I was wondering if industrial tourism is a real thing or just another one of my million weird obsessions. Ddg searched and it’s a real thing. It’s got a Wikipedia page and everything.
I would love to go to places and see how things are made. Modern Marvels is my favorite show (yes, I’m old) and also how it’s made.
Anyone done something like this? How was your experience? How did you set it up?
I just showed up and started working there.
Kidding but almost, made video games for almost ten years early 2000 😁
Check out your local recycling center, they often do tours!
The larger town next to mine has monthly tours of their wastewater and water processing plants. Although they’re scheduled to be amenable for K-12 student field trips, they also see adults who wish to understand how their tax dollars are being expensed for the public good.
For other municipal services, you might also reach out to the director of that department, since as public servants, they can also schedule special tours of the facilities for members of the public. It can’t hurt to ask.
I’ve been to at least one distillery and a hydroelectric dam. These days, your best bet is probably to just check the website of wherever it is you wanna go to.
You can book yourself on a container ship as a passenger and see industrial ports and stuff across the world
Boeing has an awesome factory tour. So does Ford. Just buy tickets and for the day and time you want to attend.
is the Ford Rouge plant in Dearborn, Michigan still operational?
Not sure. I was on a tour that saw the F150 lines.
Boeing lets you tight some screws and write few lines of code
Don’t forget to paint over those cracked weld joints!
That’s what saves their QA numbers from being even worse.
They don’t even care if you finish!
The next town over from me has a car/van manufacturing plant. I went there as a teenager to learn about Kaizen, lean, process mapping and critical path analysis.
As an adult I know of a few families who have booked to go to watch robots make cars, see the assembly line and gawk at the massive diagrams on the walls.
That would be awesome
Some factories have public tour days every year. Just look it up on their website.
If you have some kind of an organization behind you, it’s also possible to arrange such tours during other times. You could also make your own industrial tour association, get a bus full of people and start arranging tours with different companies. Just contact the PR disarmament in advance, make some phone calls etc. and you should be able to visit a whole bunch of interesting places.
This is very important, you don’t want the PR to be armed.
LOL. I knew I should have read it 4 times before posting.
Pennsylvania has lots of opportunities for factory tours. There’s bread, pretzels, beer, wine, guitars, candy…
Most of the time the tours are pretty cheesy. “Press the button to watch water spray on hops.” Ride in a little cart through a dramatized candy production line. That sort of stuff.
Maybe you could pose as a wealthy investor. Then you get to see the real deal!
I don’t know if they still do them or not, but Phillip Morris used to do tours of their factory outside Petersburg VA.
I did the tour as part of class I was taking. It was interesting to see how cigarettes were made. One thing the tour guide kept stressing was all these perks and things they did to make the work less boing/miserable for the workers.
- The company put a lot of effort into sound suppression systems so the staff aren’t pommeled with harsh sound all day.
- The company had multiple small lunch and break rooms so people could get a bit of privacy if they wanted.
- The rotated staff on the machines so they don’t go insane with the boredom.
As a college kid you are just learning about the world so while I knew people smoked and back then smoking was a lot more in your face.
I really didn’t get how many people smoked until I saw that factory. It was staggering how many cigarettes were in at places and how many that factory churned out daily.
Mom, today I was at the cancer factory!
IKR!
Just looking at the wall behind the counter in 7-11 boggles my mind. Dozens of cigarette and dip brands (and now vape and nicotine pouches too), with most smokers having a preferred brand and style - they don’t buy anything except the one type they like. Which means the demand must be high enough for each of those products to justify keeping them fully stocked all the time. Then consider that every corner gas station and convenience store has the same set up, even if they’re all within walking distance from each other.
That’s a lot of tobacco/nicotine users.
I once took a tour of an Alaskan oil field operation solely for the ability to gain access to the Arctic ocean, and jump in. They talked a lot about the oil stuff but I didn’t pay that much attention. I was there just for the ability to say I’ve been in the Arctic Ocean.
Breweries and distilleries commonly offer tours. Just check their website.
Fellow oldie here
When we were in university, professors who had contacts in the manufacturing industry would post a bill on the notice boards stating that some of the factories they know have a slot for visit open. If there was enough interest, the thing would go on like any other group visit. Logistics, dates, etc.
During the visit, the professor and their contacts would walk us through the shop floor explaining the stations along their production line. Sometimes, there’ll be a walkthrough of their logistic decision making processes. Usually concluded with a q&a session with some manager in the factory. Back then, we broke students were curious regarding how our education made us suitable for a job there and what soft skills are expected of us.
So, hitting someone up where you are interested in visiting might be a good start.
Yup. I did something similar at uni. Also the nearest professional body branch might have regular talks/visits to local factories/power stations.
