Internet Resources

There is no shortage of information about best practices and the pursuit of world-class manufacturing. Here are a few places on the Internet to check for getting started.

• The Best Manufacturing Processes Center of Excellence

www.bmpcoe.org/

This Web site created by the U.S. Office of Naval Research offers all kinds of free information about best practices, including detailed documents that can be downloaded, information on books and videos, and extensive links to other manufacturing related resources. The main goal of the Navy’s Best Manufacturing Practices (BMP) program is to increase quality, reliability, and maintainability of  goods manufactured by American firms. To do that they identify best practices, document them, and then encourage industry, government, and academia to share information about them.

• The Benchmarking Exchange and Best Practices Homepage

www.benchmarking.org/

The Benchmarking Exchange is a reasonably priced (less than $200/year for one person, and less than $1,000/year for up to 500 employees) subscriber service that has a membership of more than 10,000 in 45 countries. Their online benchmarking surveys and information systems are designed specifically for use by individuals and organizations involved in benchmarking and process improvements. The site provides users with a centralized and specialized forum for all phases of benchmarking, including tips on what other organizations have done to get programs going, literature searches, tips, and pitfalls for benchmarking. It allows users to network with other companies they may want to benchmark with. It is also possible to scan their user base to see if there are companies that you may wish to compare your company with.

• The International Benchmarking Clearinghouse

www.ibc.apqc.org/

This Web site is hosted by the American Productivity and Quality Council (APQC) and is designed to help its members find and adopt best practices. The APQC’s International Benchmarking Clearinghouse consists of more than 500 companies, government agencies, healthcare providers and educational institutions. There’s much free information at the Web site, including dozens of articles on benchmarking and best practices, and numerous links to other resources and information about the APQC’s activities. To take full advantage of the site’s offerings, however, you must join up as a member.

• The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Program

www.quality.nist.gov/

U.S. President Ronald Reagan helped set up this annual award competition in 1987, to help promote an understanding of the requirements for performance excellence and competitiveness improvements and to promote sharing of information on successful performance strategies. There is a lot of good information about the awards process, and about what it takes to be recognized as a national or world leader in quality performance.

COMMON TERMS

What is Best Practice?

The American Productivity and Quality Control Council’s (APQC) International Benchmarking Clearinghouse defines best practice as follows:

There is no single best practice because best is not best for everyone. Every organization is different in someway; different missions, cultures, environments, and technologies. What is meant by best are those practices that have been shown to produce superior results: selected by a systematic process; and judged as exemplary or good, or successfully demonstrated. Best practices are then adapted to fit a particular organization.

Best Practices – Decision Guide

The following are suggestions to follow when looking for best practices:

• What is the scope of the best practice? (Who should be involved and what practices should be followed?)

• What is the current practice being used in this area and how well does it work?

• What are the possible benefits of replacing current practices with the best practices under consideration?

• How will the new practice fit into the company environment (management principles and practices, management employee relations)?

• Who in the company and outside (customers, suppliers, others) will be affected by the adoption of the practice? Are the impacts positive? What are the possible problems?

• What are the costs associated with implementing the best practice?

• What are the risks of failure?

• How do the potential benefits compare with the costs and potential risks?

• Would implementing this practice be the best use of available resources?

(Source: AMT Guidelines for Best Practices in Human Resources)