LEAN beats benchmarking every time. A benchmark is, “A standard by which a metric can be measured or judged.” With respect to efficient life-cycle management of the built environment, and facilities management in general, many depend upon benchmarking as valued tool.
There are several issues I have with benchmarking…
- Is the industry standard (presuming you have selected the right group for comparison) really something that should play a role in your strategy?
- The average, mean, median, whatever, of what other are doing, is problematic. The 80-20 rule applies to facilities management as it does to any industry. 20% of practitioners are doing a good job and only 5% are doing a great job.
- Even if you subscribe to the premise and value of benchmarking… do you really believe that the data was collected consistently and in the same manner by all participants? Despite the glut of information in today’s world, the fact is that quality information is extremely difficult to find.
Do you really what to measure or judge your FM performance based upon the poor performance of others?
LEAN is process by which continually improvement is attained through the collaboration of integrated knowledgeable teams with a common focus upon mutually beneficial outcomes. A common data environment of current actionable information is key to the process. Key performance indicators (KPIs) based, developed specifically to measure progress towards current and future goals are used in lieu of benchmarks.
A notable example of LEAN is Job Order Contracting. It is a collaborative construction delivery method that plays a major role in improving facilities renovation, repair, and minor new construction.
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