A paper by senior undergraduate students from the Industrial and Systems Engineering Department at Khalifa University has won first place in the American Society for Quality (ASQ) Europe, Middle East, And Africa Region (EMEA) Students Competition 2020! 

The ASQ EMEA Students Competition ˛ÝÝ®ĘÓƵ the region’s undergraduate and graduate students’ efforts and contribution to improve local service quality, which in return improves quality of life for all.

A total of five teams made it to the final rounds. The KU team was represented by Maha Al Dhaheri, Mariam Ramadan, Afra Al Mheiri, and Maryam Al Shehhi, and was supervised by Dr. Mecit Can Emre Simsekler, Assistant Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering, and Dr. Saed Amer, Assistant Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering.

Their paper, titled “Reducing Patient Discharge Time using Applied Statistical Techniques,” summarized their senior design project, which leveraged quality tools and methods to improve the patient discharge process for an inpatient clinic of a local hospital in Abu Dhabi.

“We leveraged each team member’s unique and diverse strengths, knowledge and skills to develop our project,” explained team member Mariam Ramadan. “Winning this competition has blessed us with an opportunity to raise Khalifa University’s name on an international level. We were also able to showcase the ISYE department’s talents and capabilities. This achievement fueled us to keep moving forward and achieve more. Moreover, witnessing our diligence and hard work’s recognition on a global scale is truly rewarding and heart-warming.”

The competition is meant to highlight the region’s undergraduate and graduate students’ efforts and contributions to improve local service quality. The final round of Jury presentations of the ASQ EMEA student competition took place virtually on Thursday, 15 October 2020. Finalist teams showcased well-planned and executed projects in different fields, including healthcare, education, transport and utilities among others. 

The ASQ is a global organization with members in more than 130 countries. The ASQ brings together the people, ideas and tools that make the world work better. The ASQ EMEA Region Center represents the Europe, Middle East and Africa to empower people, communities, and organizations of the region to achieve excellence through quality.

On the importance of participating in international competitions like this one, Mariam said: “The competition was a great experience. We had the privilege of sharing our project with people from different countries and acquiring different expertise. The competition opened our eyes to the importance of quality in a wide range of sectors. It taught us to believe in our ourselves and our work’s worth.”

Erica Solomon
Senior Publication Specialist
3 November 2020

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Research Projects Part of Initiatives by the Center for Digital Supply Chain and Operations Management

Two undergraduate student teams from the Industrial Systems Engineering (ISYE) department at Khalifa University have successfully completed process improvement projects at two organizations in Abu Dhabi.

The Khalifa University students undertook these initiatives at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi (CCAD) and Capital Health Screening Center (CHSC) as part of their senior design projects (SDP). Students Mariam AlShamsi, Ameera Ali Bawazir (MATH), Mohammad Ballaith, and Mohammad Alalami worked at CHSC, while Alanod Alajami, Fatima Alseiari, Khadija Jumaa, and Mariam Al Abboodi worked at the CCAD warehouse. The two organizations welcomed the students and offered them an opportunity to understand their extensive operations.

Undergraduate students Mariam AlShamsi, Ameera Ali Bawazir, Mohammad Ballaith, and Mohammad Alalami completed a process improvement project at Capital Health Screening Center.

Undergraduate students Alanod Alajami, Fatima Alseiari, Khadija Jumaa, and Mariam Al Abboodi completed a process improvement project at the CCAD warehouse.

The projects were part of the initiatives by the Center for Digital Supply Chain and Operations Management (DSOM) affiliated faculty, focusing on high-quality, impactful research and education in digital supply chain and efficient engineering operations.

Dr Arif Sultan Al Hammadi, Executive Vice-President, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, said: “Khalifa University’s contribution to facilitating process improvements at two organizations in Abu Dhabi strongly reflects not only the faculty expertise at the university but also our students’ commitment to apply the knowledge acquired in real-world circumstances. Digital supply chain remains a key component of Industry 4.0, and only a smart, better-connected, and highly efficient supply chain ecosystem will drive future economic growth. We believe the DSO’s process improvement projects by our students signify the right initiative in further expanding digitization across all areas, benefitting business operations locally and regionally.”

Following the students’ project, the CHSC was able to reduce (reduced) the average waiting times from 13.9 minutes to just 4.7 minutes during the hours of 7am to 9am. From 9am until 12 noon, the waiting time was reduced 12 minutes from the previous 26.7 minutes. Similarly, the CCAD has agreed to incorporate measures that will help the warehouse run smoother, following the students’ project.

Process improvement is vital for industrial engineers, and students are asked to take a systems approach for the SDP project. The students use optimization and simulation tools based on the data they collect before proposing suitable solutions to the challenge.

The Acting CEO of CHSC, Haitham Al Subaihi, awarded certificates to the ISYE SDP team while Abdalla Al Mulla, representing the process improvement office of CCAD acknowledged the ISYE SDP team.

The DSO is aligned with UAE’s Vision 2021 National Priorities and Agenda, which call for transforming the UAE’s oil-based economy into a knowledge-based economy. The DSO’s focus areas will include digital supply chain’s associated analytics and knowledge generation and management, in addition to creating a new stream of research in the field of robust, digital operations management.

Clarence Michael
News Writer
28 July 2019

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