The goal of operations management is to ensure the highly reliable performance of all systems, procedures and processes, performance that is both safe and of high quality. Excellence in healthcare delivery requires the ability to develop sound operations and manage for unexpected surprises which are a feature of complex healthcare delivery organisations. Almost by definition, healthcare organisations are hazardous environments. It is only through a process of continuous adaptation, problem solving and improvement that such organisations succeed in meeting the increasing demands for higher quality service delivery.
Operations management in pursuit of excellence in service delivery seeks to identify and eliminate sources of variance. This requires a clear understanding of the nature of the work and how it is accomplished. This is the study and practice of operations management.