Edu-leaders

The Foundation Day of Indian Institute of Industrial Engineering (IIIE) was observed at the campus of Delhi Technological University (DTU), by the on-campus B-School of the University Delhi School of Management (DSM), on January 27, 2010. The chief guest for the occasion was Professor P. B. Sharma, vice chancellor, DTU.

The theme for the Foundation Day was "Industrial Engineering for Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prosperity." Eminent speakers included K. N. Rattan, former executive director, Shriram Pistons & Rings Ltd and David Wittenberg, CEO, The Innovation Workgroup. Professor S. K. Garg, head of DSM, gave a brief outline on the field of Industrial Engineering and emphasised that IIIE deals with all the entities of value chain of all the sectors and functional areas and now it has a focus on knowledge management and technology management.

R. Sampat from IIIE Delhi Chapter gave an overview of the various activities and achievements of IIIE during the last year. In his address, Professor Sharma discussed the changing role of industrial engineering. "Earlier industrial engineering was more concerned with method study and incentive schemes whereas now, it is more concerned with improving the competitiveness of the organisation through tools, techniques and philosophies like Total Quality Management, Lean Manufacturing, Business Process Re-engineering, Six-Sigma, Knowledge Management, and Management of Information System", he said. DTU lays high emphasis on innovation for which it has received international acclaim as well.

Speaking on the occasion, Rattan remarked, "To be a good manager, one should first of all be a good man." Wittenberg shared several case studies on innovations in industrial engineering during his presentation. According to him, "Innovation means combining existing elements in new ways for creating additional value for customers. Rather than working out on optimisation, organisations should look for innovative solutions. World-class innovations must involve people." Wittenberg also spoke about the wrong attitude of people, which hampers the growth of any organisation. "I am not creative, this is not my job, it's not what our company does, my boss will not let me do, everybody criticizes new ideas, I don't like to be the centre of attention, its too risky, I don't have the right qualification etc.- are wrong ways of thinking and impede growth and innovation in any organisation," he added.

The IIIE was founded in 1957 as a non-profit organisation and a registered Society for propagating the profession of Industrial Engineering in India. It is dedicated to the advancement of Industrial Engineering education and practice and to the application of such scientific knowledge for development of industry and society.