Supaporn Suwanpitak. Comparative study between benchmarking and self evaluation for improvement of working environment. Master's Degree(Industrial Hygiene and Safety ). Mahidol University. : Mahidol University, 2009-04-01.
Comparative study between benchmarking and self evaluation for improvement of working environment
Abstract:
Benchmarking is a searching method to find the best practice by comparison of practices, and absorption of the best method in order to develop organizational excellence. This research was quasi-experimental, it aimed to compare two improvements in environment and working conditions. These were the benchmarking method and self-evaluation method, which is the process of using intellectual concepts to improve working conditions. The benchmarking performance had 3 steps. The planning step was to survey the working environment, and choose and prepare teams for benchmarking. The search step was to find the best practice for comparison. The observation and analyze step was to report benchmarking findings, and to conclude the results of best practices to achieve working environment improvement. The self-evaluation method had 2 steps. The planning step was to survey the working environment, and choose and prepare teams for self-evaluation. The observation and evaluation step was to conclude the results of best practices to achieve working environment improvement. Results of this study showed that the benchmarking method and self-evaluation method were not significantly different, after a field observation of 216 production workers. There were 88 persons in the benchmarking group and 128 persons in the self-evaluation group. The statistical analysis showed that the scores of practice for improving working and environmental conditions were not different (p-value > 0.05). The comparison of recognition of knowledge for safety policy and management between the benchmarking team and self-evaluation team revealed that the scores were significantly different (p-value = 0.006). It was also found that the self-evaluation team had more recognition concerning the knowledge of safety policy and management than the benchmarking team. The result of this research reveals that the application of a self-evaluation method is an appropriate system useful to reduction of unnecessary steps of work and capable of bringing the best benefit to an organization. However, there should be monitoring systems for prevention of bias and discontinuation of practices.