3M

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing (3M) Company is a well-established company that is known for its ceaseless innovation, generating new products that make our lives more convenient by the day. After my visit to 3M, my view has not changed. 

The first thing that caught my attention was the shoe-cleaner that 3M possesses. This is to keep their interior facilities clean and provide everyone with an enjoyable work experience. Judging from the floors, I would say that the shoe-cleaner does work quite well. Then, we were given an introduction to 3M before the short tour around the 3M facilities. 

In 3M, there was a long stretch of laboratories whereby researchers are synthesising new products and knowledge. Some of their technologies were put on display and I was truly impressed by the technological advances contributed by 3M. 

An interesting thing to note is that the top of their lockers are not flat, unlike conventional ones, but rather at an angle. This is done such that workers would not be able to deposit their things on top of these lockers, which will make the place look cleaner and tidier. This is an example of how tiny details in engineering could impact something greater, such as the image of a company. 

Another fascinating fact about 3M is the presence of the "Clean Room". The clean room is highly complicated, with many minute details to take care of. For example, the apparatus used in the room are all made of Stainless Steel with no paint. The air flow is also specifically controlled such that the amount of dust inside the room is minimised. As such, the products would be able to maintain high quality and maximise precision during the engineering of such products. 

Lastly, it is worth noting that they have a "Kenzai" room, which is a Japanese term for "Modification" (translation may not be accurate due to my poor language ability). In this room, workers are given the freedom and space to contribute to other departments that they do not work in. This maximises the amount of inventions that 3M can have as it allows everyone to contribute as long as they have a good idea. It is this culture for innovation which helped 3M stay competitive.

In conclusion, the trip to 3M has been an eye-opener for me. Material science is a unique blend of all the different sciences and it is the epitome of science applied to real-world problems.