TWO teams of Industrial Engineering students from the Technological Institute of the Philippines in Quezon City bagged 1st and 3rd places in the Undergraduate Research Competition category of the 5th North American Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management.

The research entitled “Pandemic Response Based Healthcare Services System Architecture among Urbanized Communities in the Philippines,” which was authored by 5th year IE students Jesraah Nadine Sedavia, Lance Paolo Sacdalan, Christian James Madrid, Zaira Angelica Bali-day, and Jerick Timbang was adjudged the best.

The team said that the research “focuses on innovating the current telemedicine application to help residents for easy access to proper medication and consultation with doctors regarding their physical health amidst Covid19 pandemic through the system architecture, house of quality, and multiple regression analysis.”

The other winning research was entitled “Quay Crane Scheduling Based Problem: A Process Optimization for an International Container Terminal in the Philippines,” which was authored by another group of 5th year IE students —Vincent Salosagcol, Princess Faith Fernandez, Mark Angelo Martinez, and Martin Rafael Valencia.

“The research aims to optimize the berth scheduling of quay crane service and waiting times by the application of integer programming and queueing theory in identifying the actual waiting time and service time of an international container terminal in the Philippines,” the group said.

Industrial Engineering Program Chairperson Arianne Palisoc and faculty member Engr. Yoshiki Kurata guided the students in making their research and in the presentation of their work.

“Due to the pandemic, the teams had limited time and resources but with their grit and determi-nation, they were able to accomplish their research,” Palisoc said.

“At first, we were hesitant that our research paper would be picked after all the difficulties we en-countered while we were doing it, especially amidst a pandemic. But with teamwork, persever-ance, and encouragement from the Industrial Engineering Department, we were able to strive through,” Jesraah Nadine Sedavia said.

Palisoc said that the experience allowed the students to extend their academic interests, moti-vate enthusiasm for learning, and expand their vision as future Industrial Engineers.