Year 12 Yakult Excursion
Year 12 Business Management Excursion to Yakult
On Friday 7th June, the Year 12 Business Management students visited the Yakult Factory in Dandenong. This excursion is undertaken annually to enhance students' understanding of Unit 3 Area of Study 3 Operations Management. Students were able to view various strategies that Yakult undertake to enhance the effectiveness of their operations for example the use of robotics, waste minimisation and social responsibility.
Students gained knowledge about the operation management of Yakult, their inputs, various types of technology (CAD/CAM/CIM /Automated Production lines) used by Yakult. They received firsthand information on how quality checks; quality control and quality assurance are done in Yakult under strict lab conditions. They also became familiar with their waste management approach, which is lean management and their commitment toward corporate social responsibility. They also watched how the bottles for packaging are manufactured inside the factory by using recycled plastic, then how bottles are filled with the Yakult via automated production line, then sealed and packed in an efficient and effective way. They also saw how the faulty products are detected quickly and waste is minimised.
Overall, students came to learn about the operation systems of modern businesses and how the whole production processes are operated effectively and efficiently by the business for increasing their profits.
Students watched every process via the glass screens while the factory was undergoing their daily operations. The tour guide provide us with information about the Yakult business processes, equipment used at various stages and job qualifications and roles of employees of Yakult.
As a part of the tour, all students were offered a free YAKULT drink, a free pencil case along with the information pack on Yakult products and their business objectives. There was a short video on the history of YAKULT, their products and how they maintain 100% satisfactory customer service.
Every single student who went for this excursion from my class and Mr Coghlan’ s class enjoyed this tour. We always looking forward to do this excursion every year for our Year 12 Business Management students.
Following are reflections on this excursion by our year 12 BM students.
Parminder Kaur
Year 12 Business Management Teacher
Students’ reflections on excursion to Yakult
The excursion to Yakult provided us with the opportunity to visit their factory that manufactures all of the Yakult products for both Australia and New Zealand. We got to see and experience a fully-automated production process, linking in to our current topic on business operations management. It was extremely beneficial as it allowed for us relate the theory we have learnt in class to a practical situation. The tour guides were very friendly and answered any questions we had. They showed us each stage of their production process where they combine the raw materials such as sugar and powdered skim milk, manufacture and fill the bottles and then package them ready for distribution. We had the chance to taste a bottle of Yakult and then watch a video about the history of the company and how it has established itself as a worldwide company
Sean Kelly
Yakult was a very great experience and helped me get more knowledge on the operation management that happens in the business.
Josef Daniel O'Kelly-Goodrich
On the excursion to Yakult factory, we were able to observe the automated production lines used to produce the probiotic drink effectively and efficiently. It was evident that the use of robotics and machinery sped up the manufacturing process while minimising human labour cost. The excursion reflected the area of study we were currently studying, Operations Management, and provided us with a real life, practical demonstration. Yakult's friendly and knowledgeable education coordinators took us on a tour of the factory and even gave each of us a Yakult bottle.
Camille Dubois
Our excursion was useful in terms of understanding all the theory we have done in class. However, I reckon we should have gone before the SAC as this excursion would have helped me much more to answering the questions. However, the tour around the factory helped me understand concepts that I did not get before, and therefore my mark will be improved on my part 2 SAC.
Eleni Kanara
The visit to Yakult provided me with insight on the inner workings of a manufacturing business. The excursion outlined the steps taken to transform raw materials into tangible products that are accessible to a wide population. With this information, I now have a clearer understanding of operations management and the processes from input to output.
Georgia Massey
This excursion gave me a lot of understanding about operation management especially about automated production lines. Everything in the excursion was great, people are friendly, and the product taste fantastic.
Hungthinh (Tony) Nguyen
The Yakult excursion the other day was an interesting and enjoyable experience. I really enjoyed learning about the the processes the business goes through to package their product and knowing what ingredients are incorporated in the product. The tour guides gave a great tour of the factory and I really enjoyed looking around the factory and seeing how all the machines work.
Eliza Miller
I liked the Yakult excursion. It was way better than learning operation management compared to reading the text book.
Hayato Serag
The Yakult excursion was a very good source of learning as it was a lot more beneficial and straight forward to understand the concepts of inputs, processes and outputs as I could easily distinguish each stage of the production when I see it physically in front of me.
Paris Arzanas
Yakult was a valuable experience, which really helped me understand operations management, inputs, process and outputs as well as the gained understanding of how manufacturing business works.
Elya Tal