BMP: Best Manufacturing Practices

The Best Manufacturing Practices (BMP) program, formed in 1985 and sponsored by the U.S. Office of Naval Research, conducts voluntary, in-depth surveys of best practices in six functional areas (design, test, production, facilities, logistics, management) at U.S. manufacturers and other organizations. You can read the survey reports in full, but better yet is a search engine that lets you locate ideas on particular practices from throughout the reports. Type, for instance, "continuous improvement" or "six sigma" in the search box on the front page and hit GO. You'll get a series of descriptions, relatively brief but rich in variety, both in the practices that are described and the companies where they are in place. Each of these survey segments includes links to the broader best practices survey conducted at the company or organization by a team from the Best Manufacturing Practices program. Each description also provides a "Point of Contact" for further information. There is additional information about the program on the site, but it's the well-managed access to the ideas of the participating companies that makes this site worth a visit.