Best Practices

Best practices are more than quick tips or improvements.  They represent procedures, communication tools, and organizational structures that work together  to deliver success “quicker, cheaper, and more safe/secure” - all other factors being equal.    

 

This definition suggests that there is some set of procedures, communication tools, and organizational structures to be compared against a base case ideal.   This comparison could be performed in the context of a troubleshooting activity or an accident investigation.  It follows that a “Best Practices” evaluation occurs “after-the-fact” (e.g. the plant has already been operating; a lab procedure has already been implemented; several weeks of public data have already been released).  Scoring quantifies the extent to which the study subject(s) employ the base case practices.  

 

A Best Practice must be readily available, affordable, and accessible; therefore, its use is documented and cited in the study.  If one were to reference a new approach which relied on a proprietary technology, the comparison is not “apples-to-apples” and the result is instead a Trade Secret rather than a Best Practice.  

The example Best Practice evaluation compares County Covid-19 Dashboards across Texas.  The purpose of these Dashboards was to translate the status quo of the pandemic from State Health Officials to local government officials, businesses and the public.  The evaluation was made in late 2021 after both test reporting had been streamlined and data definitions had been standardized.   Local Health Departments combined these with CDC Guidelines to come up with recommendations (bans and mandates were not allowed per Governor’s Executive Orders).   Such information was reported in a Dashboard Format that included color codes and metrics which were used to score the latest time period. These dashboards served much like local pandemic “Weather Reports” and were the subject of routine press conferences, and news stories.