Today, we had more company visits at Hyundai and TK Elevators. We left from our hotel in Seoul to a city called Asan. This city is well known for having large factories and production plants. 

We first visited Hyundai Motor Company’s production plant in Asan. We started the visit by watching a video about the history of Hyundai and the goals of the Asan plant. We learned about the number and location of various factories all around the world that are contributing to the production of Hyundai automobiles. Each factory produces varying models of vehicles. We then moved on to a tour of the production plant where the car starts out as just mere pieces of metal and then it quickly turns into a fully functioning automobile. I found it interesting that some parts of the manufacturing line are completely automated and requires no human interaction. Through this efficient manufacturing process, more than 1,000 cars are produced per day within an 8-hour workday.

After the visit at Hyundai Motor Company, we then headed off to TK Elevators. It really opened my eyes up to the use of smart systems in ways that I never have thought of before. At Pitt, the Cathedral of Learning has a smart elevator system, and before visiting TK Elevators, I never really thought about how much actually goes into a system like that. At TK, it was really fascinating to be given the opportunity to tour their testing tower, where they test different concepts. For example, they currently have twin elevators and elevators that move not only up and down, but also side to side. It was also interesting to see the company dynamic and work life balance. At TK Elevators, it was clear that employee satisfaction was at the forefront of their minds. They offered many amenities to employees on site, some of which include, golf simulator, a gym, etc. 

Overall, these companies visits provided me with unique opportunities to have a glimpse into manufacturing processes that are almost completely automated.