Our Approach

Methodology

Our methodology has been refined for over twenty years and is applied across all of our benchmarking service areas. Our process runs on a yearly cycle and is built upon the concept of a common “Management Model”, where all participants achieve consensus on a similar set of overall strategic goals.  The goals represent the business outcomes that each participating organization strives to achieve.

With goal consensus, it is feasible, practical, and useful to benchmark all organizations over the common goal model, using a framework of metrics or key performance indicators (KPIs). To ensure that data is collected on a like-for-like basis, we have developed standardized units and specific definitions for each KPI that have been fine-tuned through years of consultation with participating organizations. Certain KPIs are also broken down into several layers of detail to cater to different reporting levels within organizations and help participants identify the root cause of performance variances. Select one of our service areas below to view a list of our current KPIs.

We know that metric benchmarking on its own will not result in improved practices and this is why we also focus our efforts on process benchmarking. Qualitative data is gathered through a series of workshops, surveys and group meetings and the outcomes are compared with the aim of establishing best practices. In contrast to metric benchmarking which can be used to easily pinpoint opportunities for improvement, process benchmarking helps organizations close their performance gaps by providing a path forward.

To deliver the most value to participants in today’s every changing landscape we are continually fine-tuning, refining and refocusing each year to advance the state-of-the art in performance benchmarking. This enables us to meet the evolving objectives of our participants. Each successive year is designed to take participants into greater levels of detail within the management and operation of their organization and we regularly invest in new technologies to improve our processes so that we can guide participants to new levels of productivity.

The Canadian Infrastructure Benchmarking Initiative continues to be the only public sector benchmarking program that includes all aspects of metric and process benchmarking complete with the development of a broad range of benchmarking related communication tools designed to transfer performance improvement learning results directly to managers and staff

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Water Treatment KPIs

aecom wastewater

Wastewater Treatment KPIs

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Stormwater KPIs

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Water Distribution KPIs

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Wastewater Collection KPIs

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Roads KPIs

Project Activities

*Hover over or click each activity to display AECOM related tasks.

Post all Deliverables to Website

Project deliverables include:

  • Presentations from all in-person and online workshop sessions.
  • A comprehensive compendium of water, sewer, and stormwater rates and rate structures used by participating organizations.
  • A complete participant directory with key contacts from each participating organization.
  • Access to metric benchmarking database.
  • Metric benchmarking result dashboards.
  • Outcomes from Task Force Groups.
  • Process Survey results.
  • Executive Summary Report.

Review and Establish Priorities

  • Conduct surveys and gather feedback from participants regarding the past iteration of benchmarking and where benchmarking can be improved in future iterations.
  • Articulate the objectives of the current iteration of benchmarking in terms of the vision and goals, and ensure that the proposed process will result in the desired results.
  • Make recommendations regarding any changes to the benchmarking framework for the review and determination of the Partnership. Develop modifications or suggested changes to address any identified gaps, or to meet new needs.
  • Establish communication linkages between participants who wish to work cooperatively on specific initiatives.

Strategic Visioning

  • Report on the current status of knowledge on benchmarking and the development of “Best Practices”.
  • Consider, plan and execute a strategic plan that fulfills the long range requirements of participants.
  • Begin preparing and planning for the Summit Workshop where strategic visioning discussions are held with all participants so that local needs and future requirements for the Benchmarking Initiative can be conferred.

Prepare Executive Summary Report

  • Finalize and reanalyze result dashboards.
  • Conduct a thorough review of each participant’s results and identify trends and observations that may provide some management or operational level information.
  • Document the observations in a concise and readable format.
  • Summarize all content in a Executive Report format and circulate to all participants

Summit Workshop

  • Plan all logistics and conduct pre-workshop discussions, surveys, and other requirement-gathering functions in advance of the workshop.
  • Prepare necessary workshop materials (i.e., workshop handbooks, presentations, etc.).
  • Review the benchmarking results as a group. Review progress made towards the strategic plan.
  • Convene knowledge sharing break-out sessions based on areas of common interest, as selected by participants.

NOTE: The Summit Workshop has been temporarily suspended due to ongoing public health concerns regarding COVID-19. Many of the workshop sessions that would have taken place have now moved online.

Task Force Group Meetings

  • Define the objective of process benchmarking, and communicate methodology to participating organizations.
  • Identity Process Task Force Groups that can benefit from a dedicated workshop.
  • Plan and organize all logistics related to the Process Task Force Workshops.
  • Organize pre-workshop discussions, surveys, or other requirement-gathering functions in advance of the workshop.
  • Prepare necessary workshop materials, and presentations.
  • Facilitate workshop sessions, and compile notes and outcomes.
  • Develop action plans and strategies to consider and implement as continuous improvement measures.

