Select a Questionnaire:
Industrial Facilities*
Dies, Molds or One-Off Machined Products
Electrical and Electronics Assembly
Finishing Services
Heat Treating
Machine-Building
Machined Parts and Assemblies
Metalforming and Fabrication
Plastics Processing
Printing and Related Services
Process Industries
* The Industrial Facilities questions are included in all industry-specific questionnaires
as well, unless they are not applicable for a particular industry.
Industrial Facilities
General Business Metrics
- Percent Change in Sales, Past 2 Years
- Gross Profit Rate = Sales Less Cost of Goods Sold as a % of Sales
- Apparent Earned Surplus as a % of Sales
- Average Days of Receivables
Asset Utilization Metrics
- Inventory Turns = Cost-of-Goods-Sold / Total Inventory
- Value-Added per Dollar in Machinery Value
- Value-Added per Square Foot of Production Floorspace
- Value-Added per Dollar of Capital and Labor Expense
- Hours Shop is Open as a Percent of Total Hours in a Year
- Running Hrs as a % of Available (Manned) Hrs, Regular-Use Machines
- Running Hrs as a % of Hours in a Year, Regular-Use Machines
Quality and Delivery Metrics
- Scrap Rate Due to Errors (% Units, or % of COGS by Value)
- Percent of Shop Labor Hours Spent Doing Rework or Reprocessing
- Estimated Scrap and Rework Costs as a Percent of COGS
- Percent of Units Initially Rejected By Customers for Quality Reasons
- Percent On-Time Deliveries to Your Customers
- Percent of Supplier Shipments Delivered to You on Time
- Percent of Jobs Causing Other Scheduled Jobs to be Bumped OR Percent of Shop Labor Time Spent on Tasks that Bumped Scheduled Work
Worker Productivity and Loyalty Metrics
- Value-Added Per Full-Time Equivalent (FTE)
- Employee Employee Turnover Rate
- Average Hourly Wage, Shop Employees
- Percent of Shop Workers With >=$3000 in Employer-Paid Health Premium
Cost Profile Metrics
- Purchased Material and Parts Costs as a Percent of Sales
- Purchased Services as a Percent of Sales
- Labor Costs (Payroll, Temps, Benefits) as a % of Sales
- Shop Payroll as a Percent of Sales
- Non-Factory Labor Costs (Payroll, Temps, Benefits) as a Percent of Sales
- Shop Payroll as a Percent of Total Payroll
- Benefits as a Percent of Labor Costs
- Temporary or Contract Labor Costs as a % of Total Labor Costs
- Energy & Utility Costs as a Percent of Sales
- Energy Costs per Dollar of Value-Added
- Premium Freight Costs as a Percent of Sales
Equipment, Computerization and Market Strategy Metrics
- Dollar Value of Machinery Per FTE
- Percent of Employees Using a Computer at Least Weekly
- Percent of Sales Accounted for by Orders Received Over the Internet
- Percent of Material and Subcontracting Purchased Over the Internet
- Percent of Machines with Programmable Control of Key Process Parameters
- Percent of Machines with CAM Instructions Made from CAD Models
- Percent of Sales from Products not Made 3 Years Ago
- Percent of Sales to Customers not Served 3 Years Ago
- Percent of Sales to Industries not Served 3 Years Ago
- Percent of Sales Exported Beyond Own Continent/Trade Region
- Percent of Sales for Which You Designed the Product You Sell
Metrics Describing the Group of Shops Being Compared Against (Profile of the Comparison Group)
- Annual Sales ($000)
- Average Unit or Piece Price
- Percent of Sales from One-Off Items (Dies, Prototypes, etc.)
- Percent of Sales from Short-Term/Job Shop Orders
- Percent of Sales from Long-Term Jobs Run Regularly
- Percent of Sales from Make-to-Stock Work
- Percent of Shop Labor Time Spent Doing Manual or Hand-Tool Work
- Percent of Sales to the Auto Industry
- Percent of Sales to Aircraft/Aerospace Industry
- Percent of Sales to the Communications/Electronics Industry
- Percent of Sales to the Medical Market
- Percent of Sales to Final Consumers, Wholesalers, or Retailers
- Percent of Sales that are Military/Defense-Related
- Comparison group information also includes an industry profile (based on SIC or NAICS codes), typical order volumes, and geographic region breakdown
Yes/No or Checklist Type Questions
- Order entry or production scheduling system integrated with EDI or the internet,
so that orders can be processed and scheduled automatically, without human intervention?
- Is this a business that requires almost no inventory? By this we mean that you use
little or no material, or do processing on material or products that are owned by
your customer (i.e., material is consigned to you).
