Benchmarking

BENCHMARKING

Benchmarking is defined as the process of measuring products, services, and processes against those of organizations known to be leaders in one or more aspects of their operations. Benchmarking provides necessary insights to help you understand how your organization compares with similar organizations, even if they are in a different business or have a different group of customers.

Benchmarking can also help organizations identify areas, systems, or processes for improvements either incremental (continuous) improvements or dramatic (business process re-engineering) improvements.

Incremental Quality Improvement vs Benchmarking Breakthroughs

Benchmarking has been classified into two distinct categories: technical and competitive. The House of Quality matrix and Gantt charts are often used to plot the benchmarking evaluation.

TECHNICAL BENCHMARKING

Technical benchmarking is performed by design staff to determine the capabilities of products or services, especially in comparison to the products or services of leading competitors. For example, on a scale of one to four, four being best, how do designers rank the properties of your organization’s products or services? If you cannot obtain hard data, the design efforts may be insufficient, and products or services may be inadequate to be competitive.

COMPETITIVE BENCHMARKING

Competitive benchmarking compares how well or poorly an organization is doing with respect to the leading competition, especially with respect to critically important attributes, functions, or values associated with the organization’s products or services. For example, on a scale of one to four, four being best, how do customers rank your organization’s products or services compared to those of the leading competition? If you cannot obtain hard data, marketing efforts may be misdirected and design efforts misguided.

BENCHMARKING PROCEDURE

Considerations

Before an organization can achieve the full benefits of benchmarking, its own processes must be clearly understood and under control.

Plan

1. Define a tightly focused subject of the benchmarking study. Choose an issue critical to the organization’s success.
2. Form a cross-functional team. During Step 1 and 2, management’s goals and support for the study must be firmly established.
3. Study your own process. Know how the work is done and measurements of the output.
4. Identify partner organizations that may have best practices.

Collect

Collect information directly from partner organizations. Collect both process descriptions and numeric data, using questionnaires, telephone interviews, and/or site visits.

Analyze

1. Compare the collected data, both numeric and descriptive.
2. Determine gaps between your performance measurements and those of your partners.
3. Determine the differences in practices that cause the gaps.

Adapt

1. Develop goals for your organization’s process.
2. Develop action plans to achieve those goals.
3. Implement and monitor plans.

BENCHMARKING EXAMPLE

1. Reduce residence vacancy rates to below 1%
2. Make the best possible use of employee time and effor

CAR COMPARISON

If you’re exploring the new or used car market, you have a lot of decisions to make. From which price range fits your needs and budget, to whether you should buy a sedan, a coupe, or an SUV, to which options and add-ons you truly need, there are plenty of things to consider. Here are five of the most important factors you need to keep in mind to compare cars like a pro.

1. Compare Horsepower

The horsepower measurement goes back more than a century, when one horsepower was equal to the amount of work a single horse could do. When horseless carriages took over from their equine counterparts, the horsepower measurement stuck around, and even today it remains a good way to compare vehicles.

The more horsepower an engine has, the easier it will be to merge onto the highway, reach cruising speed and get around on busy streets. Keep in mind, however, that a more powerful engine will probably mean less fuel economy, so you will have to weigh the two factors carefully.

2. Compare Fuel Economy

If you have a lengthy commute or plan on taking a lot of long road trips, fuel economy might be your number one consideration. When you are comparing two cars, you need to look at not just the sticker price, but also how much it will cost to operate over the long run. A car that seems cheaper up front could end up costing you more at the pumps.

3. Compare Safety Technology

True self-driving cars are not available on the retail market-at least not yet. Even so, there are plenty of driver assist technologies that are just a few steps away from autonomous operation. Technologies like automatic braking, adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assistance and blind spot monitors are available right now. If you are looking at two cars and one comes with these technologies built-in, the extra safety factor could tip the scales in its favour.

4. Compare Destination Charges

There are plenty of extra charges to consider when buying a new car, including destination charges. These extra costs can vary from car to car, and you need to compare them carefully as you shop.

You can find information on invoice prices, destination charges and add-ons online and in price guides. The more information you have going in the easier it will be to recognize a good deal when you see it.

