Industrial engineering

Industrial engineering is also known as operations management, management science, systems engineering, or manufacturing 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, for example, industrial engineers are more commonly known as management engineers or health systems engineers.

One of the central principles in industrial engineering is the "system" concept. A system is any organization or business process in which people, materials, information, equipment, processes or energy interact in an integrated fashion. This high-level view of business operations enables industrial engineers to manage various industries. Therefore, industrial engineers apply their skills across a diverse set of sectors such as financial, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, logistics, aviation and education.

The term "industrial" in industrial engineering can be misleading. While the term originally applied to manufacturing, it has grown to encompass virtually all other industries and services as well. The various topics of concern to industrial engineers include management science, financial engineering, engineering management, supply chain management, process engineering, operations research, systems engineering, ergonomics, value engineering and quality engineering.

Whereas most engineering disciplines apply skills to very specific areas, industrial engineering is applied in virtually every industry (hence the term "industrial"). Examples of where industrial engineering might be used include designing a new loan system for a bank, streamlining operation and emergency rooms in a hospital, distributing products worldwide (referred to as Supply Chain Management), manufacturing cheaper and more reliable automobiles, and shortening lines (or queues) at a bank, hospital, or a theme park. Industrial engineers typically use computer simulation, especially discrete event simulation, for system analysis and evaluation.

Universities

US News and World Report's article on "America's Best Colleges 2009" lists schools offering Undergraduate engineering specialties in Industrial or Manufacturing whose highest degree is a doctorate as Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Michigan, Purdue University, Pennsylvania State University University Park, University of California at Berkeley, Stanford University, Virginia Tech, Texas A&M University, Lehigh University, Northwestern University,University of Arkansas, University of Florida, The Ohio State University, Texas Tech University, University of Houston and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.^[1]

History

Industrial engineering courses had been taught by multiple universities in the late 1800s along Europe, especially in very developed countries such as Germany, France and United Kingdom, but also in Spain in the Technical University of Madrid^[2]. In the United States, the first department of industrial engineering was established in 1909 at the Pennsylvania State University by Hugo Diemer.

In India, the first Dept. of Industrial Engineering and Management was established in National Institute of Industrial Engineering, Mumbai

The first doctoral degree in industrial engineering was awarded 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
Engineering economics
Supply chain management & Logistics
Systems Simulation & Stochastic systems
Manufacturing systems/Manufacturing engineering
Human factors engineering & Ergonomics
Production planning and control
Computer aided manufacturing
Facilities design & Work space design
Statistical process control or Quality control
Time and motion study
Operations management
Corporate planning
Productivity improvement
Materials management

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, physics, economics, mathematics, statistics, properties of materials, intermediate coursework in mechanical engineering, computer science, sometimes electrical engineering, and specialized courses such as the following:

Operations research & Optimization techniques
Engineering economics
Supply chain management & Logistics
Systems Simulation, & Stochastic systems
System Dynamics & Policy Planning
System Analysis & Techniques
Manufacturing systems/Manufacturing engineering
Human factors engineering & Ergonomics
Production planning and control
Computer aided manufacturing
Facilities design & Work space design
Statistical process control or Quality control
Time and motion study
Discrete event simulation
Linear programming
Non-linear programming
Queuing theory
Probability
Organizational behavior
Statistics
Combinatorial mathematics
Engineering management/administration
Packaging engineering

Salaries and workforce statistics

The total number of engineers employed in the U.S. in 2006 was roughly 1.5 million. Of these, 201,000 were industrial engineers (13.3%), the third most popular engineering specialty. The average starting salaries being $55,067 with a bachelor's degree, $64,759 with a master's degree, and $77,364 with a doctorate degree. This places industrial engineering at 7th of 15 among engineering bachelors degrees, 3rd of 10 among masters degrees, and 2nd of 7 among doctorate degrees in average annual salary.^[3] The median annual income of industrial engineers in the U.S. workforce is $68,620.

Typically, within a few years after graduation, industrial engineers move to management positions because their work is closely related to management.

References

^ "America's Best Colleges 2009: Industrial / Manufacturing". U.S. News & World Report. USNews.com. 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
^ http://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=62202
^ U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Engineering - http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos027.htm#earnings - Accessed 14 January 2009