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Industrial engineering

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Industrial engineering is a branch of engineering that concerns the development, improvement, implementation and evaluation of integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information, equipment, energy, material and process. It also deals with designing new prototypes to help save money and make the prototype better. Industrial engineering draws upon the principles and methods of engineering analysis and synthesis, as well as mathematical, physical and social sciences together with the principles and methods of engineering analysis and design to specify, predict and evaluate the results to be obtained from such systems. In lean manufacturing systems, Industrial engineers work to eliminate wastes of time, money, materials, energy, and other resources.

Industrial engineering is also known as operations management, systems engineering, production engineering, manufacturing engineering or manufacturing systems engineering; a distinction that seems to depend on the viewpoint or motives of the user. Recruiters or educational establishments use the names to differentiate themselves from others. In healthcare, industrial engineers are more commonly known as management engineers, engineering management, or even health systems engineers.

Where as most engineering disciplines apply skills to very specific areas, industrial engineering is applied in virtually every industry. Examples of where industrial engineering might be used include shortening lines (or queues) at a theme park, streamlining an operating room, distributing products worldwide (also referred to as Supply Chain Management), and manufacturing cheaper and more reliable automobiles. Industrial engineers typically use computer simulation, especially discrete event simulation, for system analysis and evaluation.

The name "industrial engineer" can be misleading. While the term originally applied to manufacturing, it has grown to encompass services and other industries as well. Similar fields include Operations Research, Management Science, Financial Engineering, Supply Chain, Manufacturing Engineering, Engineering Management, Systems Engineering, Ergonomics, Process Engineering, Value Engineering and Quality Engineering.

There are a number of things industrial engineers do in their work to make processes more efficient, to make products more manufacturable and consistent in their quality, and to increase productivity.

Universities

US News and World Report's article on "America's Best Colleges 2008" listing schools offering Undergraduate engineering specialties: Industrial / Manufacturing whose highest degree is a doctorate are Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and Purdue University at West Lafayette, Indiana.[1]

History

Although industrial engineering courses had been taught by multiple universities in the late 1800s, the first department of industrial engineering was established in 1908 at the Lehigh Carbon Community College by Dan Seminara.

The first doctorate degree was awarded for industrial engineering in the 1930s by Cornell University.

Postgraduate curriculum

The postgraduate programmes in industrial engineering have long been held as probably the most diversified programme across industries. The usual postgraduate degree earned is the Master of Science in Industrial Engineering/Industrial Engineering & Management/Industrial Engineering & Operations Research. The typical MS in IE/IE&M/IE & OR curriculum includes :

  • Operations Research/Optimization Techniques
  • Operations Management
  • Supply Chain Mgmt & Logistics
  • Simulation & Stochastic Models
  • Manufacturing Systems
  • Engineering Economics
  • Corporate Planning
  • Human Factors Engineering/Ergonomics
  • Productivity Improvement
  • Production Planning and Control
  • Computer Aid Manufacturing
  • Material Management
  • Facilities Design and/or Work Space Design
  • Statistical process control|Statistical Process Control or Quality Control
  • Time and Motion Study

Undergraduate curriculum

In the United States, the usual undergraduate degree earned is the Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering (BSIE). The typical BSIE curriculum includes introductory chemistry and physics, mathematics through calculus and differential equations and also including probability and statistics, intermediate coursework in mechanical engineering, computer science, and sometimes electrical engineering, and specialized courses such as the following:

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "USNews.com: America's Best Colleges 2007: Industrial / Manufacturing". U.S. News & World Report. 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-27.

Further reading

  • Badiru, A. (Ed.) (2005). Handbook of industrial and systems engineering. CRC Press. ISBN-10: 0849327199
  • Blanchard, B. and Fabrycky, W. (2005). Systems Engineering and Analysis (4th Edition). Prentice-Hall. ISBN-10: 0131869779
  • Salvendy, G. (Ed.) (2001). Handbook of industrial engineering: Technology and operations management. Wiley-Interscience. ISBN-10: 0471330574
  • Turner, W. et al (1992). Introduction to industrial and systems engineering (Third edition). Prentice Hall. ISBN-10: 0134817893.
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