Teaching Industrial Engineering Through Simulators Based on Gamification and XR Reality

This paper, authored by researchers at Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico, presents a three-year program that uses gamified simulators and extended reality (XR) tools to teach industrial engineering. The central claim is that a board-game-derived, ERP-style simulator called MxREP, combined with augmented and virtual reality lessons, can make abstract topics such as line capacity analysis, quality tools, and production planning more engaging and more effective than traditional instruction. The work is framed within a broader shift from knowledge-assessment teaching toward competency development, and it draws on established definitions distinguishing gamification, serious games, and game-based learning.

The simulator replicates a virtual manufacturing company in which student teams manage raw material inventory, bills of materials, employees, fixed assets, production lines, sales, and financial logs, with ranking and team activity tracking adding competitive and collaborative elements. The authors report that the platform has been deployed roughly nine times per year across learning units, with two groups averaging about 31 students each, and that it was extended to new products such as drones and to distribution-center logistics modules. The design methodology combines design of experiments with design thinking to target a "success zone" balancing engagement, competency development, and learning.

The principal quantitative evidence comes from a single cohort of two groups totaling 55 students who completed a drone-plant design scenario. A 20-item pre-test drawn from a 50-question pool was followed by hands-on work with physical drones, simulator use, and XR lessons. A paired t-test yielded a t-value of -9.78, which the authors interpret as evidence that immersive, ERP-based learning produces better knowledge outcomes than traditional instruction. The paper also cites a PwC study claiming VR training accelerates learning fourfold, though this external figure is not derived from the authors' own data. Limitations are notable: the evidence rests on one small cohort with no described control group or post-test data in the text, and the authors' broader claim of multi-year superiority relies on more than 25 unreported research protocols.