Home Depot is sending its executives into the stores on a regular basis to experience life in the field and figure out ways to improve operations, according to an article in the  Atlantic Journal Constitution .

Approximately 170 employees from the company’s Atlanta headquarters were divided into teams of 10 and deployed to different stores this past summer, working one day a week in various departments. The 13-week program, called “Summer in the Stores,” will be followed by “Fall in the Field” and “Winter in the Warehouse” as other executives take their turn.

Cara Kinzey, senior VP  information technology, told the newspaper that her stint in the paint department will save the retailer approximately $20 million a year in “oops” paint (wrong colors). Two changes -- scanning base paint barcodes before mixing the paint and putting scanners next to every computer -- will dramatically cut down on mistakes, Kinzey said.