Business Operations—From John Deere to the Pub
Business professor Dale Matheny recently loaded his Operations class into a Principia van and drove north to visit the John Deere manufacturing facility in East Moline, Illinois, on the outskirts of Chicago.
With 78 acres under one roof, the factory is one of the world’s largest agricultural equipment manufacturing facilities. Students saw each stage of the process to learn how the massive trademark-green machines, including $500,000 combines, are built.
“It was great to see the concepts we talk about in class in this real-life setting,” says sophomore Gavin Thomas. “Our guide spoke about cycle time, bottlenecks, and showed us some of the CAD [computer aided design] work they do.”
Because a retired employee guided the tour, students gained insight into the company culture. “The guide emphasized ways John Deere values qualities such as integrity, commitment, and innovation—qualities evident on the shop floor,” says professor Matheny. “Our students shared tremendous insights after their visit as they wondered why there were still bottlenecks in the manufacturing process, even after many years of production and tried to figure out why combines depreciate in value so rapidly. They even noticed details such as the immaculate floor in the production area! And they got to see a lot of the concepts we cover in action, which made them a lot more understandable.”
Next, the class is turning its attention to a real-life operations case study right on campus—an analysis of the Pub. “The manager is very open to the students using the Pub as a real business educational microcosm,” Matheny comments. “Students will measure the timing of orders as they go through each workstation and utilize statistics to measure the efficiency of the process. They’ll also look at labor and sales metrics. One of the learning outcomes for the Operations course is problem-solving, and this is an excellent opportunity for the students to apply their analytical skills.”