The Dice Factory

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IBA · Centre for Executive Education

The Dice Factory

A hands-on Theory of Constraints game. Five workstations pass work down a line. Each rolls a die for its output, but can only work on what the station before it has passed on. Watch what dependency and variation do to a "balanced" line, then use the Five Focusing Steps to fix it.

Operational Excellence Masterclass · Session 6 · after Goldratt, The Goal

1 · Choose a scenario

Walk the class through these in order. Ask students to predict the output before each run, then reveal what actually happens.

How the game works (for the facilitator)

Each round, every station rolls its die. The number is the most units it could process that round, but it can only process units the previous station has already passed to it. Station 1 draws from unlimited raw material. Whatever the last station finishes becomes shipped output (throughput). Work moves only one station per round, so a good roll cannot make up for an empty in-tray.

  • Standard die averages 3.5 per round. A perfectly balanced five-station line therefore "should" ship 3.5 per round. It never does.
  • Bottleneck die is weaker (it rolls only 1 to 3), creating a deliberate constraint.
  • Elevated die is stronger (4 to 6), used to lift a constraint.
  • Watch the gold buffers between stations: inventory piles up just before the constraint. That pile is how you spot it.
Rounds
Round 0 / 20
Predict: how many units will ship in 20 rounds? A balanced line "should" make 3.5 × rounds. Lock your guess before you run.

Scoreboard

The Five Focusing Steps

Goldratt's method for managing any constraint. Use the scenarios above to feel each step.