Industrial Engineering and Lean knowledge

Industrial Engineering is a field of study very popular in US since it was created there. In Malaysia it is not a popular field of study as compared to Indonesia where there are hundreds of universities/colleges offering the program at undergraduate until doctorate level. In Malaysia, the field is probably picked up later at postgraduate levels, in various names such as Engineering Management, Technology Management and Engineering Business Management. The various disciplines in IE actually cut across many fields including computing, management, and some engineering degrees. Operations research, Industrial Simulation, Quality Engineering, Lean Manufacturing, Supply Chain Management, used to be part of any IE programmes and have been included into other disciplines as well. Method Study has been renamed as Standardised Work as part of Lean Manufacturing. Ergonomics (or HUman Factors Engineering) can also be found in other siciplines including computer Science and Aeronautical Engineering. The diversification and the expansion of IE has also expanded in other industries; healthcare, banking, and others. One trained in IE will be able to immediately pick up those tools , techniques, or methods which was derived in the IE domain. And especially today, the rapid advancement of digitalization, and the advent of Industry 4.0 will surely change this field. Are we missing some of the knowledge that were previously important for maintaining our survival?