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Can you visit factories?
- Thread starter Dijos
- Start date
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2003
- Messages
- 48
Hi,
I think you should send an e-mail to the factories you want to visit.
Maybe youre lucky and during your trip there is an "open day" for everyone to visit the factory
(I only know for sure that victorinos switzerland have such days during the year).
Best way imo send an e-mail to them and ask.
Greetings
Olli
I think you should send an e-mail to the factories you want to visit.
Maybe youre lucky and during your trip there is an "open day" for everyone to visit the factory
(I only know for sure that victorinos switzerland have such days during the year).
Best way imo send an e-mail to them and ask.
Greetings
Olli
Gollnick
Musical Director
- Joined
- Mar 22, 1999
- Messages
- 29,258
Most manufacturers of anything don't do factory tours for walk-in public.
Why?
First, staff. Most smaller-to-mid-size manufacturering companies don't employ a staff of tour guides. If you walk in off the street and expect a tour, who's going to guide you? Some employee will have to pulled off of his assigned duties and reassigned to you. That's expensive and it puts the rest of the company's work behind schedule.
Second, the city building department. Facilities that are open to the general public are zoned differently than manufacturing facilities and they have significantly different requirements for parking, restrooms, fire exits, etc.
Third, ADA compliance. As soon as you open your doors to the general public, the Americans with Disabilities Act requires signficant accomodations for handicapped people.
Fourth, OSHA. When you start welcoming the general public into a facility, you're in a different On-the-job Safety and Health Administration class.
Fifth, lawyers. When you admit someone to your facility, you assume some measure of legal liability. It can be as simple as some lady in totally inappropriate high-heel shoes which you'd never allow your employees to wear, which they'd never think of wearing anyway, tripping on a crack in your floor and falling into a blade grinder. Very messy, and potentially very costly.
Sixth, insurance companies. When that lady does fall into the blade grinder, who do you think pays? The insurance company, that's who. So, when you open your plant to the general public, the insurance company requires costly changes to the plant to reduce accident risks and then they still raise your rates.
Seventh, security. There's just to many people with sticky fingers. And that's not limited to the "guests." Having the public touring through all the time sort of licenses the employees to steal too since shrinkage can be explained away as tour-related.
Eighth, privacy. Smaller and mid-size companies generally work on prototypes of new products and so forth in the same factory where they make the production product, the facility you want to tour. It's to much work to "sanitize" the factory jus for one or two people coming through. Some knife companies may do "OEM" work for other companies. These arrangements are often confidential. So, again, they'd have to cover everything up just for you. And, finally, some knife companies do special products for the military that require security clearance.
Why?
First, staff. Most smaller-to-mid-size manufacturering companies don't employ a staff of tour guides. If you walk in off the street and expect a tour, who's going to guide you? Some employee will have to pulled off of his assigned duties and reassigned to you. That's expensive and it puts the rest of the company's work behind schedule.
Second, the city building department. Facilities that are open to the general public are zoned differently than manufacturing facilities and they have significantly different requirements for parking, restrooms, fire exits, etc.
Third, ADA compliance. As soon as you open your doors to the general public, the Americans with Disabilities Act requires signficant accomodations for handicapped people.
Fourth, OSHA. When you start welcoming the general public into a facility, you're in a different On-the-job Safety and Health Administration class.
Fifth, lawyers. When you admit someone to your facility, you assume some measure of legal liability. It can be as simple as some lady in totally inappropriate high-heel shoes which you'd never allow your employees to wear, which they'd never think of wearing anyway, tripping on a crack in your floor and falling into a blade grinder. Very messy, and potentially very costly.
Sixth, insurance companies. When that lady does fall into the blade grinder, who do you think pays? The insurance company, that's who. So, when you open your plant to the general public, the insurance company requires costly changes to the plant to reduce accident risks and then they still raise your rates.
Seventh, security. There's just to many people with sticky fingers. And that's not limited to the "guests." Having the public touring through all the time sort of licenses the employees to steal too since shrinkage can be explained away as tour-related.
Eighth, privacy. Smaller and mid-size companies generally work on prototypes of new products and so forth in the same factory where they make the production product, the facility you want to tour. It's to much work to "sanitize" the factory jus for one or two people coming through. Some knife companies may do "OEM" work for other companies. These arrangements are often confidential. So, again, they'd have to cover everything up just for you. And, finally, some knife companies do special products for the military that require security clearance.
