Application of Industrial Engineering in the Post Covid World
“Manufacturing is more than putting parts together. It is coming up with ideas, testing principles, and perfecting the engineering as well as the final assembly.” - James Dyson
The quest for the richness of life through "the division of work" serves as the fundamental objective of industrial engineering. Everyone, from the government to citizens to businesses, can contribute to enriching one's life by various activities. Individuals can build a society by focusing on two phrases - "the division of labor" and "the trade of values earned through it." Humanity has been confronted with major difficulties such as earthquakes, typhoons, and infectious diseases, threatening human life and economic well-being in recent years.
The Spirit of Collaboration
When the Corona virus suddenly demanded attention, the engineering reaction was awe-inspiring. Whether it was to build ventilators, manufacture personal protective equipment, or expand hospital capacity; enterprises and organizations from all over the world came together in a spirit of collaboration.
What is Industrial Engineering?
“Industrial Engineering is the discipline that handles the design, improvement and installation of integrated systems of people, materials, machinery, information and energy. It combines the knowledge in the mathematical, physical and social sciences with the principles and methods of engineering analysis and design, to identify, forecast and assess the results to be obtained from these systems.”
Benefits of Industrial Engineering:
Industrial Engineering helps in achieving more efficient and beneficial business practices.
It ensures better customer services and improved product quality. Doing more with less is one of the outcomes of Industrial Engineering. It makes work quicker, safer and more rewarding and helps enterprises improve their productivity.
Pre-Covid:
Post Covid Transformation:
The role of Industrial Engineering has undergone a radical change during Covid. Overnight, the priority changed from saving business funds to saving lives. The pandemic swelled into a global crisis with everyone affected. Business came to a standstill and the sole focus was on strengthening medical facilities. Industrial Engineers collaborated to help create an ecosystem for decision support. IE analysis backed by data was used for circulation of information to the public, optimum utilization of resources and medical supplies, devising policies to enhance the quality of life and scenario analysis to reduce economic losses.
Impact on Work, Workforce and the Workplace
Covid-19 has been a huge disruptor where workplaces are concerned, transforming the way businesses function. Organizations asked employees to work from home and managers were asked to lead virtual teams without any prior intimation. It is amazing how businesses and work-forces adapted to the new normal quickly and used technology to their maximum advantage.
Examples of problems handled by Industrial Engineering Professionals
The main issues in healthcare at the peak of the pandemic were related to the placement of testing centers, closure of public facilities, rational allocation of ICU beds, designing medical triage processes, etc. The Covid 19 pandemic essentially presented challenges like a supply chain model on a larger scale.
Policies were designed to help governments and the public to make informed decisions about how to respond to the virus. Simulation Modelling on Covid 19 vulnerability used AI to allocate testing and testing kit distribution.
Industrial Engineering helped in organizing relief resources and healthcare facilities, increasing testing ability and transparency of information. There were reforms around hospital systems, patient triage and admission control, capacity allocation in ICUs, locating ambulances and dispatching them
Policies were designed to manage the lockdown and quarantine policies. There was an urgent need for supply chain management of food and essential items. Hyperlocal distribution helped in the last mile delivery of groceries, food, medicines and essentials while maintaining the Covid safety protocol.?
Industrial Engineering had to be actively involved in the rescheduling of airline flights, call centre staffing to handle the stream of queries and airport screening facilities.
Since the beginning of 2021, there was the additional responsibility of organizing the nationwide vaccination drive, managing the online vaccination schedules, appointments and certificates, spreading awareness and getting as many people vaccinated as possible.
Over the past two years, business leaders have been coping with an uncertain and uneasy world that has been compelled to deal with too much change. They have done well to reorganize supply chains, set up remote workplaces and make tough decisions.
In the next few years, the role of Industrial Engineering will be critical as the world limps back to normal after the virus hopefully recedes completely. Industrial Engineering will need to adopt a bottom-up approach in tandem with the top-down efforts. They will have to consider hybrid workplaces that are a mix of physical workplaces and remote working. Businesses will adopt an omni-channel approach to meet customer expectations. Social media will play an important role in communication. New customer behaviors will become the norm and businesses will need to exceed customer expectations. Emerging technologies like AI, ML, Cloud, Edge Computing, Big Data and Internet of Things in combination with 5G will offer real-time actionable insights for businesses to work on and resolve. We are looking ahead at exciting times for Industrial Engineering Applications.