本文讨论了标杆管理是如何发展成为一种有用的工具，通过它，水行业可以自我评估。具体而言，基准管理已成为水行业评估公用事业运营并与其他公用事业进行绩效比较的重要方式。本文讨论的主题是:基准的定义；度量基准与过程基准的区别；水务行业被追究责任的五个主要原因不仅仅是提供安全饮用水；施乐公司的经验如何促使许多公司使用基准测试技术；衡量基准的五大障碍；八步基准过程；以及管理层如何为特定任务使用基准测试。包括7篇参考文献。

This article discusses how benchmarking has developed into a useful tool by which the water industry can evaluate itself. Specifically, benchmarking has become an important way for the water industry to assess utility operations and compare performance with that of other utilities. Topics discussed in this article are: the definition of benchmarking; the difference between metric benchmarking and process benchmarking; the five major reasons why the water industry is being held accountable for more than just supplying safe drinking water; how the experience of Xerox Corporation spurred many companies to use benchmarking techniques; the five major barriers to benchmarking; the eight-step benchmarking process; and, how management uses benchmarking for specific tasks. Includes 7 references.