STUDENTS from the Technological Institute of the Philippines emerged victorious in the 2nd Asia Pacific Conference organized by the IEOM Society International.

Engr. Janina Elyse Reyes, along with her students Sheeno Dasmariñas, John Margel Otalla, and Kimberly Joy Perea, bagged the first place for their research entitled ‘Ergonomic Assessment on the Mental Load of Work from Home Employees’.

The paper validated an earlier assumption and recommended a specific timeline similar to the pre-WFH arrangement to set boundaries and avoid ‘Zoom fatigue’ especially for education, IT/BPO, and financial industries.

Mentored by Reyes, the group of students composed of Conducted by Larianne Cruzado, Mary Antonette Faminiano, Unique Kate Guna, Maria Ziziana Llegos, Kyla Mendoza, and Jolly Ann Villaflores won second place for their study on ‘Process Improvement of Covid19 Vaccination System by Utilizing Queuing Theory and Pro Model Simulator on Vaccination Facilities in Metro Manila’.

Villaflores said they were able to reduce the average vaccination time per person from more than two hours to just 85 minutes and 12 seconds.

“We streamlined processes like registration and screening so people would have less waiting time and less exposure to the virus, providing a safe facility, and equitable access to vaccines,” she said.

For their research on ‘Application of Proper Manual Material Handling Techniques, Six Sigma Target Equation, and NIOSH Lifting Equation for the Improvement of the Level of Safety of Workers of AMG Rice Dealer’, Gavin Frederick Bautista, Nellaine Delos Santos, and Edmar Garcia also finished second place.

The study focuses on ergonomic hazards of manual labor, Baustista’s group said.

The group said anything that involves heavy lifting, one should take it one load at a time on their shoulders (and not on their heads as some would do) to prevent injury and muscular-skeletal disorders.

Investing in gloves, shoulder padding, and other equipment was further advised, the group added.

Meanwhile, a bakelite cleaner device created by  Val Ryan Aguilar, Racquel Tadina, and Eugene Tamba landed third place in the senior design project competition.

Made from scrap materials, the device automatically polishes the insulating material attached to kitchen wares called bakelite – ultimately reducing bottlenecks in the production line.

“We’re gearing our students to be research/design-oriented by making it part of their academic achievement to present their papers in local and international research,” Dr. Maria Teresa Mendoza, TIP Manila IE Chair, said.

“The automatic bakelite cleaner was actually Tamba’s OJT project at Marilao Alerco Industrial Corporation,” she added.

IEOM is a global non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of industrial engineering and operations management amongst countries.