- Is this the only location of your company?
Process Industries
Industry Metrics
- Percent of Processing Lines/Systems w/Automated Movement of Product thru Process
- Typical Weight of One Unit (Lbs.)
- Average Price of One Typical Unit
- Percent of Sales Made via Batch Processing
- Percent of Sales Made via Continuous Processing
- Percent of Sales Made via Hybrid Batch/Continuous Approach
- Percent of Sales to the Consumer Market
- Percent of Sales to the Commercial/Institutional Market
- Percent of Sales to Industrial Wholesalers or Distributors
- Percent of Sales Made Directly to Industrial Customers
- Percent of Processing Lines/Systems < 5 Years Old
- Percent of Processing Lines/Systems >20 Years Old & Not Upgraded
- Percent of Processing Lines/Systems < 5 Years Old Or Upgraded
Yes/No or Checklist Type Questions
- When preparing cost estimates or quotes, which cost items are calculated separately for each job? Which are usually included in hourly billing rates, but are sometimes adjusted for unusual jobs? Which are always rolled into hourly billing rates? (Cost items include: direct material; packaging; engineering/lab labor; factory indirect labor; order processing costs; inventory holding costs).
- Does this plant have an on-site lab for analyzing or formulating your products?
- In the past year, did you routinely use automated, electronic transmission of digital instructions, rather than having operators reprogram equipment?
Electrical and Electronics Assembly
Industry Metrics
- Percent of Production Machines Able to Operate Unmanned for Most of Cycle
- Percent of Sales to Manufacturers
- Percent of Sales to Institutions, Wholesalers or Retailers
- Percent of Sales Direct to Individual Consumers
- Percent of Processing Lines/Systems < 5 Years Old
- Percent of Processing Lines/Systems >20 Years Old & Not Upgraded
- Percent of Processing Lines/Systems < 5 Years Old Or Upgraded
- Percent of Sales from Parts Almost Any Shop Could Make
- Percent of Sales from Your Own Proprietary Products
- Percent of Sales from Unique or Specialized Processing
Yes/No or Checklist Type Questions
- When preparing cost estimates or quotes, which cost items are calculated separately for each job? Which are usually included in hourly billing rates, but are sometimes adjusted for unusual jobs? Which are always rolled into hourly billing rates? (Cost items include: direct material; tooling, jigs and fixtures; engineering/design labor; factory indirect labor; order processing costs; inventory holding costs).
- Types of certification standards to which plant or its products are certified (UL/CSA; CE; SSQA/SBS)
- Types of test/inspection equipment used regularly
- Types of standard shop procedures used in tracking, diagnosing, and controlling quality issues
- Do you have a bar code or similar system for tracking inventory or work-in-process?
Finishing Services (Plating, Coating and Anodizing)
Industry Metrics
- Environmental Costs (Treatment, Disposal, Compliance) as a % of Sales
- Waste Disposal Costs as a Percent of Sales
- Environmental Compliance Costs as a % of Sales
- On-Site Treatment Costs as a % of Sales
- kWh of Electricity Consumption per Dollar Value-Added
- CCF of Natural Gas Consumption per Dollar Value-Added
- Average Electricity Cost (Cents per kWh)
- Average Natural Gas Cost (Dollars per MCF)
- Gallons of Water Consumed per Dollar Value-Added
- Waste Disposal Costs per $100 Spent on Material, Parts & Supplies
- (Coaters Only:) Percent of Paint/Coatings Discarded as Waste
- Percent of Plating/Anodizing Sales from Rack (Not Barrel) Work
- Percent of Lines that are Automatic Return or Straight Line Machine
- Percent of Lines that Use Hexavalent Chrome, Cadmium, or Cyanide
- Percent of Lines that Use Nickel, Copper, Trivalent Chrome
- Percent of Lines that Use Tin, Zinc, Aluminum
- Percent of Lines Using Silver, Gold, Platinum, & other Precious Metals
- (Anodizers Only:) Percent of Anodized Sales Sealed Using Nickel Seal Tanks
- (Anodizers Only:) Percent of Anodized Sales that are Clear (Not Color)
- Percent of Processing Lines/Systems with Automated Loading/Unloading
- Number of Employees
- Replacement Value of Equipment ($000)
- Percent of Sales from Plating Services
- Percent of Sales from Coating Services
- Percent of Sales from Anodizing Services
- Percent of Sales to the Plumbing Industry
- Percent of Sales from Architectural Products
Yes/No or Checklist Type Questions
- When preparing cost estimates or quotes, which cost items are calculated separately for each job? Which are usually included in hourly billing rates, but are sometimes adjusted for unusual jobs? Which are always rolled into hourly billing rates? (Cost items include: direct material & supplies; racks, fixtures, part holders, etc.; engineering/lab labor; factory indirect labor; order processing costs).
