factory tour meaning

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Why (and How) to Take a Plant Tour

• David M. Upton
• Stephen E. Macadam

By adopting a systematic approach to plant tours, visitors can uncover and communicate a wealth of strategic and operating information.

In recent years, managers have recognized how manufacturing capabilities contribute to a company’s overall strategic strength. The ability to respond quickly to customers’ orders, to customize products to match customers’ exact requirements, or to ramp up production rapidly can be a powerful and difficult-to-imitate competitive weapon. But many corporate managers identify their plants’ capabilities only by accident—as a result of chance conversations with plant managers or operations specialists. Consequently, many managers do not have the information necessary to cultivate, shape, and exploit their company’s manufacturing capabilities. As plants develop, however, they need guidance to build capabilities that meet current and future needs. Plant tours can be a powerful way of providing factories with that kind of direction.

• David M. Upton is the American Standard Companies Professor of Operations Management at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School.
• SM Stephen E. Macadam is a principal at McKinsey & Company’s Charlotte, North Carolina, office.

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The Surprising Power of a Factory Tour

It’s not just about marketing; it’s about engaging people in solutions to real problems. 

Can something as simple as a factory tour play a role in solving some of the macro-level problems that plague the construction industry? The short answer may well be “Yes.”  

As the industry looks to its future, a number of issues sit in its metaphorical in-box waiting to be addressed: the labor shortage continues, with the number of job openings continuing on its increasing trend and reaching over 300,000 per month in mid-2021; productivity growth has continued to lag that of other industries ; and despite continuing adoption of sustainable construction practices, more improvement is necessary .

The good news is that there is a clear path to progress on each of these fronts, and that path entails increased use of prefab and modular construction methods. Yet many firms are setting foot on that path only hesitantly; while a reported three-fourths of firms have used prefab to one extent or another , for any individual firm that extent has not been great; only two in ten make use of prefab on half of their projects or more.

While legitimate concerns about the state of prefab and modular construction technologies have been expressed, it’s also clear that, as often as not, misperceptions about these techniques among firms, customers, and communities are the reason they’re not being used more.

Use Factory Tours to Build Engagement

The need, however, goes beyond education; it requires a real sense of engagement on the part of all stakeholders. It can be a challenge to generate and sustain that feeling of engagement in the bigger picture when people have day-in and day-out problems they need to solve. If you surveyed those who work in construction and related fields, the majority would almost certainly tell you they’d like to learn more. And that’s where a tour of a facility that manufactures prefab or modular units can be surprisingly effective. There’s no better way for any industry, or industry sub-sector, to build a sense of engagement than to make those stakeholders feel like insiders, to give them a peek behind the curtain in the form of a formal manufacturing center tour. And that benefits both the manufacturer and the customer alike.

There are a lot of ways tours can be designed to enhance the experience. Engaging all the senses makes everything more memorable. So does giving participants the chance to get a feel for the final product. At the Louisville Slugger factory tour, participants can handle the wooden rods that will soon become baseball bats, and in the process they’ll “smell the wood, and see the wood chips fly. ” The Harley-Davidson museum tour ends with participants being given a chance to settle into the saddle of a brand new motorcycle.   

But while the effectiveness of the tour’s script will be enhanced by any of these additions, the tour guide’s words are still the most important source of engagement. Those words should be written keeping in mind a simple idea from author Simon Sinek: “People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.” And while your customers already know what you do, and any tour makes it more clear how you do it, the real benefit of a tour for both parties is to deeply and compellingly communicate why you do it.

Well, why do you do it? The answer is different for each company, but the answer must involve solving the customer’s problems.   

What problems can use of prefab or modular construction components solve?

Using prefab and modular components can not only increase labor productivity, it can result in improved scheduling, quality control, safety, and costs .

Using modular components can enhance sustainability by reducing waste, reducing disruption of the local community during construction, and reducing energy use during operation .

Modular construction does not result in “cookie-cutter” building design, and does not in fact have to reduce architectural creativity in any way.

This list of problems solvable through use of prefab/modular components actually looks a lot like the list of industry-wide “big picture” problems discussed above.

Use Tour Guide Headsets to Improve Communication

But there’s still one other critical consideration: none of this will work if the manufacturing floor is too noisy for the tour guide to be heard. Here the solution is straightforward: a wireless tour guide system that equips everyone involved with a comfortable headset and receiver/transceiver combination. The headsets are equipped with noise-reduction features, allowing the speaker’s voice to be heard clearly, right in the listener’s ears at normal conversational volume. And that creates the sense that the speaker’s words are directed at each person individually, almost more so than the group as a whole, which enhances the sense of engagement on everyone’s part.

Ultimately, the only truly effective marketing programs are those that communicate a solution to the customer’s problem. By ensuring that the message is heard, a wireless tour guide system empowers the client to use the company’s products to solve problems – not just day-to-day problems, but industry-wide issues as well.     

This is a guest post written by Rick Farrell, President of Plant-Tours.com .         

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Four tips to help organize a fantastic factory tour

With good planning, people should be able to organize a memorable factory tour for all visitors..

If someone is looking for a way to draw in new customers or investors, a factory tour might be just what someone needs. It’s an excellent opportunity to show off facilities and equipment and introduce the staff. On top of that, a good company tour will emphasize professionalism and help build a stronger bond with clients.

All that is only possible if the factory tour is successful. And factories typically aren’t particularly suitable for tours — they tend to be loud and full of activity. In such conditions, it can be difficult to deliver a good presentation and ensure that everyone in the audience hears it.

Still, there are ways to organize fantastic factory tours that clients and investors will remember for years. Not sure how to do that? Consider these four tips for making a memorable tour.

1. Try to understand factory tour visitors’ goals

In order to organize a successful tour, start by understanding the visitors. If a company knows what they want to see and hear, they’ll have an easier time satisfying the visitors, and they’ll leave feeling their time was well spent. Ultimately, that’s exactly what is wanted.

Of course, someone can’t be sure what each and every member of the visiting group wants to hear. But someone can understand the whole group’s goals. Both investors and clients will probably want to see that the factory is up to par and the product quality is top-notch. But some of their other objectives might not be the same.

For instance, investors are more likely to be interested in a company’s efficiency and financial performance. After all, they are here to decide whether they should invest their money or not. On the other hand, if the visitors are potential clients, they’ll want to know more about the production process, cleanliness and inventory.

Take that into consideration when planning a tour. And of course, if someone doesn’t manage to answer all of the visitors’ questions, give them an opportunity to ask.

