IMM's Benchmarking Report presents benchmarking data from molders willing to share information about their operations and efficiency. The table shows profile data, summarizing who the participating molders are, how many presses they have, how much material they use annually, their annual revenue, and what markets they serve. Note that the number of participating molders has nearly doubled since our first reports.

The information in the pies is the actual benchmarking data. The brightly colored pies show data from the second quarter of 1998. The faded pies are from the previous quarter and are shown for reference. We're tracking nine benchmarks: machine utilization, mold change time, scrap as produced, customer returns, customer ship date on time, schedule ship date on time, training hours per employee, accident incidence rate, and employee turnover.

If you join the project, you get this same data in highly detailed reports. The upside is that participation is free, anonymous, and immensely informative. We just need a few minutes of your time every quarter. We do the number crunching and paperwork. Call, fax, or e-mail if you're interested.

This is the third report of three comparing data from the second quarter of 1998 with the first quarter. In the next issue, look for data group 1 for the third quarter of 1998: machine utilization, mold change time, and training per employee. The following Benchmarking Report will show benchmarking data group 2 for the third quarter of 1998: scrap as produced, customer returns, and accidence incident rate.