Organizations in the public and private sectors alike are increasingly interested in understanding and improving their operations. Nexus Associates provides innovative services that model operational performance and provide performance comparisons of similar organizations or firms.

• Development of SIMetrics Advisor. SIMetrics Advisor is an easy-to-use decision support tool designed specifically for manufacturers. SIMetrics Advisor employs a detailed systems model of manufacturing operations that allows users to generate an unlimited number of "what if?" scenarios. Incorporating the user's own data inputs, this powerful and flexible model can simulate the operations of a wide range of manufacturing plants and processes without requiring the lengthy set up times of many manufacturing simulation programs. In fact, because there is no need to construct a model -- it's already built-in -- most users can be up and evaluating customized scenarios for their own operations within a few hours of opening the package.
  
  
• Evaulated plans for a national manufacturing sector benchmarking system in Mexico. Funded by the World Bank, Nexus Associates provided technical assistance to Secretaria de Comercio y Fomento Industrial (SECOFI) in Mexico concerning the establishment of a national benchmarking program for small and medium-sized manufacturers - Sistema de Evaluacion de Indicadores de Competividad. Nexus Associates reviewed progress, critiqued current plans, and provided recommendations on how the project might be structured to meet the objectives sought by SECOFI. The report covered the selection of appropriate performance measures, establishment of valid comparison groups, design of the survey questionnaire and report, data collection procedures on the web site, and the relative merits of different international databases. The report was based on extensive discussions with SECOFI staff, independent consultants in Mexico, and members of a Task Force as well as the firm's prior experience in the development of performance measures and benchmarking programs.
  
  
• Benchmarking for Queensland Manufacturing Institute (QMI) in Queensland, Australia. Nexus Associates is piloting the use of Performance Benchmarking with a group of metalworking manufacturers in Queensland, Australia. The pilot is intended to provide useful benchmarking data to the Australian firms, relative to their U.S. counterparts, and identify issues in the international comparison of manufacturing firm performance. Individual benchmarking reports for each company were generated, along with a written summary of the major implications of the report for the individual firms.
  
  
• Review of Industrial Technology Institute's Performance Benchmarking Service. At the request of National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), Nexus Associates assessed the quality of the Performance Benchmarking Service provided by the Industrial Technology Institute to manufacturing extension centers. Nexus Associates assessed the data collection procedures employed by PBS, including survey design, sampling and comparison group issues, and evaluated their reliability for constructing comparison groups used in evaluation activity.
  
  
• Performance benchmarking of manufacturing extension centers across United States. Performance benchmarking of manufacturing extension centers across United States The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) asked Nexus Associates to develop and implement a benchmarking system for the NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP). The project involved mapping core service delivery processes, establishment of key performance measures, and preparation of customized benchmarking reports for participating centers. After a very successful pilot in which seventeen centers participated, a plan for instituting the benchmarking process throughout the entire MEP system is underway. The project promises to have a major impact on the management of manufacturing extension centers nationwide.
  
  
• Simulation model of a manufacturing extension center. The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) asked Nexus Associates to develop a simulation model of a manufacturing extension center. Based on actual performance data from centers participating in the Center Benchmarking project, the model estimates the effects on work flow and revenues of various changes to center operations.