2. Use a wireless factory tour guide system

Factories aren’t exactly quiet — machines and people working with them tend to make a lot of noise. Thus, they don’t make a great setting for giving presentations or tours . After all, what’s the point of showing visitors around if they can’t even hear?

And, of course, someone can’t stop all activity as they’re showing visitors around. That wouldn’t only be a waste of money and time but also counterproductive to the tour. The audience wants to see how the company operates on a regular day, not an empty factory that’s not working.

So, how does someone resolve the noise issue then? Well, someone could use a wireless tour guide system during the presentation. These systems contain earpieces and microphones, allowing everyone to communicate even in less than ideal conditions. So, no matter how noisy it is, the presenter doesn’t have to raise their voice. Just speak as one would normally, and everyone will still hear.

Wireless systems usually come in two forms — one- and two-way systems. If a company chooses a two-way one, their visitors will also be able to talk to the company. Depending on the kind of tour, that may be a good idea. Someone might want to hear the audience’s feedback or allow them to ask questions even as they are being shown around.

3. Warn employees in advance

While the goal is to show visitors a regular day at the company, measures should still be taken to ensure everything goes smoothly. One such measure is telling employees an important tour is coming up and instructing them on what to do. For instance, tell them to be quieter or make more room for the group at a specific time.

Warning employees about the tour also gives them enough time to plan their activities with that in mind. Thus, they can postpone anything that may get in the way of the factory tour, as well as any projects a tour might interrupt. So, let them know at least two weeks before the big day — that way, they won’t feel blindsided.

If someone wants any of their employees to talk to visitors and share their experiences, make sure to let them know on time. They ought to prepare themselves for the part they will play in the presentation. For example, they might need time to gather and organize some information the visitors could ask them to provide. And even the most eloquent people can sometimes get tongue-tied if they are suddenly put on the spot. That is why it is best to notify employees well in advance.

4. Prepare information booklets

If someone wants their visitors to remember their factory tour longer, prepare information booklets for them. Hand them out at the start of the tour or give them as gifts at the very end. That way, the company will come off even more professional and prepared, and this good impression will linger for a while.

People can choose all kinds of information to put in a booklet, of course. But in most cases, someone should include some basic information about the company, financial stats and details about the products and services. Adding a few pictures might be a good idea, too — it’ll make a booklet that much more engaging.

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Privacy Overview

Why and How to Conduct a Factory Tour

By Hale Foote, Scandic Springs

Reposted with permission of Springs  magazine, a publication of the Spring Manufacturers Institute (www.smihq.org).

Should you consider opening the doors of your manufacturing facility to visitors? And if the answer is “yes,” how can you best conduct a tour of the plant?

Why Let the World In?

Having visitors come to your manufacturing facility offers a unique opportunity to present the business in a favorable way. When properly planned and executed, it is among our company’s most potent sales tools.

Most sales in a technical field like ours involve plenty of education. An engineer needs to learn whether your capabilities are suited to the project; a buyer wants to make sure your business processes are up to the task. Spending time together in the factory lets them learn all they need to satisfy their requirements, and the factory setting provides a much richer environment, compared to a meeting over lunch or most email or telephone interactions.

Even when the visitors don’t have a specific part they are trying to source, we look at factory tours as effective marketing. Many times I have had a visitor exclaim something like: “I knew you were a spring company, but I now see that you also do tooling and stamping. My project has a new stamping, too.” Seeing our wide range of processes very often leads to more work from an existing customer.

We host several different types of visitors who are not customers at all, or at least not yet. These long- range prospects include engineering students and their professors from Stanford and Berkeley; Scandic is now established as part of their engineering curriculum, helping with senior design projects and giving free samples of materials. I have been invited to lecture and to participate in roundtable programs there, which I think of as leveraging the marketing impact of the plant tour.

We have even invited Boy Scout troops and high school manufacturing clubs (start them young!) to tour our facility. Some of these kids are future engineers and customers, and I feel the exposure also gets the word out about manufacturing as a career choice. One of our most unusual tours was a Family Day for employees’ families, with all the machines running. I overheard one say “it’s the first time in 25 years that my family has seen what I do for a living,” and his pride was obvious.

I am often asked about confidentiality concerns regarding customer identities and their information. Like many manufacturers today, we have nondisclosure agreements with most of our customers. My advice is simply to keep prints and specs covered; if there is a particularly sensitive part or process running, shut it down beforehand and don’t dwell in that area of the plant. Before we start, I ask visitors to respect the privacy of the information, and remind them that their data will be treated the same.

How to Structure an Effective Tour

Manufacturing plants can be complex and overwhelming to a first-time visitor. I have learned the hard way that a little preparation can make all the difference in a tour. First, what time of day is best? Consider your production shift schedule; most visitors will want to see machines in action and observe how your operation works, which is difficult outside of production hours. But be very aware of both safety and cleanliness: safety because that is paramount for everyone, and housekeeping because a dirty restroom can spoil an otherwise positive impression. Keeping the plant in a visitor-ready state contributes to safety, too. And consider whether distributing safety glasses is prudent.

Spend some time to rehearse your presentation until you get comfortable. Think about the message you want to send: Are you trying to demonstrate overall competency, or do you need to show expertise in forming a kind of part that this particular visitor needs?

Who should conduct the tour? It depends on the type of visitor, and what you are trying to convey. An account manager often handles a general introductory tour. A visitor with a specific design challenge will benefit from an engineering-focused tour given by a sales engineer or engineering manager. These kinds of visitors might concentrate their time in the area of the plant which would produce the part under consideration.

Note that a quality audit is a very different kind of visit, primarily involving your QA staff and concentrating on documentation and process controls. Quality audits are usually driven by the visitor’s checklist.

Plan the direction of flow, and try walking it to see where you can stop to talk safely. In our plant, where jobs are constantly being setup and torn down, I find it useful to review the production area right before visitors arrive to know what is interesting today and what areas to avoid.

Starting and ending in the conference room is useful but not essential. But be sure to pass through your well-organized shipping area. I can tell visitors that we ship about one million parts every month, but it is more effective for them to see the bar-coded boxes lined up to ship to locations around the world.

Because Scandic has five production departments (coiling, tooling, fourslide, punch press, secondary ops) we point out synergies between departments, such as: “These parts are blanked on this waterjet, and you can see them being formed on the brake press over there.” This kind of narrative will help you from forgetting to mention an important area. But recognize that for a new visitor, some processes are sexier than others; I have to tear people away from watching the CNC wireforming machines!

