Study visit to Tabaqueira

On December 6th, a group of students from the Industrial Engineering and Management degree course went to the Tabaqueira industrial complex in Rio de Mouro, Sintra. The company is the largest in the sector in Portugal and is a subsidiary of Philip Morris International.

The visit, organized by teacher Raphaela Vidal, was supervised by teacher Pedro A. Marques who accompanied the students around the production facilities. Professor Raphaela Vidal points out that the aim of the visit was:

"To provide an insight into the production process in a company with high international standards and to make it possible to enrich the quality of our students' training and develop links with the real economy"

The group was welcomed by the team responsible for presenting the company. They took part in an institutional talk and watched a video on safety in the workplace, where they realized that safety really is a daily priority for the company: "Everyone's safety always comes first". This concern is reflected in attitudes in the workplace, such as: walking down the stairs, always keeping your hand in contact with the handrail, not using a cell phone when walking and respecting the signs on the floor and walls. Participants also had to take a knowledge test to gain access to the facilities.

As a next step, the visitors were asked to put on their personal protective equipment (PPE) and were provided with earphones so that everyone could listen to the explanations inside the production area.

The visit to the industrial area provided an insight into industrial activities, the use of technologies to streamline processes, as well as controls to guarantee products of the quality required by industry standards. It also made it possible to establish links with the topics studied in class:

"The visit to Tabaqueira provided valuable practical experience of the topics covered in class. The detailed observation of the entire production process, from raw material intake to dispatch, contributed to an in-depth understanding of how this industry works" (Maria Boaventura, student).

It can be said that the students' expectations were exceeded:

"It was an incredible experience. It was a necessary and very interesting visit because, in the end, I found myself actually working in the industrial area. What's more, the visit sparked a greater interest in the Industrial Engineering and Management course. I would therefore like to thank Professor Raphaela Vidal for giving us an unforgettable and very enriching visit" (Sheinira Garrocho, student).

The EGI team would like to thank Tabaqueira for its availability, partnership and valuable contribution to student training.