interaction with educational content increases students' engagement in the learning process and enhances their understanding and application of concepts.
In addition to the above-mentioned advantages, the use of virtual reality in education increased intrinsic motivation and engagement of the students. They believe that they are more active, can keep their attention better and enjoy the experience of relevant situations in a virtual environment [8]. The immersive nature of virtual reality captures students' attention and motivates them to actively participate in the learning process.

Methodology
A virtual factory, using the software Framevr.io, was designed, in which the students can implement Lean Tools and Techniques to improve the current configuration and operations of the space. This virtual environment comprises 5 operations in a factory of geometrical shapes. The operations involved, in order of execution, were Shape Creation, Labeling, Scaling, Paint, and Assembly. The virtual space was full of waste and improvement opportunities, such as wasted space, unnecessary items in shop floor, long trajectories between operations, unbalanced activities, excess of inventory, among others.
The implementation process of the study was divided into three phases taking place during a week: Pretest, Lean tools execution in Virtual Reality, and Post test. During the first phase, students answered a 12 questions multiple choice quiz. Each question was designed to capture the comprehension of students of lean principles and tools utilization. Afterwards, students were asked to explore the Virtual Reality manufacturing process for three days and to redesign it according to Pull-flow. In this phase, students had to perform a current and future state VSM, to calculate key measurements such as WIP, Lead Time, Takt Time, Cycle Time, and Yield. Then, students had to implement at least four lean tools to pursue the future state, and to compare the key metrics under the new operation conditions. Finally, on day five, students answered a similar multiple-choice quiz related to lean tools implementation methodologies and practical issues.

Discussion and Conclusion
After the end of the experience, an exit survey was carried out with the aim of evaluating the students' perception of the use of Virtual Reality. The questions focused on ease of use, overall experience, and level of immersion in Virtual Reality. The results revealed that Virtual Reality is perceived as a tool that is easy to understand by students; and that the experience was rated as pleasurable, interesting, and highly immersive for the students.
In addition, the results of the pre – post test study, in which the performance level of the students in lean manufacturing concepts was recorded, were analyzed using a paired sample difference of means. The results show a significant improvement in the post test, with a p-value of 0.043. These findings support the idea that the implementation of Virtual Reality can be beneficial in achieving a deeper and more effective understanding of the principles and tools of Lean Manufacturing. The hands-on and visual experience provided by Virtual Reality can contribute significantly to a better understanding of improvement project implementation.
The results obtained in this study will be useful for professors interested in enriching the learning of students, in topics related to Lean Manufacturing, and practitioners interested in creating learning experiences for employees and training sessions. Furthermore, the exit survey confirms that students find Virtual Reality easy to use, pleasurable and immersive in their learning experience.