If you have a large group, break into smaller teams. Generally four to six is the maximum workable size per team, at least in our plant. Even with small groups, remember that the tour guide should enunciate toward the visitors, not to the machine! You don’t need to stare at the loud punch press while you describe it: direct your voice towards the listeners, and be conscious of noise levels. One technique is to introduce a process while standing away from a noisy work center, then allow visitors to approach closer (if safe). It’s even more interesting to visitors if you can pass around a warm part fresh off the machine. Engineers especially love to hold a progression strip and figure out for themselves how the part is being stamped. If your parts are small, send visitors home with samples; it helps to prolong their experience.

Finally, remember that people are the company’s greatest ambassadors. Identify department supervisors and/or line workers who are good spokespeople, and let visitors speak with them directly. The best salesperson is never as convincing as the technician who has mastered a process. Some operators enjoy demonstrating their skill, and having them describe their area to visitors lets them shine. It also demonstrates the depth of knowledge throughout the company, and your visitors will remember that more than the “sales talk.”

In a time when most communication is electronic, an in-plant visit delivers a powerful message about what we have to offer. Tours by prospects, current customers, and even members of the community are a great way to market the business. Plant tours can showcase capabilities that even an existing customer might not know about, but planning and preparation are essential to make the visit worthwhile.

About the Author: Hale Foote is the President of Scandic Springs, Inc. Scandic is the largest spring and stamping company in Northern California, making custom metal parts for companies in the medical, automotive and aerospace fields worldwide. He has used Scandic to work with students and teachers at local schools and universities to promote careers in manufacturing. He is also on the board of directors of Manex and other nonprofits. Before joining Scandic, he practiced law in Washington, DC.  

5 Key Benefits to Taking a Factory Tour

A factory tour? Thanks but no. You’re busy and have got better things to do than a factory tour – right?

Well, while you are busy and it’s easy to dismiss these events as a jolly, for us as interior architects & designers working on large-scale new build and refurbishment projects, continual professional development [CPD] is key to remaining on top of ever-changing design and technology developments in the industry.

Factory tours are one of the most valuable activities we undertake – and we’re always encouraging our clients to do the same.

If you’re a client developing a new hotel or new office project, it really does pay to visit your potential suppliers personally and find out more about their products and the way they work – and whether they are right for your project.

So what’s in it for you?

Well, to help you decide if you’ll accept your next supplier invite, we’ve compiled our list of the top 5 benefits of taking a factory tour with you and your busy diary in mind… take a look, discover what makes these visits so valuable and see for yourself the benefits they can bring to your project:

1. Relationships

Taking a factory tour is a wonderful way to build relationships with your suppliers and show them your serious about your project. Connecting personally and building great supplier relationships face to face leads to better service, better pricing and better outcomes for your project.

Earning your suppliers trust and involving them in your project from the earliest stages, ensures they become a strategic partner, vested in the project’s success.

2. Communication

Effective supplier relationships are all about excellent communication. Visiting your suppliers and seeing how they work is a crucial step in developing and agreeing on a communication style that leads to success for your project.

Moving from a purely transactional mindset and improving the way you connect and coordinate with your suppliers will lead to advantages in the speed and efficiencies of procuring products, reducing lead times and improving perfect orders.

3. Knowledge

Knowledge is power and Factory tours provide a powerful way to learn first hand how products come together.

Talking face to face with the experts, seeing the materials and activities that go into the manufacturing process and witnessing the final quality checks not only provides you with intimate knowledge of that particular product – the innovative manufacturing processes you witness may also inspire your thinking about your own working methods

4. Assesement

Evaluating a supplier and the products they produce from a distance is possible, but nothing will tell you the whole story like a factory tour.

You may already be familiar with the product range, but the benefit of a site visit to the factory and head office enables you to see – from the inside – the way the business works, how they manage their processes & production runs, what their quality management looks like and how sustainable and responsible their manufacturing is.

5. Negotiation

Strong negotiation can be the difference between a successful on budget project and a failed one. Where better to negotiate with a potential supplier than personally just after a factory tour?

As Ed Brodow, negotiation expert says “ Negotiators are detectives ” they ask the right questions and amass the right information to ensure they get the best deal. Knowing who you are dealing with and understanding their business personally will lead to smarter deals that benefit your project

A factory tour really is a great way to build balanced and sustainable supplier relationships that will truly benefit your projects. However, a visit is only as good as the planning and purpose you put into it, so before you go, organise your objectives and ask yourself a few key questions:

• Are you there to learn, to witness or to negotiate?
• Or is it all three?
• Are you looking to build relationships?
• Are you checking out capability or simply judging quality?
• What does a successful outcome look like for you?

Being clear on your objectives before your visit will ensure that you get the most out of the day and that your visit is productive and successful.

Find out more about our recent Hansgrohe Factory Tour and if you’re interested in taking some factory tours yourself, the RIBA CPD website is a great place to start.

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Published August 6, 2015 and updated July 22, 2021

How to Give a Successful Plant Tour

If you work in manufacturing, plant tours are likely a part of your everyday job. While it might not seem like a process that requires much attention to detail, there are actually dozens, if not hundreds, of different factors to consider during a plant tour. This is especially true when it comes to safety and communication.

Whether you’re trying to teach a plant visitor about workflow process or impress a potential client, giving a quality plant tour is essential in vetting new business and maintaining current business. What is one of the biggest challenges of successful plant tours? Noise.

At Sonetics , we know all about that. So, allow us to break down the ins and outs of plant tours and show you why efficient, clear communication is so important. We’ll also provide you with other tips and advice for giving an all-around successful plant tour.

Know Your Visitors’ Objectives

First and foremost, you should know the objective of your group’s visit to your plant. Knowing this will help you understand where they will be directing most of their attention during the tour, letting you plan ahead for the specific features and details you might want to point out, and can help you anticipate potential questions.

Will your guests be checking to make sure the quality of your plant is up to par? Probably. Are they looking to outsource the manufacturing of their product to your plant? Maybe. Are they investors looking to back one of your current clients? It’s possible. This article will give you a better idea of what visitors might be looking for when they visit your plant and can help you plan the flow and highlights of your tour.

No matter their objectives, you should do your best to make sure you provide your guests with a quality experience. The easiest way to do that is to make effective communication your top priority.