5. Compare Reliability Ratings

If you are in the market for a new car, you probably plan on having that vehicle in your garage for years to come, so do yourself a favour and check the reliability ratings before you buy. Not all cars are made equal as far as long term maintenance goes, and buying one with a poor reliability rating could cost you thousands of dollars in unnecessary repairs. Just as with fuel economy, this is an instance where it pays to look at the total cost of ownership and not just the up-front price.

COMPARING VARIOUS VEHICLES

Basic Information
Model		S Turbo iMT	ZX	XZ	VXI
Brand Name		Hyundai	Honda	Tata	Maruti
Price		9.12 Lakh	9.05 Lakh	9.49 Lakh	8.77 Lakh
Engine and Transmission
Engine Type		Kappa 1.0 L Turbo GDi Petrol	1.2 i-VTEC Petrol	1.2L Revotron Turbocharged	K15B Petrol Engine
Displacement (cc)		999	1199	1199	1462
No of Cylinders		4	4	3	4
Max Power (bhp@rpm)		118.35bhp@6000rpm	88.50bhp@6000rpm	118.36bhp@5500rpm	103.26bhp@6000rpm
Max Torque (nm@rpm)		172Nm@1500-4000rpm	170Nm@1750-4000rpm	170Nm@1750-4000rpm	138nm@4400rpm
Transmission Type		Manual	Manual	Manual	Manual
Gear Box		5Speed	5Speed	6Speed	5Speed
Fuel & Performance
Fuel Type		Petrol	Petrol	Petrol	Petrol
Mileage (City)		12.43 kmpl	-	13.41 kmpl	-
Mileage (ARAI)		17.52 kmpl	16.6 kmpl	17.2 kmpl	17.03 kmpl
Fuel Tank Capacity		45 (Litres)	40 (Litres)	44 (Litres)	48 (Litres)
Emission Norm compliance		BS 6	BS 6	BS 6	BS 6
Suspension, Steering & Brakes
Front Suspension		McPherson Strut with Coil Spring	Mcpherson Strut Coil Spring	Independent, Lower Wishbone, McPherson Strut with Coil Spring	MacPherson Strut with coil spring
Rear Suspension		Coupled Torsion Beam Axle with Coil Spring	Torsion Beam axle, Coil Spring	Semi-Independent; closed profile Twist beam with Coil Spring and shock absorber	Torsion Beam With Coil Spring
Steering Type		Electric	Electric	Power	Electric
Dimensions & Capacity
Length (mm)		3995	3989	3993	3995
Width (mm)		1770	1694	1811	1790
Height (mm)		1605	1544	1606	1640
Interior & Exterior
Tachometer
Wheel		From Authorized Hyundai Dealers	From Authorized Honda Dealers	From Authorized Tata Dealers	From Authorized Maruti Dealers
Body Type		SUV	Hatchback	SUV	SUV
Safety, Comfort & Convenience
Power Steering		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Anti- Lock Braking System		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Central Locking		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
No Of Airbags		2	2	2	2
Driver Airbag		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Passenger Airbag		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Seat Belt Warning		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Crash Sensor		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Engine Check Warning		Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

CONCLUSION

Car Comparison Made

Car Model	Hyundai venue S Turbo iMT	Honda Jazz ZX	Tata Nexon XZ	Maruti Vitara Brezza VXI
Compare Horsepower	118.35bhp @6000rpm	88.50bhp @6000rpm	118.36bhp @5500rpm	103.26bhp @6000rpm
Compare Fuel Economy	17.52 kmpl	16.6 kmpl	17.2 kmpl	17.03 kmpl
Compare Safety Technology	Good	Good	Good	Good
Compare Destination Charges	1.05 Lakh	1.04 Lakh	1.13 Lakh	1.05 Lakh
Compare Reliability Ratings	4.5/5 Rating 78/100	4.4/5 Rating 66/100	4.4/5 Rating -	4.2/5 Rating -

I am suggesting that as comparing varies vehicles Hyundai Venue S Turbo iMT suitable vehicle to Mr. D.S. Pughazhyendhii is commute to his office and travel to his native place, good car for his family.