FiftIEth

The Golden Anniversary of the Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research

This year marks the Golden Anniversary of the Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research. For the past 50 years, the Department has produced graduates that went on to be achievers in their respective fields, both in the public and the private sectors – locally and internationally.

Due to the pandemic, this year’s celebration will be unique and promises to be meaningful as this will be the first time it will be done virtually. None of the usual face-to-face alumni homecoming and all the in-person singing and dancing that go with it. Nonetheless, the celebration will no less be joyous, it will be no less memorable. Simply put, Covid-19 should not, will not, and cannot prevent us from celebrating this very important milestone in the Department’s existence.

Covid-19 indeed transformed the way we do things – from synchronous and asynchronous remote delivery of instructions and assessment to virtual recognition and graduation rites starting with Class 2020 last year, and for this coming midyear, the holding of a virtual internship program. This internship is mandated in the new 4-year BSIE curriculum approved last 2018. The curriculum is in response to the implementation of the K-12 program. The internship is department-led and facilitated and is another first for the program.

The Department also responded to the call of the UP community and the government for assistance during the pandemic. Through its ieHEALS: Integrated Emergency Healthcare initiative, the department lent its expertise to come up with a system for UP PGH called the Online Consultation Requests and Appointment System (OCRA) which is very useful as Metro Manila goes into ECQ mode again.

OCRA was initiated last April 2020 and went live on May 5, 2020. During the ECQ last 2020, the Outpatient Department (OPD) was closed and the doctors sought for solutions to still continue its operations safely. OCRA was the main solution as it provided appointment services for patients of the OPD. Patients only need to sign up and request for schedules regarding their particular conditions and then they will undergo initial triage remotely. If needed, they will be scheduled for an appointment via virtual consultation or if indeed necessary, a face-to-face consultation will be recommended. The last time we checked, a total of 90,000 user patients are registered with the system.

The department also undertook the project ‘Development of a Web-Based Demand and Supply Planning and Optimization System’ (DEPLOY) with the Department of Trade and Industry. Initiated last August 2020, the project developed web-based models of the demand-supply chains of selected essential goods. Data can be run using these platforms to provide appropriate stakeholders and decision-makers, i.e., government agencies, a visual tool for strategic and tactical scenario-planning. These models visualize the demand-supply chains and answer, among others, the following questions: What is the gap between demand and supply? What is the optimum distribution assignment of the goods from one region to another in the event of major disruptions such as natural and man-made disasters? With availability of data, these models can be used for Disaster Risk Management, Scenario Planning and What-if Analysis. Demonstration of the web-based models were presented to DTI and industry stakeholders. The project was fully completed last March 22, 2021.

Prior to the pandemic, the department started occupying its new home –the IE/ME Building –and laid out plans together with UPIEAA to equip its research laboratories, upgrade resources used in teaching and address continuing faculty development requirements, among others. We look forward to the realization of all these.

Indeed, much has been accomplished over the last 50 years and much needs to be done as the Department continually strives to achieve its vision to be a national and an international leader in providing world-class industrial engineering education, research and development and community service.

And as we prepare to celebrate the 50^th anniversary, we remain ready to face the challenges and take advantage of opportunities that come our way.

Times have indeed changed, but for the Department, the passion for better ways remain.