Two packed items prevent most gate refusals on a factory tour outing

What to take away

A spare pair of proper shoes in the car has saved more plant visits than any other item.
Everybody in the party needs photo identification, including teenagers.
The drone is the single worst thing to bring anywhere near an industrial site.
Pack so that nothing you carry has to be left in an unsupervised pile.

The packing list that prevents mistakes is short, and most of it is about being able to recover when something is wrong rather than about being comfortable.

The two items that save visits

A second pair of closed shoes, in the car. Wet weather, a spilled coffee, or a plant with a stricter rule than the last one. Ten minutes to go and change is the difference between a visit and a drive home.

Spare closed shoes on a car footwell floor mat (Two packed items prevent most gate refusals on a factory tour outing) — Keeping a second pair of closed shoes in the car is what turns a wet-weather or spilled-coffee morning into a visit instead of a drive home. Image: Factory Trails

Photo identification for everybody. Including teenagers, who are the people most likely not to be carrying any. Many plants check it, some check it against a list, and no identification means no entry.

The item that causes the most trouble

Do not bring a drone anywhere near an industrial site, and do not fly one over one.

Beyond the immediate reaction from site security, unmanned aircraft are regulated, and the introduction for new drone users sets out registration, the rules for recreational flying, and the airspace restrictions that apply. Industrial districts frequently sit near airports, rail corridors and restricted airspace, and plant operators treat an unfamiliar drone as a serious matter.

If a plant wants aerial imagery, it has its own. Yours will end a friendly visit permanently.

Pack so nothing is orphaned

Most plants will not allow bags on the production floor, and not all have lockers.

Take one small bag you can leave in the car, carry only what fits in pockets, and assume that anything you bring inside must stay with you or be checked. Nothing valuable, nothing you would mind losing, nothing that needs a table.

For families

The teenager needs identification. The younger child needs to meet the age limit. Bring ear protection sized for children, because plant-issue equipment is adult-sized.

The caution behind those age limits is not arbitrary either: the Occupational Safety and Health Administration keeps a body of guidance on young workers precisely because injury risk in industrial settings falls differently on people under 18, and visitor policies borrow the same reasoning.

Bring a book or a device for the person who does not meet the age limit and will be waiting in the visitor center. This is more common than anybody plans for.

The whole list

Closed shoes with a solid sole, plus a spare pair in the car
Long trousers
Photo identification for everyone
Ear plugs, per person
Glasses, if you wear them, plus the case for switching to safety glasses
A jacket, for chilled areas
Water
Pencil and small notebook
Cash, for small sites
A basic car kit, which is what makes a breakdown a delay rather than a lost day

What to leave behind

Bags, tripods, drones, food, drink and anything with a strong smell, which is prohibited in food plants for obvious reasons.

Also leave the assumption that the rules will be flexible for you. They are the same rules the plant applies to a contractor arriving to do a job.

The full account of what goes wrong is in what causes factory tour mistakes, and if under-18s are coming, the age question needs settling before anything else is booked.