- Is yours a captive shop (i.e., 100% of your sales are to one customer)?
- Materials on which you do finishing (Metal? Plastic? Other?)
- Have you re-engineered any of your processes in the past 2 years in order to reduce the purchase or output of hazardous or toxic materials?
- Do you have an on-site lab for formulating/analyzing bath chemistry?
- Do you regularly recover metal via ion exchange, reverse osmosis, electrolytic recovery, etc.?
- Types of coating or related processes done at this site (flow, dip or curtain; powder coat; electrodeposition; spray; UV curing)
Heat Treating
Industry Metrics
- Percent of Furnaces/Systems Set for Automated Movement of Parts
- Percent of Furnaces/Systems Integrated with Atmosphere Generator
- Percent of Processing Lines/Systems < 5 Years Old
- Percent of Processing Lines/Systems >20 Years Old & Not Upgraded
- Percent of Processing Lines/Systems < 5 Years Old Or Upgraded
Yes/No or Checklist Type Questions
- When preparing cost estimates or quotes, which cost items are calculated separately for each job? Which are usually included in hourly billing rates, but are sometimes adjusted for unusual jobs? Which are always rolled into hourly billing rates? (Cost items include: direct material & supplies; racks, fixtures, part holders, etc.; engineering/lab labor; factory indirect labor; order processing costs).
- Core processes at this plant:
- Whole-part steel hardening (heat, quench, temper)?
- Whole-part steel annealing or normalizing?
- Non-ferrous heat treat?
- Partial-part heat treat (flame, induction, laser, etc.)?
- Diffusion treatment (e.g., carburizing, nitriding, etc.)?
- Brazing or sintering?
- Cooling/quenching media used at this plant:
- Water, brine or oil?
- Air?
- Other gases?
- Polymer?
- Molten salts or metals?
Dies, Molds or One-Off Machined Products
Industry Metrics
- Percent of Metal-Removal Machines that are 3-or-More Axis
- Percent of Processing Lines/Systems < 5 Years Old
- Percent of Processing Lines/Systems >20 Years Old & Not Upgraded
- Percent of Processing Lines/Systems < 5 Years Old Or Upgraded
- Percent of Shop Labor Hours Due to Customers' Engineering Changes
- Percent of Shop Labor Time Spent on Tasks that Bumped Scheduled Work
- Percent of Metal-Removal Machines That are NC/CNC
- Percent of CNC Operators Also Doing CAM Programming
Yes/No or Checklist Type Questions
- When preparing cost estimates or quotes, which cost items are calculated separately for each job? Which are usually included in hourly billing rates, but are sometimes adjusted for unusual jobs? Which are always rolled into hourly billing rates? (Cost items include: direct material ; tools, punches, fixtures, etc.; engineering/design labor; factory indirect labor; order processing costs; inventory holding costs).
- Core businesses at this plant:
- Progressive dies?
- Transfer dies?
- Line dies?
- Diecast dies?
- Other dies?
- Molds?
- Prototypes or other One-Off Machined Products?
- Do you do solid modeling at this location?
- Do you do any computer-aided design at this location, including: finite element analysis, circle grid analysis, mold flow analysis or kinematics?
- Do you routinely use written machine schedules that assign particular jobs to particular machines on particular dates?
- Do you have a crane capacity of 10 tomes or more?
- Types of standard shop procedures used in tracking, diagnosing, and controlling quality issues
Machine Building
Industry Metrics
- Percent of Typical Standards Content Made or Purchased to Stock
- Percent of Typical Standards Content that was Previously Designed
- Percent of Typical Specials Content Made or Purchased to Stock
- Percent of Typical Specials Content that was Previously Designed
- Percent of Assembly Floorspace Designated as Subassembly Areas
- Percent of Shop Employees Within 5 Years of Retirement Age
- Percent of Sales from Standard/Catalog Machines
- Percent of Sales from Special (Custom Engineered) Machines
- Percent of Sales from Built-to-Print or Rebuilt Machines
- Percent of Sales to the Commercial/Institutional Market
- Percent of Sales to Industrial Wholesalers or Distributors
- Percent of Sales Made Directly to Industrial Customers
- Percent of Machines Made More than One Month Late
- Percent of Processing Lines/Systems < 5 Years Old
- Percent of Processing Lines/Systems >20 Years Old & Not Upgraded
- Percent of Processing Lines/Systems < 5 Years Old Or Upgraded
- Percent of Shop Labor Hours Due to Customers' Engineering Changes
- Percent of Shop Labor Time Spent on Tasks that Bumped Scheduled Work
Yes/No or Checklist Type Questions
- When preparing cost estimates or quotes, which cost items are calculated separately for each job? Which are usually included in hourly billing rates, but are sometimes adjusted for unusual jobs? Which are always rolled into hourly billing rates? (Cost items include: direct material ; tools, punches, fixtures, etc.; engineering/design labor; factory indirect labor; order processing costs; inventory holding costs).
