Stepping forward, however, from the global factory to a single microelectronics plant like the one I am currently employed at shows how tweaking certain elements of cost leadership can be the pivots a behind$-$schedule assembly line is looking for. In our case, management shifted our work schedule from a $7-$day$-$a$-$week operation that included $2$nd$-$shift and weekend$-$shift operators to a $5-$day$-$a$-$week plan. This change relieved the quality inspection team, which primarily completed all final checks on weekends, and helped balance the center's WIP so that material flowed evenly through the factory. A balanced workflow makes it easier to schedule, guarantees a certain level of work for hourly employees, and makes it easier to promise deliveries. This was primarily a response to management$$s desire to decrease overtime spending and the limited support staff coverage over weekends, since they covered weekend shifts with overtime instead of dedicated personnel. For context, this was done after the center had slowly dug itself out of its significant past$-$due position on all assemblies, so the support staff was burned out from $7-$day$-$a$-$week operations, and there was an unexpected $15\%$ decrease in the touch staff workforce when they left for new jobs. It was a much$-$needed relief to the center, and everyone became much happier with the change since engineering was now able to train the newly hired equipment operators with instant feedback loops, plus less overtime was needed to complete the same amount of product.