Berrien RESA is teaming up with Bonnell Aluminum in Niles for the first ever Lean 101 Lego Simulation Manufacturing Day Competition set for Thursday, October 9.

RESA Assistant Superintendent Chris Machiniak tells us the event is intended to introduce high school seniors to manufacturing principles by having them construct different kinds of snowmobiles using Legos.

“So by the end, they’re working together as a team to assembly line this process, and they discuss how much different that is throughout the learning process,” Machiniak said.

The competition, focusing on lean production principles, will feature 18 high school seniors, forming three teams of six participants each, from Brandywine, Buchanan, and Niles High Schools. Machiniak says experts from Bonnell Aluminum will show them the ideas behind modern manufacturing.

“Really what it comes down to are those, Kaizen principles, which when you’re talking about manufacturing philosophies, that’s the bottleneck management, mistake proofing, engineering, implementation, those types of things. That’s the instructional part of this. And the construction with the Legos is just the outputs.”

At the conclusion of the competition, teams will participate in a session to discuss their results, focusing on which groups completed their units and achieved the most profit. Students will also receive a Certificate of Achievement for completing the Bonnell Aluminum Lean 101 Training.

The event will run from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Berrien RESA Bertrand Innovation Center in Niles. Machiniak says if it goes well, RESA wants to hold a northern Berrien County version of it as well.