Do Your Employees Know What They Are Making?

I listened to a two hour discussion
between a factory worker and his young protege.
The older man had been with the company
for over 20 years.
He knew just about everything from
the number of gallons per hour
each employee was required to produce
to
the minimum safe distance
a floor worker could stand away
from the machines.

The only piece of information he didn’t know?
What the product was.

Seriously.
He had no idea.

Yes, he could have been working
on a top secret product,
but after years spent on plant floors,
I think it more likely no one ever told him.

What a waste.
He could have spent the last two decades
coming up with product improvements.