Many manufacturers experience a bit of a production slowdown this time of year, which gives you the perfect opportunity to check in on your benchmarks for the year. Did you meet your production goals? Have you stayed on budget for staffing, capital improvements, expansion and more? Have you met or exceeded compliance standards? Is your plant design-build going to plan and meeting efficiency expectations?

If you have never set benchmarks, there are many good reasons to do so, including measuring your performance against your competitors and holding your people accountable for their performance. Your benchmarks can cover everything from product quality to increasing efficiency and improving your customer’s experience. Here’s a list of some of the key benchmarks you should consider implementing for the new year and beyond.