Prepare for Effective Plant Tour Communication

Most plant tour directors know when they should or shouldn’t speak to their groups during the tour of their facility. Likely, there are quieter hallways or corridors where the tour guide talks to the group, explains where they’re headed, and allows for questions before heading into a high-noise environment. Sounds familiar, right? While this practice is considered a standard operating procedure, it’s not all that safe or efficient for your tour group.

Lapses in communication mean lapses in safety. To solve this problem, you need a comprehensive wireless communications system. Sonetics’  variety of products can level up your plant tour by allowing your guests to hear clearly as they move about your facility and learn about your manufacturing site. This will improve your tour group’s experience at your plant and the entire safety of your process.

In addition, your group might have immediate questions or concerns that need to be answered or addressed immediately. Whether it’s an important question about a piece of equipment, or a comment about your processes, being able to talk in real-time is key to running a successful operation. By the end of a tour, your visitors might feel a bit overwhelmed. Being able to take feedback and concerns in-the-moment is a definite advantage.

While operations like the Chocolate World Tour at the Hershey Plant may have the luxury of not needing two-way communication devices, if you’re running a real manufacturing plant, your situation is different. The solution is simple: use two-way headsets to allow for efficient communication.

Show Off Your Professionalism

We know that safety is the main reason to use plant tour headsets, however, there are a few more reasons to value advanced, two-way communication systems like those from Sonetics.

If you’re already using a clear communication system for your team, why not use it for your plant tours, too? This gives your visitors a more realistic experience and shows them what it’s like to communicate on the floor of the plant day-in and day-out. They’ll get a firsthand perspective on the operations of your facility.

If your visitors are checking for quality and safety, or are vetting your company for a particular investment or deal, being transparent about your safe and effective communications will help in the long run. You’re already showing off your state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, why not show off the state-of-the-art tools and technology you’re using to make it happen, too? Next thing you know, your tour might be the next Boeing plant tour.

Another great benefit of using wireless communication devices is the opportunity to make introductions on the plant floor in real-time. Rather than waiting until the end of a plant tour to gather people into an office or room for a formal meeting, you can introduce people organically, when it makes sense. This helps with the overall flow of your tour and will help your clients put a name with a face sooner.

So, are you ready to take the leap into safe, efficient, communication with plant tour headsets? Your manufacturing business will thank you. Check out what we offer and don’t hesitate to contact us with your questions or specific needs.

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Touring Your Manufacturer’s Facility: What are the Benefits?

A few weeks ago, I was in Washington, D.C., for the Cherry Blossom Festival, and my friend and I thought we’d stop and get cold drinks from a nearby food truck. 

I didn’t think much of it when I ordered mango tea, but as the man began pouring me a cup of plain coffee creamer, I realized we’d made a terrible mistake. 

Thinking back to the incident, I can now spot the dozens of warning signs I’d ignored. For starters, every other truck had a long line, while this ice cream truck was empty. However, in the simmering heat, I trusted them simply because they’d written “TEA” on the side in big, bold letters. 

Ordering from a flexible material converter without seeing the facility is like buying food from a mysterious food truck: you’ll get something, but it might not be exactly what’s written on the menu. 

Facility tours can be a priceless opportunity to see the machines up close and listen to your converter explain how they use different processes. At Strouse, tours are critical to fostering customer relationships by demonstrating our existing capabilities.

Knowing the benefits of touring your manufacturer’s facility will allow you to determine when facility tours are necessary and how to get the most out of future tours.

5 Benefits of Touring Your Manufacturer’s Facility

Touring your manufacturer’s facility is more than just establishing trust in their capabilities, it’s also a way to further your connections and generate future project ideas.

These benefits of touring a manufacturing facility will demonstrate whether it’s worth the cost to your company:

BENEFIT #1: VERIFY MACHINES AND EQUIPMENT

“Yeah, we can make that for you,” says some guy you met online.

 For all you know, this contact operates a single die cut machine out of his garage. Yet, when you invest in another company for your critical projects, you’ll want to have the utmost faith in their ability to deliver on time.

There’s a considerable difference between owning a single rotary die cut press versus multiple, and depending on where you are in the process, your project requires different capability levels. Not to mention, many businesses plan to scale up their production early.

Will you know whether the equipment they’re showing you is up-to-date rather than over a decade old? If you want to inspect a converter’s equipment, send one of your technical experts to check.

The company members you send on the tour will likely depend on where you are in the cycle. For example, if you’re designing for current projects, it could be helpful to bring your technical team. Meanwhile, if you already have a product planned, you might want to include your logistics or purchasing team. 

Verifying the machines and equipment of a converter is the first step to checking their capability claims and building trust in the legitimacy of their business.

BENEFIT #2: OBSERVE THE STATE OF THEIR FACTORY

Nobody wants their parts built in filthy conditions, yet many people order from manufacturers without ever seeing the inside of their factory. 

For certain products, cleanliness is a much higher priority than for others. For instance, medical tape, bandages, and other products should be produced and stored in a sterile environment. 

When walking through the factory, consider overall cleanliness, organization, material storage, safety measures, and waste disposal. Observe the condition of their factory, including their inventory, to determine whether your contact can safely store your materials and products.

Supply chain issues are commonplace in the manufacturing industry, and your converter might be unable to compete if it can’t order and store enough material to minimize the impact of supply chain disruptions.

Lastly, ask if your converter has immediate expansion plans. It could be a good sign if they’re building, renovating their facilities, or actively adding members to their team. If your converter is steadily progressing as a company and becoming a leader in their respective field, this has positive implications for the work they’ll be doing for you.

BENEFIT #3: MEET WITH YOUR CONTACTS

Meeting your contacts establishes trust between your companies and lets you witness how they operate and meet in the middle of your processes. 

Are they taking your project seriously? How have they handled the information you’ve presented them with so far? Do they ask questions about your current work and personalize the tour?

You can gauge a great deal about a company's culture based on the employees’ willingness to offer clear, insightful answers to your questions. In addition, it’s worth considering who you come into contact with on tour. 

Are you directly communicating with somebody who can answer your more technical questions, or do they leave you hanging? 

Touring a facility also lets you observe a company’s work environment and how the workflow is set up. While this might seem like a minor detail, it provides insight into their operations and inspires questions related to inter-team coordination.

Understanding how a potential partner operates may alter the way you coordinate, so it’s worth noting how the different teams are spread out. 

Is the factory located in a separate building? You may need to confirm whether this business is the one responsible for building your part or if they’re outsourcing engineering and labor. 

BENEFIT #4: INSPECT THEIR PRODUCT LEGITIMACY 

Receiving samples in the mail is all well and good, but it’s different from seeing a converter build parts in real-time. 

