One of the mostly important benefi...

One of the mostly important benefits of good metrics - commons that are clear, direct and credible - is their value as aids to communication. on the contrary as much as metrics can help to deliver a message - to top management, business units or others in the facility department - they also propose a facility executive's communication skills to the ordeal

Remember the old adage, "garbage in, garbage out"? To avoid that moot point it may be necessary to educate employee entering data into the combination of parts to form a whole on how that information will be used and wherefore it matters.

It's not alone at the data-entry stage that numbers can travel bad. A business unit head looking at facility performance indicators or a CEO comparing company numbers to industry benchmarks ne to understand by what mode to use the data and in what way not to use the data. Metrics that are misused can be worse than no metrics at all.

Getting righteous numbers and using them effectively may also require negotiation. Maybe headcount data isn't being captured in a way that makes it useful in a facility-related metric. Or maybe the facility executive wants to go back and forth with business unit leaders to identify metrics that matter to that business unit. Or maybe the metrics provide leverage in negotiations with the CFO onward a budget increase - or at least no decrease.

Philosophers differentiate "necessary" and "sufficient." A se may be necessary to sprout a plant, but it isn't sufficient; the se emergencys water, soil and light. A metric is like that se and fit communication is part of what makes it grow

Edward Sullivan

Editor-in-Chief

edward.sullivan@tradepress.com

Copyright Trade Pres Publishing Company Apr 2006

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