ABSTRACT
Introduction The mental and/or physical demands of a job or task will often exceed the capabilities of a single individual. If those demands do not lend themselves to automation, the task will need to be done by two or more people. In many situations, the members of this group must interact over time and work both interdependently and adaptively toward common goals. For example, in many manufacturing applications, people operate machine tools using parts and materials provided by forklift drivers who deliver these items to the point of operation. Coordinating these tasks performed by the team is often critical, because in most modern lean manufacturing systems, the parts and materials must arrive justin-time (JIT) to avoid delays. Good teamwork is critical in an immense variety of other applications. For example, think of the activity taking place in the control room of a nuclear reactor, the cockpit of a commercial aircraft, a busy hospital, or an industrial research and development (R&D) laboratory.