Watching rolls of material become products as part of a 1-pass production process will confirm that the machines are operational and that a converter knows how to set them up (which is arguably one of the most difficult aspects of flexible material converting) and build parts daily. 

BENEFIT #5: REFLECT ON YOUR OWN PROJECT 

Touring a manufacturing facility causes customers to reflect on their own project needs.

Firstly, you can rest assured that any product information you reveal will be strictly confidential if your converter suggests a mutual NDA . 

Strouse insists upon a mutual NDA before anyone enters our facilities to preserve the confidentiality of our processes and protect the details of any product, process, or material information you wish to discuss. 

At the end of the day, the question is: what are YOU hoping to get out of this? If you’re willing to travel to see our facility, we want to make sure you get to speak with whomever you’re hoping and see what you’d like. 

Secondly, if you’re hoping to make the most of your tour, it’s useful to warn your converter and let them know more about your project or the capabilities you want to see.

You might be worried that mentioning a specific ability will narrow a converter’s focus too much. From our perspective , it simply gives us a more precise idea of what to show you and how to frame our conversations to make them more useful to you.

Even if your tour guide focuses on specific capabilities, sometimes just seeing the other machines and hearing about your options can spark ideas for your product or manufacturing process.

Should I Tour My Manufacturer’s Facility?

No matter the outcome, you’ll always have a better idea of whether you should work with a particular manufacturer after touring their facility. 

In fact, even if you’ve been to a facility before, it can be beneficial to return  again every few years to discuss your current projects, witness the changes they’ve undergone, and guarantee your converter still follows good manufacturing practices.

The main downside to touring a manufacturer’s facility is figuring out when a tour is necessary and potentially wasting time and travel costs to visit a nonviable option.

If the cost of travel is too much, or you don’t have enough time, there are other ways to qualify the legitimacy of a converter. For instance, you could look online at reviews to see what other people are saying or utilize Google street view to observe the appearance of their address and scope out its size.  

There are three main outcomes of taking a factory tour:

• The manufacturer has your desired equipment and capabilities 
• They DON’T have your desired equipment and capabilities 
• There are some capabilities, but you want to find a better fit

If you can afford the travel costs, and you’re at the point of asking the question, “Should I tour this facility?” the answer is probably yes, you should request a tour.

Every manufacturer has limitations, and touring their facility is a straightforward way to visit, ask questions, and better understand where they focus primarily and how they’re expanding in the current market. 

Are you interested in witnessing Strouse’s manufacturing capabilities up-close and personal? Contact us to schedule a tour.

Lee K. House

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Learn ‘how it’s made’ at these five factory tours

Factory tours are a fun way for groups to learn “how it’s made.” These types of tours take groups behind-the-scenes while sharing history, giving demonstrations and often, offering free samples. Factory tours also give travelers interesting anecdotes to return home with. Consider these five tours for a future group itinerary. 

1. The Future of Flight Aviation Center & Boeing Tour Everett, Washington

Experience the future of flight in one of Seattle’s most popular attractions. The facility is home to the 747, 767, 777 and 787 Dreamliner lines of airplanes.

The center in Washington gives groups the opportunity to watch Dreamliner jets being assembled right before their eyes. While visiting, groups will get the opportunity to design their own airplane and have a picture taken with the Boeing factory as the background. Tours of the plant last 90 minutes. The center has a variety of exhibits to educate guests on airplanes and flight, including: “Flight Systems,” “Passenger Experience, ”“Future Concepts,” “Airplane Design,” and “Destiny” — the U.S. Laboratory Module.

2. Ben & Jerry’s Factory Tour Waterbury, Vermont

Ben & Jerry’s offers a sweet experience for groups. Groups can take a 30-minute guided tour of the factory and see every step of the ice cream-making process.

“The Factory Tour is a chance for Ben & Jerry’s fans to see how their favorite ice cream is made,” said Sam Lacasse, factory tour manager. “Our fans eat pints of Ben & Jerry’s at home, but when they visit the factory, they get immersed in our brand and history. As they tour the factory, fans learn how two guys in a gas station started it all. Afterward, fans can grab a scoop of their favorite flavor at the Scoop Shop and find that perfect tie-dye shirt to take home. Our fans love the opportunity to visit Vermont and experience what peace, love and ice cream really means!”

3. Subaru of Indiana Automotive Factory Tours Lafayette, Indiana

Take guided factory tours of an award-winning automotive assembly facility in Lafayette. Witness the production of a Subaru vehicle from beginning to end while walking 1 mile via an elevated catwalk.

Groups observe as giant presses turn coils of steel into the metal structure of vehicles in the stamping process. Then, they will get to witness more than 860 robots in the body assembly area followed by watching over 5,000 parts being added in the paint shop. And finally, visitors see the cars go through the testing phase that proves how important quality and safety is to Subaru.

4. Hershey’s Chocolate World Hershey, Pennsylvania

Explore the wonders of chocolate and get surrounded by sweets at Hershey’s Chocolate World. Through free factory tours, witness how Hershey’s combines cocoa beans, fresh milk and sugar into that delightful chocolate bar people have enjoyed for decades.

Groups can create their own candy bar at the Create Your Own Candy Bar Factory by choosing their own ingredients and designing a wrapper. Or they can get immersed in the Chocolate Tasting Experience by learning how to engage all senses while tasting chocolate.

Save time to experience The 4-D Chocolate Mystery. Participants can interact with the characters through digital animation and special effects. Or, hop on a trolley ride for an in-depth look at the history of Hershey, Pennsylvania, and the story behind Milton S. Hershey.

5. Jelly Belly Factory Tour Fairfield, California

Guided factory tours of the Jelly Belly factory are free and take groups along a ¼ mile stretch of the factory that is home to the well-known Jelly Belly jelly beans. Groups get a birds-eye view of the facility where the colorful treats are made. Visitors can, of course, expect to taste free samples during the tour.

“Visitors love being able to take a complimentary and self-guided tour around a working candy factory, and this is the only place where they can see Jelly Belly jelly beans being made,” said John Jamison, vice president of retail operations. “They have a birds-eye view of the whole operation from the elevated tour lane, and HD/4K videos offer an up-close-and-personal look at the activities that take place throughout the factory. There are also interactive games and exhibits along the way, and each guest will end the tour with a free bag of Jelly Belly beans.”

