Monday, June 20, 2016

Domestic Plant Trek and why it is awesome Part 1: The Official Trip

Have you ever wished you could go on an epic tour of the US with your friends stopping along to way to explore your hobbies?  If your hobbies include touring diverse manufacturing plants and exploring dive bars, then you need to go on Domestic Plant Trek (DPT).   (For more stories check out the LGO Tumbler page and scroll back to January for more stories from more people).

For those new to the term, DPT is a cross country plant tour taken by all first year LGOs.  This year we visited nine companies over 14 days by way of bus and plane.  We flew 10,000 miles and drove another 500 during the journey.  
                                    
A map of our journey 



For each stop on our trip I will highlight my personal favorite of the official and unofficial activities that made DPT awesome.  There was too much to talk about with DPT so I split it into two posts.  the unofficial trip stories are coming soon. 

Best Official Parts of the trip:

·        Caterpillar – We had the opportunity to visit the Demonstration Center at Caterpillar.  We were in the audience with customers as they demoed their products.  Demonstrated seems like an understatement for what we saw, put on a show would be better.  The show started with a pitch black arena and silence, then the music started.  AC/DC’s Thunderstruck blasted from the speakers then the earth moving machines started up.  Navigating using only their headlights in the dark arena, they danced around each other.  Then the lights came on and they started showing off the real power of the equipment. The crowning glory was that after the show, we go to go down into the arena and climb on all the equipment.  It was impressive and memorable.



·        Danaher – The first class I attended at MIT Sloan was a strategy class during Ambassador Day that was covering a case on Danaher.  It was cool to see the topics covered in class that day out on the plant floor. 

·        PG&E – At PG&E we went on site to a combined cycle natural gas power plant.  For a full scale power plant I was shocked by the small number of people needed to keep everything running.  The size of the turbines and the water cooling processes was a little gasp inducing.  I have never been up close to a power plant and it provided excellent insights into the industry.


·        Nike – First surprise, Nike still has some in house manufacturing in the US.  I thought that they would have moved it all overseas but they manufacture the air bags that go their shoes on their Portland campus.  It was great talking to the process engineers about all the details that go into manufacturing something I have always taken for granted, the things that go inside my shoe.

·        Amazon – Being the operations nerd that I am, I have a “bucket list” of plant tours that I would like to go on.  At the top of that list was always the FedEx main distribution center in Memphis on third shift.  After touring Amazon, there is no need, because the process at Amazon was that cool. The FC (fulfillment center) we toured was a Kiva facility.  So one side of the operation was “dark” and filled with programmed Kiva robots (now Amazon Robotics) that were loaded up with shelves full of product.  We followed the life of a product from the robot, through the picking process, onto a merge shelf, and then packed and out the door.  Now replacing FedEx on the top of this list is to see Amazon during “peak” period some December. 

·        AIP – We toured one of AIP’s companies called Waterjet.  And, guess what, they manufacture waterjet machines.  The morning was all about the technology that differentiated them in the market, specifically we heard from the man who invented and patented the abrasive waterjet.  The afternoon was out on the factory floor and we finally understood why they had been acquired by AIP, there was a lot of room for improvement.  Seeing the contrast between the technology and the execution was fascinating insight into the reality of manufacturing.

·        Boeing – We toured all of their different aircraft final assembly lines.  I loved seeing the differences across the different products. They were originally designed over many different decades so the technology designed into the assembly process changes leading up to the 787. 

Team 7 hanging out in the Dreamliner Gallery

·        Raytheon – We got to see their new technology around design for manufacturing that included a headset that allowed you to move the object in front of you.  I am being vague because I am not sure what all we are allowed to share.  But believe me, it was cool (and a little nauseating for those recovering from our night out in Tucson)!

·        Amgen – The tour at Amgen required appropriate attire, in this case a full change of clean room clothes.  It was a humbling experience to struggle to get into the proper attire and have to ask for help, only to realize you are speaking the wrong language.  Many of the workers at the Amgen plant in Puerto Rico are fluent only in Spanish and unfortunately my Spanish is only as good as bathroom, beer, and counting to ten.


I couldn't find a picture with all of us from Amgen, so instead, here is a picture of all of us at Caterpillar. 




DPT is planned and executed by a committee made up of first year LGO students.  I had the opportunity to be one of the co-chairs for the committee and it was an excellent leadership experience.  So if you think part of this sounds awesome but you would want to do part of it totally differently?  Cool, totally up to you, each class of LGOs can choose their own DPT adventure. 

More unofficial stories to come....

Friday, June 17, 2016

Catching Up: highlights from DPT through the end of the first year


It has been too long since I wrote.  I got out of the habit but now that I am on internship (and limited to a 40hr work week) I have lots of time to catch up.  This summer I will post more details on lots of things that have happened since the end of the fall semester.  Since I procrastinated so long, I will be able to reflect back on the events. 

Topics soon to be covered:
-        DPT (Domestic Plant Trek and why it is awesome)
-        Internship Interview Blitz and Draft (Lessons learned when applying for 18 jobs at once)
-        So you are telling me I have to draw? (A practical guide to success in a design engineering class for a non-design engineer)
-        IPT (International Plant Trek: How to survive in a foreign country with the help of friends)
-        Action Learning (varied experiences trying out the real world)
-        Internship (Am I an intern, a research fellow, or just clueless)

-        Austin Adventures (trying to complete the Amazing Race) 

Keep reading to get the full story on this picture:)