Real world solutions

Delivering the same high quality of service in half the space normally available would test any organization to the limit. When it is a children's hospital operating room (OR), the situation is critical.

The IWK Health Centre will be renovating half of its OR space, while maintaining the same level of service and patient load. 

Peter VanBerkel, E.I.T., BEng'04 (Ind), a quality resources engineer at the IWK, knew where to go for help.  "When this situation came across my desk I knew it would be perfect for a Project in Industry," he said.

Through Project in Industry, industrial engineering students look for innovative solutions to difficult problems in a broad range of areas such as productivity, quality, health safety and office or factory layout.

Students Andrea Cameron and Sean Sangster worked as a team, with VanBerkel and associate professor John Blake who served as faculty advisor. The problem solving, however, was the sole responsibility of the students.

As the IWK solution involved reorganizing the OR processes and inventory, the students enlisted hospital staff at every level. Buy-in was critical, from the custodial and purchasing staff to the nurses and doctors.

A new approach

The technique used by the students was a Japanese system known as 5S: sort, straighten, shine, standardize and sustain. Shelving and floor space were measured and allocated. Before an item could be returned it had to undergo scrutiny from the team.

The result was a drastic reduction in space requirements, with many items stored on mobile carts. When one OR will be shut down, much of the inventory can be easily moved. "The employees were highly complimentary, so we didn't have to sell or force our ideas," says Cameron.

When she and Sangster made their formal presentation at the IWK, the staff was highly complimentary. All agreed with Mary-Ann Hiltz, executive director of quality and decision support services: "You definitely get an A+ in customer satisfaction."

Where will they go from here? Sangster and Cameron both plan to pursue a Master's of Applied Science at Dal. Sangster will remain in the health industry, while Cameron will go into manufacturing.

The Project in Industry Program is always seeking more industry partners. For further information, contact program co-coordinator Corinne MacDonald, P.Eng, PhD'06 (Dal), at 902.494.3279. Also, visit the website.