Data Collection and Verification

  • Conduct user orientation and data collection training.
  • Work closely with designated personnel from each participant both by phone and e-mail to collect, discuss, and record data.
  • Orient participant staff regarding the purpose of benchmarking and the need for quality data.
  • Review continuous improvement initiatives with participant staff and gather input and feedback.
  • Review draft results with the internal AECOM quality assurance team and identify items of interest including but not limited to: apparent data issues or gaps, outliers or inconsistencies, and other areas of interest as interpreted from the draft results.

Conduct Process Surveys

  • Survey participants and prioritize processes targeted for process benchmarking.
  • Develop “Scope Sheets” introducing each subject and circulate to the Partnership for feedback.
  • Obtain direction from the Process Task Force regarding process evaluation (based on Organizational Action Plans).
  • Collect the required data from participants in order to investigate the selected process.
  • Make recommendations concerning suggested targets.
  • Assist in the coordination of participant Case Studies to showcase Best Practice implementations.
  • Document Case Studies for a Workshop presentation and Summary Report.

Presentation of Draft Results

  • Walk-through the draft results with each participant.
  • Using documented local factors and other information, begin identifying suggested action plans to address issues identified in the draft result walkthrough meeting.
  • Obtain final data sign-off from participant staff.

Prepare Customizable Dashboards

  • Revise and update result dashboards based on draft data and participant feedback.
  • Perform a statistical analysis of the benchmarking data.
  • Correlate performance measures that are related to each other to determine relationships and trends.
  • Review the results for each participant.
  • Review results for trends, management issues, suggestions for common continuous improvement initiatives, and other areas of common interest.

Benefits of Our Approach

It’s about improvement,
not about “who’s better than who”.

The benchmarking participants have understood from the outset that there are fundamental differences that make direct comparisons between utilities difficult. The focus of the project has, therefore, always been on metrics and the processes that underlie the performance measures to ascertain where organizations are performing better than their peers. This way, an open forum is created whereby staff can participate in and share their own experiences knowing that their results are viewed within the context of their unique operating environment.

We measure what’s needed,
not what’s easy.

We provide a robust benchmarking framework that includes a comprehensive suite of detailed performance measures. Through extensive consultation with participants, these indicators were developed to measure attainment of all relevant goals, at all levels within an organization (administrative, managerial, supervisorial, and operational). These indicators illuminate meaningful trends and allow organizations to link indicators to those individuals that are best able to influence performance through their daily actions.

We streamline the data collection process.

All benchmarking programs require data collection, and without the right tools, the process can be overly burdensome and resource intensive. Our handy online data portal, coupled with user-friendly resources, simplifies the process and conveniently showcases all the necessary information required for data collection. Participants are able to manage their own list of community users and restrict access to pertinent staff. Depending on the level of access granted, users are able to view data, share information, delegate data fields to other users, document sources, and simultaneously provide edits at anytime, on any computer.

aecom data collection process

We streamline the data collection process.

All benchmarking programs require data collection, and without the right tools, the process can be overly burdensome and resource intensive. Our handy online data portal, coupled with user-friendly resources, simplifies the process and conveniently showcases all the necessary information required for data collection. Participants are able to manage their own list of community users and restrict access to pertinent staff. Depending on the level of access granted, users are able to view data, share information, delegate data fields to other users, document sources, and simultaneously provide edits at anytime, on any computer.

aecom data collection process

Data quality is key.

A key distinguishing factor of this benchmarking initiative is the quality and level of detail of the data used to derive the many performance measures. Comprehensive definitions for each measure ensure that participants are recording comparable data. In addition, AECOM quality assurance personnel conduct a full review of all collected data in order to identify and correct any inconsistencies or mistakes.

We tap the right metrics to help you make the right decisions.

Through on-line customer surveys and one-on-one consultation with our clients, we are continually obtaining feedback on all aspects of the project so that we can adjust the project to suit your needs. This way we are able to identify the key information needs of your organization and can structure our benchmarking program to investigate certain aspects in greater detail.

Results are presented using the latest business intelligence tools (Power BI).

To fully convey the story behind the numbers, benchmarking results are presented through a series of group and personalized graphs. Participants are able to view the graphs via interactive, user friendly dashboards that permit the viewer more control over how the results are displayed. KPIs can be alternated at the click of a button and results can be viewed in the context of other KPIs or local factors such as annual snowfall, network size, population, etc. There is no need to worry about results being skewed from organizations much larger or smaller than yours because our dashboards give you the option to choose which organizations you want to benchmark against.

aecom business intelligence tools

We involve your implementers.

Our convenient online data collection portal and result dashboards puts all the benchmarking tools at the fingertips of your staff. This not only facilitates the benchmarking process, it also allows wider organizational involvement and greater buy-in to the project as a whole.

Participant Satisfaction is our Top Priority

“Help Desk” style assistance from AECOM staff is provided to assist you whenever you have questions or feedback..