***Knowledge Infusion Co-Founder Heidi Spirgi recently contributed her thoughts about lessons learned on the shop floor that would benefit HR strategy and talent manag 

!http://knowledgeinfusion.typepad.com/knowlege_infusion_blog/WindowsLiveWriter/FromtheShopFloor1_9DC6/ki1_thumb.jpg![http://knowledgeinfusion.typepad.com/knowlege_infusion_blog/WindowsLiveWriter/FromtheShopFloor1_9DC6/ki1%5B2%5D.jpg]  ]]>Lesson #1 from the shop floor: talent supply and demand 

As a kid, I spent many hours on the shop floor of a large fastener manufacturing plant watching steel be transformed into large, industrial grade nuts and bolts. The old machines stretched, pressed, molded, cut and polished the steel into fasteners that would wind up in many of the world���s largest construction projects. This was the era before computers radically and permanently transformed the supply chain; but even then, the performance of those machines was measured daily ��� actually multiple times a day. 

If a machine began to run slow and produce fewer fasteners, it was identified quickly and action was taken. Enter MRP (Manufacturing Resource Planning), ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and SCM (Supply Chain Management) and the world of manufacturing was turned upside down. Today the supply and demand of everything from fasteners to french fries, from TV���s to tennis shoes is forecasted, planned, optimized, measured and delivered just-in-time. Along the way, vast amounts of waste (raw materials, machine down time, inventory, and delivery time) have been cut from the supply chain. 

Cut to 2007 ��� People, THE fundamental asset of most organizations. It is the supply of talent (skills, competencies, leadership, experience, etc.) that fuels most businesses today. Yet most organizations do nothing to optimize that supply. It���s time that HR to take some lessons from manufacturing on how to manage the supply and demand of assets. In this case ��� PEOPLE. 

Another infusion of knowledge..