It is important that manufacturing organisations are able to measure their performance in a way that will enable them to better manage their organisation to achieve competitive advantage. This paper argues that there are already appropriate methodologies that have been developed for this purpose, namely self-assessment against quality awards and business excellence models. Subject to development to overcome their weaknesses, these can be used for measuring manufacturing performance at an operational level. The research reported here outlines the development of such a framework and its successful application to a case example of a manufacturing facility in the UK.