A practice's long-term success is directly related to its ability to identify, predict, and adjust for changes. Benchmarking, when used properly, is the best tool for overcoming these challenges.
Written by Dr. Robert Camp, universally regarded as the founding father of the benchmark process, this bestseller is quite simply the definitive reference on the topic. Camp guides readers through the historic ten-step benchmarking process that he developed while at Xerox. This process is credited with reviving that company when it was floundering in 1979. Camp presents other examples of the process, including its dramatic application to L.L. Bean. He uses these examples to show managers how to relate benchmarking to their own circumstances and then provides them with expert strategy and tips so that they can efficiently and easily launch their own quest for best performance.
As one of the titles in the American Productivity & Quality Center's Passport to Success series, Benchmarking provides readers with a comprehensive understanding of what it takes to achieve benchmarking success. Based on years of research into the practices of leading organizations, this book, written by experienced APQC benchmarkers, highlights various types of benchmarking and APQC's benchmarking methodology. Readers can track their own progress and identify benchmarking landmarks. Supported by examples of best practices and tips from actual practitioners, it examines preparation and planning, participation, data collection, data analysis, and measurement. This 86-page book is retail priced at $19.95. An excerpt from Benchmarking: "The first vitally important step in a successful benchmarking initiative is clearly defining the objectives and the desired outcomes. While benchmarking cannot eliminate competition, its outcomes can include information on how to redesign processes to make your organization more competitive, improve quality, reduce costs and cycle time, and increase the satisfaction levels of external and internal customers. To define your specific objectives and desired outcomes, ask the individuals involved in deciding to benchmark to answer the following questions: What are we trying to accomplish?; What is the current state?"
The no-cost way to improve your organization on a daily basis Most nonprofits are already benchmarking informally. This unique book defines a formal way to benchmark. You'll learn how to prepare your organization, measure performance, and implement best practices as well as learning the five key steps of benchmarking, the arguments against benchmarking—and why you should disregard them, how benchmarking differs from evaluation and assessment, how to form a benchmarking team, how to create a “success equation” that helps you measure your organization’s performance, how to make sure to measure what matters, how to choose your benchmarking partners—and what you can learn from the “wrong” partner, and how to overcome staff resistance to benchmarking. Practical tools help you benchmark what matters Real-world examples illustrate benchmarking in action. Exercises and worksheets guide you through processes such as drafting a benchmarking plan; identifying and analyzing the things in your organization that need improvement; prioritizing which processes to focus on; identifying your CTQ (critical to quality) outcomes; and more. The way to survive as a nonprofit in today’s market is to thrive. With so many organizations seeking the same dollars, only the best will endure. Benchmarking ensures that your organization is always operating at peak performance. It’s something you can’t afford not to do—especially since you can do it for free!
Value management (VM) is a structured, team-oriented approach to problem solving that can be applied to the concept, design, construction and on-going management phases of a project. The primary reasons for any client or consultant to commission a VM study is to achieve value improvements and/or monetary savings. The Research documentThis document presents the findings of the three year research programme that formed the basis for the Framework results. It compares and contrasts the various methodologies, tools, and techniques of VM.
by Bob Camp The business improvement topic and quality tool called benchmarking is becoming widely understood and broadly applied. There are now applica firms that tions in almost all segments of the economy including industrial either produce a product or a service, non-profit organizations such as healthcare, government and education. The approach is starting to spread around the globe with initiatives in Europe, Asia Pacific and South America. This is commendable and reassuring and must show that there is significant interest in the approach and that it works. What is missing, however, are books and reference material that are not solely prepared in the US where benchmarking started. Theses would include examples of applications relevant to the local area and industries. They would include references to articles written about benchmarking appearing in local publications. In this fashion those interested would have near hand case histories of the use of benchmarking and therefore become encouraged to use the technique. Zairi and Leonard have done the benchmarking community a real service by documenting the European view and application of benchmark ing to a wide range of examples. But they have not stopped there. Their text includes treatment of a number of related facets of benchmarking that makes this a fairly thorough text.
Benchmarking--comparing one's performance against internal or external sources--can be the cornerstone of many performance improvement initiatives in health care organizations. These projects are carried out for a variety of reasons: to enhance patient outcomes, streamline patient care delivery systems, reduce costs, and comply with local, state, or national initiatives, including accreditation and health care reform requirements. For organizations to successfully accomplish these objectives, they must be able to benchmark their performance within their facilities, over time, and against other organizations. Benchmarking in Health Care is an updated edition of a JCR best seller that provides organizations with step-by-step instructions to successfully design and implement benchmarking projects in their facilities as part of comprehensive performance improvement programs. Topics covered include the following: * Defining internal and external benchmarking * Complying with Joint Commission and Joint Commission * International benchmarking-related standards * Planning and organizing a benchmarking project, including gaining leadership support and assembling and organizing a team * Choosing appropriate benchmarking partners * Identifying and using appropriate global benchmarking databases * Collecting, analyzing, benchmarking, and presenting data * Using benchmarking data to drive improvement * Case studies from organizations around the world that are using benchmarking projects as integral components of performance improvement initiatives Help your staff to design and implement a successful benchmarking project in your organization!
Benchmarking is potentially the most powerful weapon in the corporate armoury. It is the technique that enabled Cummins Engine Company to slash delivery time from eight months to eight weeks, Lucas to reduce the number of shopfloor grades at one of its sites from 17 to four, and British Rail to cut cleaning time for a 660-seat train to just eight minutes. In other companies, order processing time has been brought down from weeks to days, engineering drawings output doubled and inventory cut by two-thirds.
In 1997, Congress, in the conference report, H.R. 105-271, to the FY1998 Energy and Water Development Appropriation Bill, directed the National Research Council (NRC) to carry out a series of assessments of project management at the Department of Energy (DOE). The final report in that series noted that DOE lacked an objective set of measures for assessing project management quality. The department set up a committee to develop performance measures and benchmarking procedures and asked the NRC for assistance in this effort. This report presents information and guidance for use as a first step toward development of a viable methodology to suit DOE's needs. It provides a number of possible performance measures, an analysis of the benchmarking process, and a description ways to implement the measures and benchmarking process.