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Let's Tour Together

Step inside the world's largest factory for a behind-the-scenes look at the Boeing Everett Factory and 777 assembly line. Each tour is an 80-minute guided experience with a front row view of current airplane production, the Everett site’s history and the central role it plays in the future of commercial aviation.

Pro-Tip: Tickets sell out quickly. We recommend booking tickets in advance, either online or through the Call Center: +1 (800) 464-1476

Tour Schedule: Offered Thursday – Monday. Select 'Buy Tickets' to check availability.

Know Before You Go

Safety requirements.

• Children/Youth must be at least 4 feet (48in/122cm) tall to go on the tour.
• Carrying children on the tour is not allowed for safety reasons.
• Children/Youth under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.

Restricted Items

This is a hands-free tour. Complimentary lockers are available to use in the lobby. Please store all belongings before your tour time begins. Items NOT allowed on the Boeing Everett Factory Tour:

• No purses, handbags, waist pouches or backpacks
• No binoculars and electronics including cameras, video equipment or drones
• No phones or tablets
• No food or drinks
• No smoking or vaping

Refunds and Restrictions

• If guests do not arrive promptly for their scheduled tour the reservation will be forfeited*. We strongly recommend guests arrive at least 30 minutes before their tour start time.
• Refunds will be provided with at least 24-hour notice of cancellation. No refunds will be made within 24 hours of your scheduled tour.
• In order to request a reservation modification of any kind, please call Boeing Future of Flight Customer Service at +1 (800)-464-1476 .

* If an emergency arises, we will attempt to reschedule your tour if you call at least one hour in advance of your scheduled tour time (depending on availability).

The Boeing Company reserves the right to cancel the tour at any time for any reason.

Accessibility

• Boeing Future of Flight is an accessible facility. Please contact Boeing Future of Flight Customer Service in advance at [email protected] or call +1 (800) 464-1476 for special accommodations requests, including booking our wheelchair-accessible bus tour. For more information regarding our accessibility accommodations, please visit our Accessibility page.
• Participation on the Boeing Everett Factory Tour requires traveling approximately .3 miles (.5km) round trip. There are flights of stairs to navigate; however, elevators are accessible on all floors at Boeing Future of Flight and the Boeing Everett Factory Tour.

Restrooms are not available during the tour. Please plan ahead by using the restrooms at Boeing Future of Flight before your tour start time.

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• Featured Tours

Welcome to your guide to factory tours!

Ever wonder how the fortune gets into the fortune cookie? How toothpaste gets into the tube? Or how sheet metal is welded into a shiny new car or motorcycle? Having traveled thousands of miles and personally visited hundreds of factory tours since 1992, we invite you to explore some manufacturing mysteries of the world. Since most of the tours are free, and many give free samples, factory tours and company museums remain the best vacation value in America. Come along for the ride!

The Toronto Star featured an article on me and some of the factory tours I have written about. I am quoted in a CNN Travel feature about nine great factory tours. We also wrote an article for the magazine Leisure Group Travel and was mentioned in Travel & Leisure .

Your guide to factory tours, Karen Axelrod Author and Factory Tour Consultant

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3 ways a virtual factory tour can benefit your business

In 2020, the digital twin market was valued at $3 billion , and it is expected to grow to $48 billion by 2026. As one of the early adopters of the technology, the manufacturing sector continues to invest heavily in digital technologies for real-time analytics, predictive maintenance, and IoT capabilities.

Despite the manufacturing sector facing constantly increasing demand and a rapidly evolving technology landscape, digital transformation has rarely proven a straightforward process. For example, factory documentation has long suffered from inconsistencies due to myriad different systems and processes in use. Often, stakeholders do not have the level of visibility they would like to have into their production environments and supply chains.

In this article, we’ll look at how digital twins and virtual tours of production facilities present an improved alternative to conventional formats like corporate videos and presentations – or in-person visits.

What is a virtual factory tour?

A virtual factory tour is exactly what it sounds like – an immersive tour of your whole production environment. The most immersive experiences are those powered by digital twins, which are entire digital replicas of your production facilities. A digital factory combines 360-degree virtual tours with augmented and virtual reality to give clients, employees, and stakeholders a chance to view your production facilities.

This brings about a variety of benefits, such as the following:

1. Build customer trust

More than ever, customers want a behind-the-scenes look at how their products are created. In the B2B space, clients are considerably more demanding. Many have stringent corporate social responsibility (CSR) and vendor-management policies, which typically require them to have considerable insight into the practices and procedures of those they do business with. A virtual factory tour, which can be shared via email and accessed 24/7 via a web browser, offers an information-rich experience that builds trust and transparency.

Virtual factory tours are similarly valuable in vendor and partner relationship management, since they offer complete visibility across the production chain.

2. Enhance employee training

The hazardous nature of manufacturing environments like auto shops and other production facilities means that worker safety must be a top priority. Traditionally, training had to be done exclusively on-site. However, thanks to virtual factory tours, new hires can now be given tours of your facilities and learn how to operate your production facilities in a risk-free environment. A virtual factory tour serves as a good primer for employee training, as well as for introducing contractors and vendors to your production facilities in a safe environment.

3. Reduce business risk

The above benefits combine to significantly reduce operational and business risk. Employees can be fully acquainted with your production facilities before they start working on the shop floor. Stakeholders can enjoy complete visibility over their investments, and customers can enjoy an inside look at where and how their products are made. Together, these advantages reduce the risks to your brand by enabling complete transparency.

The future of virtual factory tours

Many manufacturers first started to realize these benefits during the coronavirus pandemic, when virtual factory tours saw a massive update. Major companies like Siemens and Audi are just two well-known examples of manufacturers which have successfully adopted the virtual factory tour model in the wake of the pandemic.

However, the benefits of virtual factory tours go far beyond the short-term mitigation effects needed during the pandemic. They reduce travel costs, enhance transparency across global production environments, and provide an engaging and immersive new way to tour factories in a risk-free and readily accessible environment.

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Example sentences factory tour

There are tasting sessions and a chocolate-making workshop, but it's not a factory tour - more the story of the city and names that made it.

The factory tour takes visitors inside the factory and covers history, harvesting, and production.

The app has tips on must-do factory tours, restaurants that serve the best millet, and where to rest your head after curfew.

Free factory tours of the plant are offered to the public.

Manufacturing companies offer factory tours as public relations.

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In Transit: Notes from the Underground

Jun 06 2018.

Spend some time in one of Moscow’s finest museums.

