Methods engineering
It includes designing, creating and selecting the best manufacturing methods, processes, tools, equipment, and skills to manufacture a product. When the best method interacts with the best skills and efficient worker-machine relationship exists. Of course, when one method is established, then a standard time for the product can be determined.
Methods engineering definition
We can define methods engineering as the technique for increasing the production per unit of time or decreasing the cost per unit output. Alternatively, it can be viewed as the technique that looks for productivity improvement.
Method engineering implies the following during the history of a product:
- It is responsible for the design of the work center where the product will be produced;
- It is responsible for the continuous improvement of the work center with the purpose of find a better way to produce the product or improve its quality. This analysis is also called corporate reengineering.
- Methods engineering is in constant development because of the technological evolution. In this sense, the improvements in productivity are never ends. Research and development is therefore essential to methods engineering.
The procedure of methods engineering
Methods engineering use a systematic procedure that can be summarized in the following steps:
- Select the project
- Get and present the data
- Analyze de data
- Develop the ideal method
- Present and install the method
- Develop a job evaluation
- Establish time standards
- Follow up the method
What is the importance of productivity and how to improve it
Creating goods and services in different areas requires that certain
resources be transformed into these (raw materials, supplies, labor,
etc.). The more efficiently the mentioned transformation happens, the
more productive it will be.
In its most basic form, productivity can be understood as the
proportion of outputs (goods and services) among the inputs
(resources such as raw materials, inputs, labor, capital, etc.).
Improving productivity it is of vital importance for any company.
Improving the ratio of outputs and inputs (productivity) will be one
of the most important tasks (if not the most important) that
industrial engineering and in general the directors of operations or
production face in their daily work.
How to improve productivity?
Productivity improvement can be achieved in the following ways:
either by reducing the inputs while the outputs are kept constant, by
increasing the outputs while the inputs are kept constant, or by
increasing the outputs and reducing the inputs at the same time. This
implies an increase in productivity.
From the economic perspective, the inputs can be identified as land,
labor, capital and management. These inputs are combined in a
production system. Through management, the conversion of inputs into
outputs can be achieved. The better the management the greater the
productivity that can be achieved in a given production system.
The outputs resulting from a production process can be goods or
services of various kinds (for example computers, calculators, cell
phones, soft drinks, education, hotels, etc.). Production then can be
viewed as all the goods and services produced. The fact of having a
high production may originate from an increasing number of people
working (which can lead to an increase in employment levels), however
this situation does not necessarily imply that there is a high
productivity.
Measuring productivity is a good way to assess a country's ability to
provide and improve the living standards of its inhabitants. The
increase in productivity is closely linked with the improvement in
productive capacity and therefore, in a macro context, it can lead to
an improvement in the standard of living.
Without an increase in productivity, the increase in the benefits
generated by the factors of production (labor, capital, land,
technology, management) implies an increase in prices. Conversely,
when productivity increases, prices tend to decrease since more is
produced with the same amount of resources.
Productivity and industrial engineering
What
is productivity?
Applied
in an enterprise, a sector of economic activity or the economy as a
whole, productivity may be defined as an output and input relation.
The
term productivity can be used to asses or measure the extent to which
a certain output can be extracted from a given input. This may
appears simple enough in cases where both the output and the input
are tangible and can be easily measured; however, in cases where
intangibles are introduced measure of productivity can be more
difficult.
Calculation
of productivity
Productivity
can be calculated as follows:
Productivity
and industrial engineering in goods production
In
the case of goods production, the objective is the manufacturing to a
better cost, through the raw material, with productivity of the
primary resources of production: Materials, human resources and
machines. It's on these, where the action of industrial engineers
should address their efforts. Increasing productivity indexes and
reducing production costs, are fundamental tasks of an industrial
engineer.
Activities of industrial engineering
Most important activities of industrial engineering are:
- Development of time standards, costing and performance standards.
- Selection of processes and assembling methods.
- Selection and design of tools and equipment.
- Design of facilities including plant location, layout of building, machines and equipment, material handling system raw materials and finished goods storage facilities.
- Design and improvement of planning and control systems for production, inventory, quality and plant maintenance and distribution systems.
- Cost control systems.
- Development and installation of job evaluation systems.
- Installation of wage incentive schemes.
- Design and installation of value engineering and analysis system.
- Operation research.
- Mathematical and statistical analysis.
- Performance evaluation.
- Organization and methods.
- Supplier selection and evaluation.