- Which are core businesses of this plant? (Standard machines? Special machines? Built-to-print machines or rebuilds?)
- Do you do significant purchasing of pre-assembled modules or kits?
- Do you do solid modeling at this location?
- Do you do any computer-aided design at this location, including: finite element analysis, circle grid analysis, mold flow analysis or kinematics?
- Do you do Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA)?
- Do you have a formal assessment and improvement program on the reliability and maintainability of your machines?
- Do you routinely use written machine schedules that assign particular jobs to particular machines on particular dates?
- Do you have a crane capacity of 10 tons or more?
- Types of standard shop procedures used in tracking, diagnosing, and controlling quality issues
Metalforming and Fabrication
Industry Metrics
- Percent of Material Other Than Hot and Cold Rolled Steel
- Percent of Metalforming Machines that are Automatically or Coil-Fed
- Percent of Metalforming Machines with Tonnage or Load Monitors
- Percent of Metalforming Machines that are Servo-Fed
- Percent of Dies with at Least One Quick-Change Element
- Percent of Dies with In-Die Sensors
- Percent of Dies/Molds Designed to do Assembly in the Tool
- Percent of Processing Lines/Systems < 5 Years Old
- Percent of Processing Lines/Systems >20 Years Old & Not Upgraded
- Percent of Processing Lines/Systems < 5 Years Old Or Upgraded
- Percent of Sales from Parts Almost Any Shop Could Make
- Percent of Sales from Your Own Proprietary Products
- Percent of Sales from Unique or Specialized Processing
- Percent of Sales for Which You Oversaw Tooling or Process Design
Yes/No or Checklist Type Questions
- When preparing cost estimates or quotes, which cost items are calculated separately for each job? Which are usually included in hourly billing rates, but are sometimes adjusted for unusual jobs? Which are always rolled into hourly billing rates? (Cost items include: direct material ; tooling, jigs and fixtures; engineering/design labor; factory indirect labor; order processing costs; inventory holding costs).
- Core business at this plant:
- Single-hit stamping?
- Progressive stamping?
- Slide forming?
- Roll forming?
- Tube bending?
- Metal spinning?
- Powdered metal/sintering?
- Other, including wound wire products?
- Do you do any metal cutting at this location? Any welding at this location?
- Do you have a bar code or similar system for tracking inventory or work-in-process?
- Types of standard shop procedures used in tracking, diagnosing, and controlling quality issues
Machined Parts and Assemblies
Industry Metrics
- Percent of Metal-Removal Machines with Changeable Pallets
- Percent of Machines with an Automated Material Transfer System
- Percent of Cutting Tools in Quick-Change Holders
- Percent of Cutting Tools That are Pre-Set
- Percent of Material that was Carbon Steel or Other Mat'l <$1/lb
- Percent of Material that was Stainless or Other Mat'l $1-$10/lb
- Percent of Material that was Titanium or Other Mat'l >$10/lb
- Percent of Parts Machined in a Hardened Condition
- Percent of Parts on Which You Do Laser Welding or Drilling
- Percent of Parts on Which You Do Grinding
- Percent of Parts on Which You Do Welding
- Percent of Processing Lines/Systems < 5 Years Old
- Percent of Processing Lines/Systems >20 Years Old & Not Upgraded
- Percent of Processing Lines/Systems < 5 Years Old Or Upgraded
- Percent of Sales from Parts Almost Any Shop Could Make
- Percent of Sales from Your Own Proprietary Products
- Percent of Sales from Unique or Specialized Processing
- Percent of Sales for Which You Oversaw Tooling or Process Design
- Percent of Metal-Removal Machines That are NC/CNC
- Percent of CNC Operators Also Doing CAM Programming
Yes/No or Checklist Type Questions
- When preparing cost estimates or quotes, which cost items are calculated separately for each job? Which are usually included in hourly billing rates, but are sometimes adjusted for unusual jobs? Which are always rolled into hourly billing rates? (Cost items include: direct material ; tooling, jigs and fixtures; engineering/design labor; factory indirect labor; order processing costs; inventory holding costs).
