Facility tours provide insight into operations and lean manufacturing. Students are required to attend a minimum of four facility tours. Students learn to:

  • Perform a rapid audit of the state of an operation
  • Judge the relative leanness of an operation
  • Prioritize the targets of opportunity for improvements 
  • Develop an action plan to facilitate improvements

The Rapid Plant Assessment workbook is used by students to learn how to plan a tour, how to rate an operation, and how to develop the ability to envision an ideal lean plant based on the concepts of the Toyota Production System. The workbook can also be purchased through Amazon.

Blake Bogart
The facility visit to the DET1 fulfillment center was a great opportunity to learn more about Amazon’s operational excellence. As a Tauber student, it was great to see many of the lean principles we have learned about in practice. The visit helped illuminate how Amazon could use its mastery of inventory management to deliver the necessary provisions rapidly and efficiently to support disaster relief.
Blake Bogart
MBa '20

Students in an Amazon warehouse in Germany with an Amazon director