About Industrial engineering
Nowadays economic scenario is marked by increasing competition in almost every sector of economy. The expectations of customers are on rise and manufacturers have to design and products in order to satisfy them. Thus, there is a challenge before the industries to manufacture goods of right quantity and quality and at the right time and at minimum cost for their survival and growth. This demands an increase in productive efficiency of organizations. Industrial engineering plays a vital role in increasing the productivity. Industrial engineering techniques are used to analyze and improve the work methods in order to eliminate waste and proper allocation and utilization of resources.
How can industrial engineering be defined?
Industrial engineering can be defined as a profession in which a knowledge of mathematical and natural sciences gained by study, experience and practice is applied with judgment to develop the ways to utilize economically the materials and other natural resources and forces of nature for the benefit of mankind.
The American Institute of Industrial Engineers define industrial engineering as:
Industrial engineering is concerned with the design, improvement and installation of integrated systems of men, material and equipment. It draws upon specialized knowledge and skills in the mathematical, physical 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.
The prime objective of industrial engineering is to increase the productivity by eliminating waste and non-value adding (unproductive) operations and improving the effective utilization of resources.
Industrial engineering functions
Industrial engineering plays an important role in any organization. Organizations are usually set up with selected industrial engineering functions best suited to their requirements. For example a company manufacturing standardized products may not have operation research functions whereas a manufacturer of precision instruments may heavily rely on quality control functions.
Traditionally, industrial engineering involves different functions, which support manufacturing and service operations in order to improve productivity, safety and workers welfare. These functions, as in the past, are otherwise neglected by many entrepreneurs who are only motivated by profit. Developed countries have long ago realized the physiological needs of their citizens as their life style has improved with the abundance of material resources. Further, with an increase in educated workers, the demand for improved working conditions and better treatment from the owners of enterprises increased. The owners adopted many of the industrial engineering functions to satisfy the employees demand while still maintaining profitability.
Industrial engineering functions can be grouped in different ways to suit an organization’s need. The major groupings, which provide a profile of its involvement, are:
- Methods engineering
- Work measurement
- Planning of facilities and handling of materials
- Statistical quality control
- Production planning and control
- Operations analysis and computer simulation
- Human resources
- Safety at work
- Equipment engineering
- Advanced concepts and strategies
Evolution of industrial engineering (Part III)
Gilbreth’s work continued in motions using motion pictures for studying tasks and workers. He developed micro motion study, a breakdown of work into fundamental elements called “therbligs” (baed on Gilbreth spelled backwards).
Taylor’s concept of work element was broad, and based on time study requirements like “get tool”. Whereas Gilbreth’s work was based on breaking down the elements further into basic individual therbligs, such as “reach for tool and pick up tool” instead of “get tool”.
There were many followers of Taylor and Gilbreth in the 1900s. They believed that Taylor’s work emphasized motion measurement whereas Gilbreth emphasized motion analysis. With time, it became clear that both approaches were necessary and were essentially interdependent. Ultimately what is important is the best of both of these efforts, namely, the right motions with the minimum of time. Thus evolved a term “Methods engineering” which is an important function of industrial engineering.
The concepts of time and motion studies developed by Taylor and Gilbreth are still the basis for industrial engineering. Even today, over fifty percent of industrial engineering activities are related to this concept.
Evolution of industrial engineering (Part II)
Frank Gilbreth, started working on motion studies soon after Taylor began his work. Gilbreth was a construction contractor, who noticed that the industry lacked standardization of methods. Gilbreth and his wife Lilian, devoted their lives to motion studies.
Gilbreth’s famous discovery took place when he was doing apprenticeship as a bricklayer; he observed that there were no two men, who could lay bricks the same way. Consequently, their quality and quantity of output varied. He improved the method of laying bricks by making a number of changes. He provided a platform whose height could be adjusted, so that bricklayer is always at the same height in relationship to the bricks laid. A shelf for bricks and mortar was built to save workers from bending down to pick up their material. He had bricks pre-stacked with the best side facing in the direction of the workers to avoid workers from having to turn the brick several times to find its best side just before laying.
These changes significantly reduced the number of motions in laying bricks, and resulted in higher production with lower fatigue for the workers. Lilian Gilbreth, Frank’s wife, joined him in his pursuit for promoting scientific management by conducting research and application work in studies of motion and methods.
Methods engineering and workplace design
Workplace design
Material usually flows through a facility, stopping briefly at stations where additional work is done on it to bring it closer to a finished product. These workstations, or workplaces, must be designed to permit performance of the required operations, to contain all the tooling and equipment needed to fit the capabilities and limitations of the people working at them, to be safe and to interface smoothly with neighboring workplaces.
