By James Purse, Director at Project7 · Last reviewed 13 November 2026 · 3 minute read
Short answer. You can try Lean Simulator free by working one shift on the line. Sign in with your email address, complete the short induction, then run one shift with Evan, the built-in facilitator, guiding you. The simulation works every role you do not take. There is no card and no contract.
Key facts
- What you get: the induction and one shift on the factory floor.
- Guidance: Evan briefs you, coaches you during the shift and walks you through the results.
- Other roles: worked by the simulation, so you can play alone.
- Sign-in: your email address only. No password, card or contract.
- Limit: one free shift per account.
How to start
- Go to the free shift sign-in (or choose Free Trial in the site menu).
- Enter your email address. You will receive a sign-in link or code; there is no password to set.
- Follow Evan through the induction: a practice floor with no clock and no score, where you learn your role’s controls.
- Clock on for your shift. Work your station while the simulation works the others.
- Review your results in the shift office: bikes made, work in progress, first delivery and the profit or loss.
What to look out for
Your free shift runs the line as it starts in Shift 1: spread out, with large batches and stores some distance away. It is meant to feel slow and frustrating. Notice where you wait, where half-built bikes pile up and how long the first finished bike takes to reach the customer. Those are the problems the rest of the journey fixes.
After your free shift
To run the full six-shift journey with a group, you need a facilitator seat on a partner licence. Players always join free with a game code. Read How to host a Lean Simulator game for how a session runs, or talk to us about a licence.
Frequently asked questions
No. The free shift needs only your email address.
Allow about fifteen to twenty minutes: a few minutes for the induction, about ten minutes on the shift clock, and time to look at your results.
The free shift is for one person. To run a game for a group, you need a facilitator seat on a partner licence.
It runs the line in its starting state, deliberately full of waste. Feeling that waste is the first lesson.
Ready to clock on?
One shift, guided by Evan, with nothing to install and no card needed.
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About the author
James Purse is a Director at Project7, a UK operational transformation consultancy whose approach is grounded in Toyota thinking, and has nearly 20 years of practitioner experience in Lean, leadership and performance improvement. He works with manufacturing, engineering and infrastructure organisations to find what is really limiting performance and to fix it alongside their own teams. James Purse on LinkedIn