Quality Benchmarking

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Benchmarking is a process of measuring quality of performance within an organization. It is a "point of reference" used to gauge how well various functions within the organization are doing and to analyze where improvements may need to be made (McDonagh, 2009). The process first involves establishing desired outcomes, in terms of quality measures in the functions analyzed. Any function within an organization can be included in the benchmarking process. Marketing benchmarks may include data to measure brand awareness, such as through consumer surveys or could measure efficiency through analysis of advertising cost per unit. The cost of production for a specific unit may also be incorporated into the benchmarking process. For example, if an organization wants to know if the total cost per unit is increasing or decreasing, the costs of marketing, labor, raw materials, and resources per unit are determined. Benchmarking may also focus on quality of product. In the service industry this means considering customer satisfaction and the quality of service provided by representatives. In a manufacturing environment quality of products may be measured in terms of satisfaction or the number of defective pieces within a specific lot. If, for example, a company manufactures a specific tool the quality of the tool may be measured in terms of how many defective tools are produced before they leave the manufacturing facility, how many tools break down after customer use, or how long the tools are in use after purchase. These measures have a bearing on the engineering processes involved in determining the specifications of the tools, such as size, thickness, metals used to produce the tools, equipment used in the production process, and the specifications of the production process itself. Random quality control checks (visual inspection, testing, and measuring the tools) can also pinpoint any challenges in the production process. When quality control checks are measured against pre-established standards they can become part of the benchmarking process. It is important to establish the different types of benchmarking. External benchmarking measures quality or performance against that of another organization in the same industry that does the same thing or produces the same product. Typically when an organization uses external benchmarking it chooses a company that produces a product or provides a service and does very well within the industry. It is often a company that is well ...