All of the measurements described can relate to operational excellence, and most of them were covered in the lean Six Sigma section. However, there are a few more that did not apply to the other categories, which have been added in this section. Every company needs to decide what drives its level of operational excellence and it further needs to benchmark itself against other companies to determine where and how it compares.

Capital Investment as a Percentage of Sales This metric is determined by dividing additions to fixed assets as well as disposals by net sales. Analysis of where money is spent will yield insight on programs for process improvements, capacity, and new products versus administrative or technology integration. Likewise, it will indicate the sale of unneeded productive capacity that has been created.

Lost Time Accidents This measurement typically is tracked on an ongoing basis to reflect the safety focus of a plant facility. Safety is critical, not only to ensure public and environmental responsibility but also as a good indication of many production disruptions that are resulting from the failure to provide safe and orderly facilities.

Vendor Reliability Reference was made to tracking on-time delivery by vendors in an earlier metric dealing with on-time delivery. Quality also correlates to reliability as companies aspire to achieve zero defects throughout the production process from receipt of material to delivery to the customer. Programs such as vendor-managed inventory and electronic data interchange transfer...