Virtual Factory Tour Illustrating the Product-Process Matrix

Elliott N. Weiss, Darden Business School

1997 TTI Fellow

Project website:

Different manufacturing process types (batch flow, assembly line) are appropriate to different types of products, but many Darden students unfamiliar with manufacturing processes have trouble visualizing the various process types. Plant tours are used to give students the feel for different types of manufacturing processes, but logistics and the number of different processes prevent students from visiting each type of plant. Professor Weiss is developing three-dimensional simulations of each type of process so students can take virtual tours of the various plants. These simulations will combine animation, images, and video to capture the richness of a real plant tour while focusing attention on the manufacturing process. An added benefit of this project is that it can provide a template for developing multimedia business cases across the Darden curriculum.

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