Why Join the Japan Prefabricated & Modern Methods of Construction Study Tour?
Are you confident your organisation is keeping pace with the rapid shift toward prefabrication and modern methods of construction?
Are you satisfied with the speed, accuracy and cost-efficiency of your current building processes?
Across Australia and globally, construction leaders are under pressure to deliver faster, safer, higher-quality builds — while dealing with labour shortages, rising material costs and volatile on-site conditions. Many companies have experimented with prefabrication or off-site assembly, only to find their progress limited by outdated processes, inconsistent quality, or a lack of internal capability.
Meanwhile, Japan has spent decades perfecting industrialised building. Their manufacturers deliver accurate components, automated production lines, predictable installation and true “factory thinking” applied to construction. Their success is no accident — it’s the result of refined systems, deep expertise and a culture of continuous improvement.
If you want to see how world-class prefabrication actually works — not in theory, but on real production floors — then this tour is for you.
Join industry leaders on a hands-on, behind-the-scenes study tour through Japan’s top prefab and construction manufacturing companies and return with insights you can immediately apply.
Register Your Interest for this study tour
Jan 31st – Feb 6th 2027
Misawa Home factory tour
Process explanation from Avex management
Sekisui volumetric module line
Tour debrief and discussion
Misawa Home management workshop
LIXIL factory visit and workshop
Sekisui Heim management workshop
RHS column fabrication at Sekisui Heim
All meals, drinks and bookings included
- Gain firsthand insights into Japan’s leading prefabrication and industrialised construction systems
- Learn proven techniques to cut lead times, reduce waste and improve project predictability
- See how Japanese builders deliver exceptional quality, efficiency and on-site safety
- Understand how automation, modular design and factory production dramatically lift productivity
- Build capability by learning directly from global leaders in manufacturing and supply-chain integration
- Benchmark your operations against world-class practice and pinpoint real improvement opportunities
- Bring back practical ideas, case examples and tools your team can apply immediately
- How Japan’s leading prefab construction companies actually design, manufacture and assemble buildings in practice.
- The end to end production system behind prefab industry leaders such as Daiwa Homes, Sala House, Sekisui Heim and LIXIL Windows amongst others
- How smart engineering, right-sized automation, modularisation and factory-based processes reduce waste, shorten lead time and stabilise project delivery.
- How top builders successfully integrate design, engineering, supply chain and site installation
- Real examples of lean construction flow, takt planning, sequencing, inspection and logistics
- What Australian and Western organisations can realistically adopt — and what they can’t
- Practical lessons, methods and improvement ideas you can apply immediately
- Ample time is provided for Q&A, discussion and networking with fellow industry leaders.
- your projects rely too heavily on onsite labour and are increasingly hard to control
- lead times are blowing out and quality is inconsistent across builds
- you’re unsure how to scale prefabrication or industrialised construction in your organisation
- you want clarity on the right technologies, methods and operating models to adopt
- you feel stuck and need to see what world-class prefab and MMC really look like in action
…then you’ll gain tremendous value from this study tour.
Secure your place and learn how global leaders achieve unmatched speed, quality, and efficiency.
We are a team of Operational Excellence and Lean specialists with deep roots in both Japan and the construction / manufacturing sectors.
Our founder, Damien Lacey, began his career with Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan, spending three years in Toyota City learning world-class manufacturing, engineering and improvement systems firsthand. For over a decade, OE Partners has applied these methods across Australian prefab, modular, building-component, and manufacturing businesses, helping teams lift productivity, quality, and delivery performance.
We understand the realities of industrialised construction — not just the theory. Our team has worked inside factories, with frontline leaders, installers, and project teams to implement practical Lean tools, system thinking, and continuous improvement that stick.
We are proud to deliver this tour in partnership with bilingual Japanese industry experts, ensuring smooth logistics, exceptional access, and precise technical translation during every site visit.
The program is also supported by prefabAUS and Austrade, reflecting the tour’s strategic value, and alignment with emerging industry needs for Australia’s construction sector.
Travel with a team that blends Japanese manufacturing expertise, Australian industry experience, and proven capability, ensuring every participant gains real, applicable insights they can bring home and put into practice immediately.
- Accommodation (6 nights)
- All meals and drinks (non-alcoholic)
- Domestic transport (including bullet trains)
- All factory tours & site visits
- Professional interpreting
- Lean/Kaizen workshops
- Cultural activities and guidance
- Program materials
Excludes: international flights, airport transfers and travel insurance.