Subterranean commuting might not be anyone’s idea of a good time, but even in a city packing the war-games treasures and priceless bejeweled eggs of the Kremlin Armoury and the colossal Soviet pavilions of the VDNKh , the Metro holds up as one of Moscow’s finest museums. Just avoid rush hour.

The Metro is stunning and provides an unrivaled insight into the city’s psyche, past and present, but it also happens to be the best way to get around. Moscow has Uber, and the Russian version called Yandex Taxi , but also some nasty traffic. Metro trains come around every 90 seconds or so, at a more than 99 percent on-time rate. It’s also reasonably priced, with a single ride at 55 cents (and cheaper in bulk). From history to tickets to rules — official and not — here’s what you need to know to get started.

A Brief Introduction Buying Tickets Know Before You Go (Down) Rules An Easy Tour

A Brief Introduction

Moscow’s Metro was a long time coming. Plans for rapid transit to relieve the city’s beleaguered tram system date back to the Imperial era, but a couple of wars and a revolution held up its development. Stalin revived it as part of his grand plan to modernize the Soviet Union in the 1920s and 30s. The first lines and tunnels were constructed with help from engineers from the London Underground, although Stalin’s secret police decided that they had learned too much about Moscow’s layout and had them arrested on espionage charges and deported.

The beauty of its stations (if not its trains) is well-documented, and certainly no accident. In its illustrious first phases and particularly after the Second World War, the greatest architects of Soviet era were recruited to create gleaming temples celebrating the Revolution, the USSR, and the war triumph. No two stations are exactly alike, and each of the classic showpieces has a theme. There are world-famous shrines to Futurist architecture, a celebration of electricity, tributes to individuals and regions of the former Soviet Union. Each marble slab, mosaic tile, or light fixture was placed with intent, all in service to a station’s aesthetic; each element, f rom the smallest brass ear of corn to a large blood-spattered sword on a World War II mural, is an essential part of the whole.

The Metro is a monument to the Soviet propaganda project it was intended to be when it opened in 1935 with the slogan “Building a Palace for the People”. It brought the grand interiors of Imperial Russia to ordinary Muscovites, celebrated the Soviet Union’s past achievements while promising its citizens a bright Soviet future, and of course, it was a show-piece for the world to witness the might and sophistication of life in the Soviet Union.

It may be a museum, but it’s no relic. U p to nine million people use it daily, more than the London Underground and New York Subway combined. (Along with, at one time, about 20 stray dogs that learned to commute on the Metro.)

In its 80+ year history, the Metro has expanded in phases and fits and starts, in step with the fortunes of Moscow and Russia. Now, partly in preparation for the World Cup 2018, it’s also modernizing. New trains allow passengers to walk the entire length of the train without having to change carriages. The system is becoming more visitor-friendly. (There are helpful stickers on the floor marking out the best selfie spots .) But there’s a price to modernity: it’s phasing out one of its beloved institutions, the escalator attendants. Often they are middle-aged or elderly women—“ escalator grandmas ” in news accounts—who have held the post for decades, sitting in their tiny kiosks, scolding commuters for bad escalator etiquette or even bad posture, or telling jokes . They are slated to be replaced, when at all, by members of the escalator maintenance staff.

For all its achievements, the Metro lags behind Moscow’s above-ground growth, as Russia’s capital sprawls ever outwards, generating some of the world’s worst traffic jams . But since 2011, the Metro has been in the middle of an ambitious and long-overdue enlargement; 60 new stations are opening by 2020. If all goes to plan, the 2011-2020 period will have brought 125 miles of new tracks and over 100 new stations — a 40 percent increase — the fastest and largest expansion phase in any period in the Metro’s history.

Facts: 14 lines Opening hours: 5 a.m-1 a.m. Rush hour(s): 8-10 a.m, 4-8 p.m. Single ride: 55₽ (about 85 cents) Wi-Fi network-wide

Buying Tickets

• Ticket machines have a button to switch to English.
• You can buy specific numbers of rides: 1, 2, 5, 11, 20, or 60. Hold up fingers to show how many rides you want to buy.
• There is also a 90-minute ticket , which gets you 1 trip on the metro plus an unlimited number of transfers on other transport (bus, tram, etc) within 90 minutes.
• Or, you can buy day tickets with unlimited rides: one day (218₽/ US$4), three days (415₽/US$7) or seven days (830₽/US$15). Check the rates here to stay up-to-date.
• If you’re going to be using the Metro regularly over a few days, it’s worth getting a Troika card , a contactless, refillable card you can use on all public transport. Using the Metro is cheaper with one of these: a single ride is 36₽, not 55₽. Buy them and refill them in the Metro stations, and they’re valid for 5 years, so you can keep it for next time. Or, if you have a lot of cash left on it when you leave, you can get it refunded at the Metro Service Centers at Ulitsa 1905 Goda, 25 or at Staraya Basmannaya 20, Building 1.
• You can also buy silicone bracelets and keychains with built-in transport chips that you can use as a Troika card. (A Moscow Metro Fitbit!) So far, you can only get these at the Pushkinskaya metro station Live Helpdesk and souvenir shops in the Mayakovskaya and Trubnaya metro stations. The fare is the same as for the Troika card.
• You can also use Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.

Rules, spoken and unspoken

No smoking, no drinking, no filming, no littering. Photography is allowed, although it used to be banned.

Stand to the right on the escalator. Break this rule and you risk the wrath of the legendary escalator attendants. (No shenanigans on the escalators in general.)

Get out of the way. Find an empty corner to hide in when you get off a train and need to stare at your phone. Watch out getting out of the train in general; when your train doors open, people tend to appear from nowhere or from behind ornate marble columns, walking full-speed.

Always offer your seat to elderly ladies (what are you, a monster?).

An Easy Tour

This is no Metro Marathon ( 199 stations in 20 hours ). It’s an easy tour, taking in most—though not all—of the notable stations, the bulk of it going clockwise along the Circle line, with a couple of short detours. These stations are within minutes of one another, and the whole tour should take about 1-2 hours.

Start at Mayakovskaya Metro station , at the corner of Tverskaya and Garden Ring,  Triumfalnaya Square, Moskva, Russia, 125047.

1. Mayakovskaya.  Named for Russian Futurist Movement poet Vladimir Mayakovsky and an attempt to bring to life the future he imagined in his poems. (The Futurist Movement, natch, was all about a rejecting the past and celebrating all things speed, industry, modern machines, youth, modernity.) The result: an Art Deco masterpiece that won the National Grand Prix for architecture at the New York World’s Fair in 1939. It’s all smooth, rounded shine and light, and gentle arches supported by columns of dark pink marble and stainless aircraft steel. Each of its 34 ceiling niches has a mosaic. During World War II, the station was used as an air-raid shelter and, at one point, a bunker for Stalin. He gave a subdued but rousing speech here in Nov. 6, 1941 as the Nazis bombed the city above.

