Master of Industrial engineering student

Brief: NUST Student Research Symposium participant

Tell us about yourself (i.e. what you are studying, year of study etc). I am Hilma Isack, a final year Master of Industrial engineering student.

You participated in the NUST Student Research Symposium held on 21 October 2016. Please tell us about your research and why it was important to conduct the research? My research is titled " The application of lean principles to improve turnaround time in Namibian medical laboratory industry." Lean principles are defined as an approach to a process improvement that focuses on the reduction and elimination of waste, variation, and imbalances in the process to pursue perfection through continuous improvement. My research aimed at finding out whether these principles are adopted in Namibian medical laboratories, the impacts of lean principles in our medical laboratories and to provide the most effective implementation strategies of lean principles for laboratories to achieve their goals. It is important to conduct research because it is the only way to prove or disprove a hypothesis, to learn new facts about something, to advance our knowledge, to gain a better understanding of something and to provide a solution to a problem.

What is the relevance of your research to national development? Namibian medical laboratory industry is the back bone of our health system. It helps with the screening of clinical specimens to obtain information about patient health pertaining to the diagnosis, treatment and disease prevention. Therefore, if the health system is efficient and of high quality, the national healthcare will improve and the mortality rate could be reduced. A healthy nation can contribute to the development of our nation.

Any last remarks to students on research? You are future researchers, so take this opportunity to grab all the necessary skills, because you will need it in future.

Success quote! "The starting point of all achievement is desire" Napoleon Hill