Topmark
What is TOPMARK?
TOPMARK is a free benchmarking service for processing mills and topmakers around the world. Participation is very simple, with mills providing AWTA Ltd with greasy wool test information on their batches as well as their own processing test data.
AWTA Ltd will collate the data from all participating mills and determine ‘benchmarks’ for all the major processing results. These benchmarks will allow one mill to confidentially compare its performance against the average of all the other mills participating in this program. It is planned that regular reports will be provided to mills detailing their performance against key characteristics such as Hauteur, Romaine, Top & Noil Yield, and Core/Comb Fibre Diameter.
Background
Customers of Australian wool are in the unsurpassed position of being able to fully specify Yield, Vegetable Matter, Fibre Diameter and Staple Length and Staple Strength measurements on their greasy wool purchases. Having this information allows topmakers to predict the processing results for each batch, using the well known TEAM formulae.
AWTA Ltd recently undertook a major industrial processing trial to update the TEAM formulae. Called TEAM-3, 34 mills from 12 different countries participated in a trial that not only allowed new general formulae to be developed, but also enabled each mill to confidentially benchmark its performance against the other participating mills.
Such was the mill enthusiasm generated by this benchmarking information that AWTA Ltd has created a new, free service available to mills called TOPMARK – Global Benchmarking for Topmakers.
Participation in TOPMARK
Participation in TOPMARK is FREE OF CHARGE. To join TOPMARK, all a mill or Topmaker needs to do is contact AWTA Ltd and agree to provide greasy wool and top test results on processing batches. These results will be entered into a confi dential database by AWTA Ltd from which the processing performance of each mill can be compared. A standard form has been created to assist mills in submitting the required data to AWTA Ltd.
Unlike TEAM-3, participating mills do not need to send top samples to AWTA Ltd for measurement. For the purposes of the benchmarking service, the top measurement results from the individual mill’s laboratory will be used.
Feedback to Mills
CONFIDENTIAL mill reports will be provided to mills on a regular basis. These reports will summarise the characteristics of the consignments submitted by the mill and benchmark their processing performance against other participating mills. It is envisaged that detailed reports will be presented to mills at least every 6 months. Some of the key characteristics that will be benchmarked include: Hauteur, CV Hauteur, Romaine, Top & Noil Yield, and Core/Comb Fibre Diameter.
What are the benefits of Benchmarking?
Benchmarking is the collection of performance information that allows comparisons to be made between organisations. It is typically designed to answer the question: “What are the most important performance yardsticks and where do we rank, compared with others in our industry?” It is generally recognised that, when used appropriately, benchmarking is one of the most effective tools for bringing about improvements in performance.
Some of the typical benefits are as follows:
- Allows a wide range of performance indicators to be studied.
- Protects confidentiality of all partners.
- Allows comparisons with competitors to be made and allows identifi cation of best practice.
- Allows performance shortfalls to be clearly seen and assists in identifying priorities for improvement.
- Encourages participants to seek fresh approaches to bring about improvements in performance.
TOPMARK™ is a registered trademark of the Australian Wool Testing Authority Ltd