How the Winners Are Selected
The Judges and the Process
Selection of the category award winners and the Factory of the Year is made by a team of assessors led by Dr Marek Szwejczewski (Director of the Best Factory Awards) from Cranfield School of Management.
The selection process consists of two distinct stages. The first stage of the selection process is based on the audit questionnaire completed by each participating organisation. At this stage all of the participating factories are anonymous. The best factories identified by analysis of the questionnaires are short-listed for consideration as prospective category award winners. Only if a factory has been short-listed is its identity revealed to the judges.
The short-listed plants are then invited to participate in the second stage of the competition. This involves a plant visit by the team of assessors. The team of assessors is made up of experienced individuals from the Cranfield School of Management, the IEE and other institutions. During the visit the judges meet with management and the workforce and tour the site.
Once all of the factories have been visited the judges select the award winners in each category. They then select one of the category award winners as Factory of the Year. The winners are announced at an award winner’s lunch in the Autumn to which all of the short-listed participants are invited.
In making their selection the judges take into account several criteria, some of which are:
- Operating performance measures in comparison with other factories in the same industrial sector. Measures taken into account will include quality consistency, scrap / rework rates, speed of delivery, delivery reliability and productivity
- Rates of performance improvement
- The quality and effectiveness of the systems in place to ensure continuous improvement
- The quality of management leadership and strategic thinking
- The extent to which the factory meets the criteria for world class manufacturing
To view the BFA timetable, click here.