Tour Fee: $11,500 AUD
Detailed Tour Itinerary: Contact OE Partners via the form below
Testimonials from previous study tour attendees
“Well organised, professional, informative and thoroughly enjoyable. OE Partners found the right balance between types of factories to visit, relevance to what we do in Australia and a manageable pace through the week.
Overall, to see how lean and continual improvement is being done in companies that have been working on it for decades was the catalyst for me to challenge and shift my mindset. To see what great looks like and to see the theory in practice was the best. I’ve studied a lot of these principles in my degrees, but never got the chance to see it in real life. To see it cemented the value of these theories.
There were a lot of good takeaways, particularly around establishing properly designed production lines as opposed to an organically grown system, working out Takt time, and staff engagement and utilisation in the implementation and ongoing improvement.
I would definitely recommend the tour. It’s one of those trips that if you can take away 2 or 3 great ideas, it will pay for the costs multiple times over. ”
Dwayne Ballast
Owner, Villaron Group
“It was above and beyond what I was expecting and delivered very meaningful insights for my business. The tour was very well thought out and organised, with the right mix of companies to provide different insights and learnings.
The people attending were all very positive and successful business people who shared learnings and collaborated well. The food and accommodation were great. I wouldn’t change anything about the trip.
The key impression I took away was the strong focus all the businesses had on flow and efficiency. While the operations were different at each site, they all tracked activities down to the minute.
There are a number of ideas we can start implementing, including daily activity tracking, work station setup, better materials and procurement, having a productivity champion, and working towards takt time.
I would definitely recommend the tour. It’s difficult to understand efficient manufacturing without seeing it in action. Seeing best practice firsthand provides the insights to start implementing it in my business.“
Nicholas O’Neill
Founder, Moov Modular
“This was a very well organised event with a good combination of tours. Learnings around Lean were embedded in all tours, and we saw different applications of the principles.
Sekisui and AVEX were the most interesting tours. Sekisui stood out for process flow, automation, design flexibility using fixed building blocks, and visual management. AVEX was particularly interesting for its continuous improvement focus, culture and empowerment of people, Kaizen events, use of 3S, and daily production boards.
The key ideas I will most likely action in our organisation are visual management and scheduling, followed by process implementation.
I would recommend the tour because you get to see what good looks like and what is possible.“
Jane Brisbane
Executive General Manager ‑ Operations,
Fleetwood
“I really liked seeing first hand how they live and operate in small, compact spaces and how they make the most out of them. It was great to see what they do well and what they don’t do well.
I was shocked by how their homes don’t appreciate over time and are often rebuilt after 30 years.
I would love to have a no-phone policy like they do so we could be more productive. From what I observed, they stay focused for their full shift. Lean is a word I will be using a lot moving forward, and I will be looking at ways to be more Lean.
I would definitely recommend the tour. You get to see how their culture is very different to Australia. Their automation is second to none, and I love how they can build 10 homes a day — this has to be seen to be believed ”
Peter Zaccazan
Owner
Zac Homes
“It was busy, comprehensive and covered a great range of Lean manufacturing facilities, which really puts everything into perspective. It was great not only to see the assembly lines in full swing, but to discuss them with management afterwards — that was a great component of the tour.
I learnt a lot more about Takt and its beneficial outcomes, and came away with the view that Australia is very well set up to accelerate and take full advantage of the latest technologies which have resulted from billions of dollars of R&D and time testing offshore.
I would recommend the tour. I think the framework and learning environment that this process uncovers regarding Lean manufacturing is excellent.”
Phil Mollard
Owner
Mollard Property Group
“Well run and structured, with a good mix of companies ranging from component and kit-of-parts manufacturing through to fully finished manufactured homes.
Sekisui was a standout — particularly the 3-minute takt time for fully welded portal frames, material and inventory management, the philosophy towards continuous improvement, and Japan’s approach to training and development as a retention strategy.
The key ideas I will take back into our organisation are visual management and team-led Kaizen/PDCA.
Australian modular manufacturing is somewhat isolated from the rest of the world, so I would highly recommend the tour to those wanting to learn from world-class leading businesses. The companies we visited were very open and willing to share their Lean journeys.
It was also a great group of people and the right number of participants, which made for an entertaining week.”
Jarrod Waring
Executive GM, Operations
Ausco
This Study Tour will book out fast.
Register your interest here