Take the 3/Green line one station to:

2. Belorusskaya. Opened in 1952, named after the connected Belarussky Rail Terminal, which runs trains between Moscow and Belarus. This is a light marble affair with a white, cake-like ceiling, lined with Belorussian patterns and 12 Florentine ceiling mosaics depicting life in Belarussia when it was built.

Transfer onto the 1/Brown line. Then, one stop (clockwise) t o:

3. Novoslobodskaya.  This station was designed around the stained-glass panels, which were made in Latvia, because Alexey Dushkin, the Soviet starchitect who dreamed it up (and also designed Mayakovskaya station) couldn’t find the glass and craft locally. The stained glass is the same used for Riga’s Cathedral, and the panels feature plants, flowers, members of the Soviet intelligentsia (musician, artist, architect) and geometric shapes.

Go two stops east on the 1/Circle line to:

4. Komsomolskaya. Named after the Komsomol, or the Young Communist League, this might just be peak Stalin Metro style. Underneath the hub for three regional railways, it was intended to be a grand gateway to Moscow and is today its busiest station. It has chandeliers; a yellow ceiling with Baroque embellishments; and in the main hall, a colossal red star overlaid on golden, shimmering tiles. Designer Alexey Shchusev designed it as an homage to the speech Stalin gave at Red Square on Nov. 7, 1941, in which he invoked Russia’s illustrious military leaders as a pep talk to Soviet soldiers through the first catastrophic year of the war.   The station’s eight large mosaics are of the leaders referenced in the speech, such as Alexander Nevsky, a 13th-century prince and military commander who bested German and Swedish invading armies.

One more stop clockwise to Kurskaya station,  and change onto the 3/Blue  line, and go one stop to:

5. Baumanskaya.   Opened in 1944. Named for the Bolshevik Revolutionary Nikolai Bauman , whose monument and namesake district are aboveground here. Though he seemed like a nasty piece of work (he apparently once publicly mocked a woman he had impregnated, who later hung herself), he became a Revolutionary martyr when he was killed in 1905 in a skirmish with a monarchist, who hit him on the head with part of a steel pipe. The station is in Art Deco style with atmospherically dim lighting, and a series of bronze sculptures of soldiers and homefront heroes during the War. At one end, there is a large mosaic portrait of Lenin.

Stay on that train direction one more east to:

6. Elektrozavodskaya. As you may have guessed from the name, this station is the Metro’s tribute to all thing electrical, built in 1944 and named after a nearby lightbulb factory. It has marble bas-relief sculptures of important figures in electrical engineering, and others illustrating the Soviet Union’s war-time struggles at home. The ceiling’s recurring rows of circular lamps give the station’s main tunnel a comforting glow, and a pleasing visual effect.

Double back two stops to Kurskaya station , and change back to the 1/Circle line. Sit tight for six stations to:

7. Kiyevskaya. This was the last station on the Circle line to be built, in 1954, completed under Nikita Khrushchev’ s guidance, as a tribute to his homeland, Ukraine. Its three large station halls feature images celebrating Ukraine’s contributions to the Soviet Union and Russo-Ukrainian unity, depicting musicians, textile-working, soldiers, farmers. (One hall has frescoes, one mosaics, and the third murals.) Shortly after it was completed, Khrushchev condemned the architectural excesses and unnecessary luxury of the Stalin era, which ushered in an epoch of more austere Metro stations. According to the legend at least, he timed the policy in part to ensure no Metro station built after could outshine Kiyevskaya.

Change to the 3/Blue line and go one stop west.

8. Park Pobedy. This is the deepest station on the Metro, with one of the world’s longest escalators, at 413 feet. If you stand still, the escalator ride to the surface takes about three minutes .) Opened in 2003 at Victory Park, the station celebrates two of Russia’s great military victories. Each end has a mural by Georgian artist Zurab Tsereteli, who also designed the “ Good Defeats Evil ” statue at the UN headquarters in New York. One mural depicts the Russian generals’ victory over the French in 1812 and the other, the German surrender of 1945. The latter is particularly striking; equal parts dramatic, triumphant, and gruesome. To the side, Red Army soldiers trample Nazi flags, and if you look closely there’s some blood spatter among the detail. Still, the biggest impressions here are the marble shine of the chessboard floor pattern and the pleasingly geometric effect if you view from one end to the other.

Keep going one more stop west to:

9. Slavyansky Bulvar.  One of the Metro’s youngest stations, it opened in 2008. With far higher ceilings than many other stations—which tend to have covered central tunnels on the platforms—it has an “open-air” feel (or as close to it as you can get, one hundred feet under). It’s an homage to French architect Hector Guimard, he of the Art Nouveau entrances for the Paris M é tro, and that’s precisely what this looks like: A Moscow homage to the Paris M é tro, with an additional forest theme. A Cyrillic twist on Guimard’s Metro-style lettering over the benches, furnished with t rees and branch motifs, including creeping vines as towering lamp-posts.

Stay on the 3/Blue line and double back four stations to:

10. Arbatskaya. Its first iteration, Arbatskaya-Smolenskaya station, was damaged by German bombs in 1941. It was rebuilt in 1953, and designed to double as a bomb shelter in the event of nuclear war, although unusually for stations built in the post-war phase, this one doesn’t have a war theme. It may also be one of the system’s most elegant: Baroque, but toned down a little, with red marble floors and white ceilings with gilded bronze c handeliers.

Jump back on the 3/Blue line  in the same direction and take it one more stop:

11. Ploshchad Revolyutsii (Revolution Square). Opened in 1938, and serving Red Square and the Kremlin . Its renowned central hall has marble columns flanked by 76 bronze statues of Soviet heroes: soldiers, students, farmers, athletes, writers, parents. Some of these statues’ appendages have a yellow sheen from decades of Moscow’s commuters rubbing them for good luck. Among the most popular for a superstitious walk-by rub: the snout of a frontier guard’s dog, a soldier’s gun (where the touch of millions of human hands have tapered the gun barrel into a fine, pointy blade), a baby’s foot, and a woman’s knee. (A brass rooster also sports the telltale gold sheen, though I am told that rubbing the rooster is thought to bring bad luck. )

Now take the escalator up, and get some fresh air.

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