"Vision without action is merely a dream;Action without vision just passes the time;Vision with action can change the world." Author Unknown

As with any organization a vision statement can give direction and purpose.
Most companies have a vision statement that covers the purpose and direction of the entire organization but in most cases we overlook the opportunity to create a vision at the operational level.

The operational vision statement can give clarity and create a greater focus on standard operational elements.

The purpose of the Operations Vision provides three main areas of focus.
As with any visioning process it provides leadership the ability to communicate what is important to the organization along with how everyone involved can contribute to achieving the goals of the organization.

Second, the Operations Vision creates a picture that is visible to everyone and keeps everyone going in the same direction.
It is a known fact that as individuals we can easily become distracted with a multitude of projects. They may be good but are they the best thing we could be doing with the limited resources. An operational vision statement can provide the immediate redirection and a quick assessment if a project is in alignment with the operational vision.

Thirdly, the vision statement is a tool that is used to assess whether capital investments, continuous improvement initiatives, and projects are within the scope of the company's direction and align the divisional goals with the corporate goals.
In conclusion, the vision statement assists in differentiating initiatives that do not support the direction and redirects resources to the ones that do.
It is important that the operational vision support the overall organizational goals but as we look at the elements of an operational vision we can easily see that these key elements easily align with any corporate vision.

Listed are the top 9 elements of a standard manufacturing operation:

Operations Vision Elements:

1. Safety
2. Quality
3. Cost
4. Continuous Improvement “Lean Principles”
5. Flexibility
6. Delivery
7. Supply Chain Management
8. Manufacturing Lead-time & flow management
9. Management/Labor Relations

Vision Element (including the description) Examples

1. Safety:
“Safety is our highest value. By maximizing the participation of our most valuable assets, our people we will seek out and correct all unsafe situations with zero recordable injury incident rate being the only acceptable goal. This value is embedded in our organization by being part of our culture. Every employee and its contractors, is expected to be an active facilitator of this culture”.

2. Quality:
Besides the primary goal of meeting the needs of our customers, the organization will also meet these objectives;
· Safely delivering a quality product and service.
· Fully involving our employees.
· Provide quality leadership in our industry.
· Practicing a participative management style.
· Maintaining adherence to the requirements of any internal and external certifications

3. Cost:
We will evaluate and apply true cost analysis on individual projects. We will use cost containment and cost reduction strategies across the entire supply chain using lean principles.

4. Continuous Improvement “Lean Principles”
We will establish a continuous improvement culture throughout the organization at all employee levels. Implantation will be done through training, certification and hand on training.

5. Flexibility:
We will develop flexibility through cross training at all levels throughout the organization. This will give the organization the competitive edge by redeploying resources as our business requirements change giving the company a faster response time to our customers’ needs.

6. Delivery:
We will support logistics delivery goals by focusing on speed and responsiveness in all business processes’ (dock-to-dock). We measure time as the primary basis of operational metrics. We will do the right things faster!

7. Supply Chain Management:
Our Supply Chain will operate in an environment devoted to a philosophy of Continuous Improvement, providing accurate storage of materials purchased in the right quantities, at the lowest cost. Our Supply Chain will receive and deliver those materials in a cost-efficient and customer-focused manner throughout the entire operation.

8. Manufacturing Lead time & Flow Management: (Examples)
· For standard products, we can receive an order today and ship tomorrow. During the busy season, this requires stocking and forecasting. During the slow season, we can make-to-order and ship the next day.
· For routine and simple custom or non-standard products (reoccurring exceptions from standard), we can ship within one week.
· For custom and unique products, we can respond to customers with shipment commitment within five days.
· In short, the marketplace recognizes the organization as the leader in delivery performance.

9. Management/Labor Relations:
The organization is committed to excellence when providing a safe work environment in a professional, caring, and consistent manner.
To encourage and support our employees; recognizing that through their high standards, creativity, and commitment, the operations will perform at the highest level of excellence in providing products and services to our customers.

Joe Perillo