The 7th Forum for Council of Industrial Engineering and Logistics Management Department Heads (CIEDH2016) and the 5th Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers Asian Conference (IISEAsia 2016) were held in the University of Hong Kong Faculty of Engineering, as attended by Industrial Engineers and Logistics Management Department heads around the globe.

Ir. Dr Aaron TONG, as the guest speaker, shared with the audience including Ir. Prof. Daniel M. CHENG, Chairman of Federation of Hong Kong Industries, and the Area Dean of Harvard University, his insight in his speech on “Process and Innovation: How to Integrate”.

The Management Concepts of Industrial Process Management have undergone several revolutionary transformations throughout the centuries. From “Division of Labour” by Adam Smith, author of “An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations”, to Dr Deming’s reinterpretation of the positive relationship between Quality and Productivity, to Business Process Reengineering, the effectiveness of which was illustrated by TQM’s successful reduction of over 60% of labour content and workspace in a Toy Supplier through its application.

As in the case where Apple’s innovative 2-year single perfect product R&D approach has surpassed Motorola’s 1.5-year test-in-market multiple products R&D approach and hence gaining her the throne of the telecommunication industry leader, innovation has been playing an increasingly significant role in such transformations. As far as innovation is concerned, in contrast to the common belief, the 4th Industrial Revolution will no longer be on the pursuit of mere productivity, but more about that of the Just-in-time production and the balance of work and life.