Assessing the Performance of the Engineering Department

In Assessing the Performance of the Engineering Department, you'll learn ...

• Methodical ways to define the Engineering Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such that they improve the performance of the Engineering function
• Typical KPIs used in Engineering that are aligned with the Lean 6-Sigma processes around Safety, Quality, Timeliness, Cost, and Productivity
• The need to have KPIs that measure opposing areas, to be able to gain a closer to complete view of the Engineering performance
• The best ways to define and use KPI Dashboards for Engineering

Overview

Preview a portion of this course before purchasing it.

Credit: 5 PDH

Length: 82 pages

The performance of the Engineering Department is critical to a Company’s success. Understanding how well the Engineering processes are executed is the first step to enhancing them, and to improve the associated deliverables. But the Engineering metrics are often viewed with a dose of skepticism and organizational inertia, more as a way to reactively comply than as a useful tool. A positive approach is to look at the metrics and see them as a start to proactively prepare for outstanding performance. A healthy and forward-looking organization can only benefit from implementing and analyzing a robust set of key metrics.

Often the complexities and the variety of Engineering work make it difficult to obtain robust, reliable, and actionable metrics. However, if the Engineering procedural complexities are well understood and accepted, and if the intrinsic desire to absolute precision is reasonably controlled, highly beneficial metrics can be defined and implemented with great success.

This course introduces a few methodic approaches for defining Engineering KPIs that not only are relevant to the Engineering function, but also answer the Company’s strategic short- and long-term objectives, and connect well with the KPIs of the adjacent functions. More than 80 metrics are suggested for use, which can be combined in relevant KPI panels. The Engineers can apply those directly or use them as a starting block to define additional KPIs that are relevant to the specific function of their Department.

Providing a way to better understand the performance of the Engineering group, this course answers the needs of Engineering Managers and Engineers who aspire to think strategically and to progress their career into Engineering leadership.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Describe the applicability, general characteristics, and specific uses of metrics and KPIs in the engineering function.
• Explain how to define engineering metrics, select appropriate KPIs, assign targets, implement data tracking, and apply continuous-improvement actions.
• Describe the typical lifecycle of newly implemented KPIs.
• Explain categories of work performed by the engineering group, how they address company needs, and how associated metrics evaluate engineering performance.
• Identify typical KPIs used to measure the effectiveness of internal engineering processes, engineering suppliers, engineering personnel and skills, NPI and R&D activities, and levels of unproductive time.
• Describe product-based KPIs, including measures related to environmentally friendly solutions and product reliability.
• Explain examples of product-based KPIs related to products and cost-out performance.
• Describe the Creative Engineering Design Assessment (CEDA) method, its use in evaluating engineering creativity, its applicability, and the CEDA-modified method.

Certificate of Completion

You will be able to immediately print a certificate of completion after passing a multiple-choice quiz consisting of 25 questions. PDH credits are not awarded until the course is completed and quiz is passed.