Benchmarkingis the practice of comparing business processes and performance metrics to industry bests and best practices from other companies. Dimensions typically measured are quality, time and cost.
Benchmarking is used to measure performance using a specific indicator (cost per unit of measure, productivity per unit of measure, cycle time of x per unit of measure or defects per unit of measure) resulting in a metric of performance that is then compared to others.[1]
Also referred to as "best practice benchmarking" or "process benchmarking", this process is used in management in which organizations evaluate various aspects of their processes in relation to best-practice companies' processes, usually within a peer group defined for the purposes of comparison. This then allows organizations to develop plans on how to make improvements or adapt specific best practices, usually with the aim of increasing some aspect of performance. Benchmarking may be a one-off event, but is often treated as a continuous process in which organizations continually seek to improve their practices.
In the process of best practice benchmarking, management identifies the best firms in their industry, or in another industry where similar processes exist, and compares the results and processes of those studied (the "targets") to one's own results and processes. In this way, they learn how well the targets perform and, more importantly, the business processes that explain why these firms are successful. According to National Council on Measurement in Education, benchmark assessments [4] are short assessments used by teachers at various times throughout the school year to monitor student progress in some area of the school curriculum. These also are known as interim government.
The term benchmark, originates from the history of guns and ammunition, in regards to the same aim as for the business term: comparison and improved performance. The introduction of gunpowder arms replaced the bow and arrow from the archer, who now had to learn to handle a gun. The new weapon left only a mark on the target, where the arrow used to be visible, and with the bow gone, the soldiers title changed to marksman, the man who put the mark. The gun improved in the early beginning with rifled barrels. With the industrialization of the weapon industry in the mid-1800s, the mass production of ammunition as a cartridge replaced the manual loading. Now, with standardized production of both the high-precision rifle and its cartridge, the marksman's accuracy became the bottleneck. With different qualities and specifications on rifles and ammunition, there grew a need to test both. The rifled weapon was fixed in a bench, making it possible to fire several identical shots at a target to measure the spread. [citation needed]
There is no single benchmarking process that has been universally adopted. The wide appeal and acceptance of benchmarking has led to the emergence of benchmarking methodologies. One seminal book is Boxwell's Benchmarking for Competitive Advantage (1994).[6] The first book on benchmarking, written and published by Kaiser Associates,[7] is a practical guide and offers a seven-step approach. Robert Camp (who wrote one of the earliest books on benchmarking in 1989)[8] developed a 12-stage approach to benchmarking.
The cost of benchmarking can substantially be reduced through utilizing the many internet resources that have sprung up over the last few years. These aim to capture benchmarks and best practices from organizations, business sectors and countries to make the benchmarking process much quicker and cheaper.[9]
The technique initially used to compare existing corporate strategies with a view to achieving the best possible performance in new situations (see above), has recently been extended to the comparison of technical products. This process is usually referred to as "technical benchmarking" or "product benchmarking". Its use is well-developed within the automotive industry ("automotive benchmarking"), where it is vital to design products that match precise user expectations, at minimal cost, by applying the best technologies available worldwide. Data is obtained by fully disassembling existing cars and their systems. Such analyses were initially carried out in-house by car makers and their suppliers. However, as these analyses are expensive, they are increasingly being outsourced to companies who specialize in this area. Outsourcing has enabled a drastic decrease in costs for each company (by cost sharing) and the development of efficient tools (standards, software).
Benchmarking can be internal (comparing performance between different groups or teams within an organization) or external (comparing performance with companies in a specific industry or across industries). Within these broader categories, there are three specific types of benchmarking: 1) Process benchmarking, 2) Performance benchmarking and 3) Strategic benchmarking. These can be further detailed as follows:
Benchmarking software can be used to organize large and complex amounts of information. Software packages can extend the concept of benchmarking and competitive analysis by allowing individuals to handle such large and complex amounts or strategies. Such tools support different types of benchmarking (see above) and can reduce the above costs significantly.
Another approach to making comparisons involves using more aggregative cost or production information to identify strong and weak performing units. The two most common forms of quantitative analysis used in metric benchmarking are data envelopment analysis (DEA) and regression analysis. DEA estimates the cost level an efficient firm should be able to achieve in a particular market. In infrastructure regulation, DEA сan be used to reward companies/operators whose costs are near the efficient frontier with additional profits. Regression analysis estimates what the average firm should be able to achieve. With regression analysis, firms that performed better than average can be rewarded while firms that performed worse than average can be penalized. Such benchmarking studies are used to create yardstick comparisons, allowing outsiders to evaluate the performance of operators in an industry. Advanced statistical techniques, including stochastic frontier analysis, have been used to identify high and weak performers in industries, including applications to schools, hospitals, water utilities, and electric utilities.[13]
One of the biggest challenges for metric benchmarking is the variety of metric definitions used among companies or divisions. Definitions may change over time within the same organization due to changes in leadership and priorities. The most useful comparisons can be made when metrics definitions are common between compared units and do not change so improvements can be changed.
Social media is beginning to penetrate more and more into existing business processes. In this sense, benchmarking is no exception. Because of their inherent characteristics, it can even be argued that social media will have a significant impact on benchmarking. Here are some of the benefits associated with this.
Energy Benchmarking is the process of tracking a building's annual energy use and using a standard metric to compare the building's performance against past performance and to its peers nationwide. Benchmarking improves our understanding of energy consumption patterns; helps identify energy saving opportunities within a portfolio of buildings; and manages business bottom line through consistent data collection and tracking.
If you would like to request an extension for benchmarking and reporting to the County's Benchmarking Law, please follow instructions for submitting an extension (Google Doc. Please give the page several seconds to direct you to this section.). Extensions are available for periods of 14 days or 30 day
You can also book a Benchmarking Support virtual meeting with one of DEP staff here. Please book a 30 minute time slot and add your Montgomery County Building ID, building address, and a brief summary of your question in the "Notes" section.
The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is responsible for the implementation of this law. The Benchmarking Law is enforceable under Method 2 regulations (including fines for noncompliance), and any violation of the law is a Class A violation. DEP will send out Notice of Violation to any building owner of a covered building who does not comply with the Law. Note that DEP is available to assist any building owner to help them comply with the law.
Benchmarking Infrastructure Development 2023 assesses the quality of regulatory frameworks worldwide to develop large infrastructure projects, benchmarking them with internationally recognized good practices.
Portfolio Manager is an interactive resource management tool that enables you to benchmark the energy use of any type of building, all in a secure online environment. Nearly 25% of U.S. commercial building space is already actively benchmarking in Portfolio Manager, making it the industry-leading benchmarking tool. It also serves as the national benchmarking tool in Canada.
Under the Chicago Energy Benchmarking Ordinance, the City reports annually on energy findings and trends, and the ordinance authorizes the City to share building-specific data with the public beginning with buildings' second year of reported information.
The compliance deadline for benchmarking reports is June 1. As a reminder, energy benchmarking reports are due annually from all properties, and data verification is required once every three years. To determine if you are required to verify data this year, check the compliance notification letter sent by the City, which you should receive by mid to late March. You can also find the year of next verification on the Covered Buildings List.
New to reporting? Please review the Chicago Energy Benchmarking Ordinance to determine if your building is required to report. Then, follow our instructions on getting started on reporting. If you believe your building has reported in the past, double check to make sure it is included on the Covered Buildings List. Please contact the Chicago Energy Benchmarking Help Desk with any questions -
(855) 858.6878 (M-F 9am-5pm) or email In...@ChicagoEnergyBenchmarking.org.
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