Industrial engineering
Firms have now to face continual changes, due to the pressure of competition. Industrial engineering is the studying and the management of those changes. It involve multidiciplinary in the areas of engineering, economics and social sciences, to be able to have a general vision of the phenomenons and the parameters involved. The industrial engineer is although called logistics engineer, purchasing engineer, manufacturing engineer, quality engineer...
Here is the definition from the American Institute of Industrial Engineers :
"Industrial Engineering is concerned with the design, improvement, and installation of integrated systems of people, material, equipment, and energy. It draws upon specialized knowledge and skills in the mathematical, physical and social sciences together with the principles and method of engineering analysis and design to specify, predict, and evaluate the results to be obtained from such systems."
DEFINITION OF INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING
Industrial Engineers integrate people, technology, and information to enhance a globally
competing enterprise
This definition of Industrial Engineering has been recently developed to more accurately reflect the
new global economy.
Integration
refers to the ability to understand the need for looking at broader system and scope
and not focus on individual problems. Most engineering disciplines fail to do this.
Globally
competitive enterprise: Whether we like it or not one has to look at it. Foreign countries,
many with lower labor costs, can manufacture many things at much lower cost than we can in USA. Shoes
and clothing are few examples. One must consider all problems in a global context.
Where They Work?
Most in Manufacturing:
Type of work/Title can be of wide variety. Few examples:
Plant Engineer
Manufacturing Engineer
Quality Engineer
Process Engineer
Methods Improvement and many more
Others may work for:
Hospitals
Banks
Transportation/Logistics
United Parcel Service
Post Office
Insurance Companies
Most industrial and manufacturing engineers cannot differentiate between the two. Manufacturing
engineers invariably work in manufacturing environment. On the other hand, industrial may work for both
manufacturing as well as service environments. For example, such engineers working in a hospital or UPS
will be called industrial engineers (and not manufacturing engineers). The academic training required for
both, in general, is very similar
How can they work on a wide variety of jobs?
Focus is on improving production systems (manufacturing, hospitals, airlines etc.)
Analysis of all production systems require similar training, tools, and knowledge. All production
systems must perform at highest possible efficiency, best quality and with least cost especially in a
globally competitive enterprise.
Many IE and Manufacturing programs teach different aspects of a production system:
Many classes relate to following topics:
Quality Control
Manufacturing Processes
Plant Layout/Material Handling
Engineering Economy/Cost Estimating
Time Studies/ Labor Cost
Human Factors/ Safety
Simulation/ Statistics
And many others........................
Few examples of work they might do:
Make or buy a needed component
Should this part be welded or brazed?
Reduction of % of defective parts
Schedule of patients in an operating room
Where is the bottleneck and how to remove it?
Automated or manual packaging
Acceptable load for a warehouse operator
How many airline counters?
08-12-2005, 11:32 PM
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