Why Every Machine Shop Should Take More Shop Tours | Lean Built - Manufacturing Freedom E153

What if one of the fastest ways to improve your machine shop is walking through someone else’s?

In this solo episode, Andrew shares lessons from recent shop tours, including visits to manufacturers in Japan and Toyota Material Handling in Columbus, Indiana. He explains why every shop owner and manufacturing leader should regularly visit other facilities, shamelessly borrow great ideas, and expose their teams to new ways of thinking.

Andrew explores how shop tours create better benchmarks, reveal simple solutions to stubborn problems, strengthen industry relationships, and help leaders see both their company’s strengths and blind spots. He also reflects on why taking your team along is often even more valuable than going alone, and why the best leaders spend more time listening than talking.