On Wednesday 5 Februarya group of sleepy Business and Economics students had a very early start as we
set out on a trip to Birmingham.  

 

Our first stop was Jaguar’s production
facility in Castle Bromwich. After donning fluorescent jackets, and listening to
a brief introduction and safety talk, we set off in three groups for a full
factory tour. We saw every stage of the production process (except the paint
plant) from the preliminary moulding of aluminium parts to the finished car
driving off the line. It was a fascinating experience to watch amazing robotics
at work in the initial stages and the hand finishing of the interior of each
car as it was made to order. One of our favourite facts was that the cars are
held together entirely by glue and rivets! It was also interesting to learn
about the employees and their jobs, and find out about motivation techniques.
It really helped us to appreciate and understand some of the topics we have
learnt about in class, such as J.I.T, Kaizen and job rotation, and to see the
theory in action.  

In the afternoon we arrived at Cadbury
World in Bourneville. We experienced the full visitor attraction, including the
Cadabra ride and all the yummy samples! Although we didn’t see the actual
production line here, we learned about the history of the company, the
production process and the marketing and advertising of their various products
over the last 30 or more years. After stocking up on supplies in the world’s
biggest Cadbury shop we boarded the coach once more for the trip home.

 

It was a
great day out and I would thoroughly recommend it to future students – especially
the Jaguar factory.