- Core business at this plant:
- Turned parts?
- Milled parts?
- EDM parts?
- Parts run on automatic screw machines?
- Other parts run on general purpose machines?
- Other parts run on special purpose machines?
- Do you have a bar code or similar system for tracking inventory or work-in-process?
- Types of standard shop procedures used in tracking, diagnosing, and controlling quality issues
Plastics Processing
Industry Metrics
- Percent Of Resins Used That Were Engineering/Advanced Materials
- Percent of Plastics Processing Machines Connected to Centralized Mat'l Handling System
- Percent of Production Plastics Processing Machines with Automatic Alarming
- Percent of Plastics Processing Machines that are Integrated with Robotics
- Percent of Plastics Processing Machines that are Integrated with Dryers
- Percent of Parts/Products You Painted
- Percent of Raw Material that is Rubbers and Silicones
- Percent of Raw Material that is Other Thermosets
- Percent of Raw Material that is Thermoplastics
- Percent of Sales from Parts You Decorated
- Percent of PP Machines that are Injection Molding Machines
- Number of Active Molds
- Average Number of Cavities per Mold
- Percent of Sales to the Packaging Industry
- Percent of Processing Lines/Systems < 5 Years Old
- Percent of Processing Lines/Systems >20 Years Old & Not Upgraded
- Percent of Processing Lines/Systems < 5 Years Old Or Upgraded
- Percent of Sales from Parts Almost Any Shop Could Make
- Percent of Sales from Your Own Proprietary Products
- Percent of Sales from Unique or Specialized Processing
- Percent of Sales for Which You Oversaw Tooling or Process Design
Yes/No or Checklist Type Questions
- When preparing cost estimates or quotes, which cost items are calculated separately for each job? Which are usually included in hourly billing rates, but are sometimes adjusted for unusual jobs? Which are always rolled into hourly billing rates? (Cost items include: direct material ; tooling, jigs and fixtures; engineering/design labor; factory indirect labor; order processing costs; inventory holding costs).
- Core business at this plant:
- Injection molding?
- Extrusion?
- Pultrusion?
- Blow molding?
- Thermoforming/vacuum forming?
- Transfer molding (e.g., SMC, BMC, RTM)?
- Compression molding?
- Rotational molding?
- Do you have a bar code or similar system for tracking inventory or work-in-process?
- Types of standard shop procedures used in tracking, diagnosing, and controlling quality issues
Printing and Related Services
Industry Metrics
- Percent of Presses Able to Run 5-Or-More Color Work on One Pass
- Percent of Jobs Using Digital Data to Generate Film or Plates
- Percent of Sales From All-New Jobs
- Percent of Sales From Reprints of Past Jobs With Significant Modifications
- Percent of Sales From Exact or Near-Exact Reprints of Past Jobs
- Percent of Sales Involving 5-Or-More-Color Work on a Single Pass
- Percent of Sales from Jobs Run Only on Web Presses
- Percent of Sales from Jobs Run Only on Sheetfed Presses
- Percent of Sales from Jobs Run on Both Web and Sheetfed Presses
- Percent of Sales from Printing on Packaging Items (Boxes, Bags, Etc.)
- Percent of Sales from Printing Labels
- Percent of Sales from Print/Cut/Fold Work (e.g, Brochures)
- Percent of Sales from Print-and-Bind Work (e.g., Catalogs, Calendars, Books)
- Percent of Sales from Printing on Apparel or Fabric
- Percent of Sales from Printing on Other Goods
- Percent of Sales from Jobs Almost Any Shop Could Do
- Percent of Sales from Your Own Proprietary or Copyrighted Content
- Percent of Sales from Unique or Specialized Processing
Yes/No or Checklist Type Questions
- When preparing cost estimates or quotes, which cost items are calculated separately for each job? Which are usually included in hourly billing rates, but are sometimes adjusted for unusual jobs? Which are always rolled into hourly billing rates? (Cost items include: direct material ; tooling, jigs and fixtures; engineering/design labor; factory indirect labor; order processing costs; inventory holding costs).
- Core business at this plant:
- Offset/lithography?
- Flexography?
- Screen printing?
- Digital, non-impact printing?
- Gravure printing?
- Letterpress printing?
- Other printing processes?
- On which materials do you print?
- Uncoated paper
- Coated paper
- Cardboard/corrugated
- Plastic (film or rigid)
- Glass or metal
- Fabric or cloth
- Do you have a bar code or similar system for tracking inventory or work-in-process?
- Types of standard shop procedures used in tracking, diagnosing, and controlling quality issues
|
|