Not very long ago, manufacturing facilities hired workers to do manual tasks only. In today's environment, markets are so competitive that it is no longer feasible to waste any resources an organization has. One of the assets that requires little additional cost to harvest is human brainpower. When many of the people who work in the factory leave the plant at the end of the day, they are Little League coaches and Brownie leaders, treasurers of the church, presidents of the rod and gun club, and organizers of unending lists of activities. Historically hired for their backs and strength only, today they are needed for their problem-solving capabilities as well. I recently worked with a facility where this potential was just being realized. In this organization, there is a major focus on problem-solving teams made up of shop floor workers. This is a new concept in the facility and one that, at first, required coaching and training of the line management. Traditionally, this organization did not encourage people to do anything but the work called for in their job descriptions. Problem solving was not normally written into these documents. Little time was allowed for training or problem solving. The transition is not only helping the company to meet its goals, but is also helping to increase the cooperative nature of the labor union in this facility. This is good because relations have sometimes been strained in this company. People want to be part of the decisions and have...