Human engineering and ergonomic factors must be considered so that all work, tools, and machine activation devices are not only within the comfortable reach of the operator but are designed for safe and efficient operation. A workplace chart which analyzes the required actions of both hands is an aid in workplace design.
Methods engineering and Process analysis
Methods engineering definition
Methods engineering is concerned with the selection, development, and documentation of the methods by which work is to be done. It includes the analysis of input and output conditions, assisting in the choice of the processes to be used, operations and work flow analyses, workplace design, assisting in tool and equipment selection and specifications, ergonomic and human factors considerations, workplace layout, motion analysis and standardization, and the establishment of work time standards.
A primary concern of methods engineering is the integration of humans and equipment in the work processes and facilities.
What’s Process analysis?
Process analysis is that step in the conversion of raw materials to a finished product at which decisions are made regarding what methods, machines, tools, inspections and routings are best. In many cases, the product’s specifications can be altered slightly, without diminishing its function or quality level, so as to allow processing by a preferred method. For this reason, it is desirable to have the product’s designer and the process engineer work together before specifications are finalized.
What is the concept of Industrial Engineering
In order to maximize his earnings and enhance his living standards, man has always attempted to improve his processes, methods and tools in order to improve the productivity of his resources. That continued effort gave birth the joint of Industrial Engineering and Production Management.
About the concept of Industrial Engineering, some books and autors tell us that Industrial Engineering is concerned with the design, improvement and installation of integrated system of men, material and machines for the benefit of mankind. It draws upon specialized knowledge and skills in the mathematical and physical 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.
Methods Engineering and Work Simplification in Industrial Engineering
These reactions led to an increased interest in the work of the Gilbreths. Their efforts in methods analysis, which had previously been considered rather theoretical and impractical, became the foundation for the resurgence of industrial engineering in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1927, H. B. Maynard, G. J. Stegmerten, and S. M. Lowry wrote Time and Motion Study, emphasizing the importance of motion study and good methods. This eventually led to the term methods engineering as the descriptor of a technique emphasizing the “elimination of every unnecessary operation” prior to the determination of a time standard. In 1932, A. H. Mogenson published Common Sense Applied to Time and Motion Study, in which he stressed the concepts of motion study through an approach he chose to call work simplification. His thesis was simply that the people who know any job best are the workers doing that job. Therefore, if the workers are trained in the steps necessary to analyze and challenge the work they are doing, then they are also the ones most likely to implement improvements. His approach was to train key people in manufacturing plants at his Lake Placid Work Simplification Conferences so that they could in turn conduct similar training in their own plants for managers and workers. This concept of taking motion study training directly to the workers through the work simplification programs was a tremendous boon to the war production effort during World War II.
The first Ph.D. granted in the United States in the field of industrial engineering was also the result of research done in the area of motion study. It was awarded to Ralph M. Barnes by Cornell University in 1933 and was supervised by Dexter Kimball. Barnes’s thesis was rewritten and published as Motion and Time Study: the first full-length book devoted to this subject. The book also attempted to bridge the growing chasm between advocates of time study versus motion study by emphasizing the inseparability of these concepts as a basic principle of industrial engineering.
Another result of the reaction was a closer look at the behavioral aspects associated with the workplace and the human element. Even though the approach taken by Taylor and his followers failed to appreciate the psychological issues associated with worker motivation, their work served to catalyze the behavioral approach to management by systematically raising questions on authority, motivation, and training. The earliest writers in the field of industrial psychology acknowledged their debt to scientific management and framed their discussions in terms consistent with this system.
Industrial Engineering and the post–world war I era
By the end of World War I, scientific management had firmly taken hold. Large-scale, vertically integrated organizations making use of mass production techniques were the norm. Application of these principles resulted in spectacular increases in production. Unfortunately, however, because increases in production were easy to achieve, management interest was focused primarily on the implementation of standards and incentive plans, and little attention was paid to the importance of good methods in production. The reaction of workers and the public to unscrupulous management practices such as “rate cutting” and other speedup tactics, combined with concerns about dehumanizing aspects of the application of scientific management, eventually led to legislation limiting the use of time standards in government operations.
INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING- TIES TO THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION (Part two)
It is widely recognized that the occupational discipline that has contributed the most to the development of modern society is engineering, through its various segments of focus. Engineers design and build the infrastructure that sustains the society. This includes roads, residential and commercial buildings, bridges, canals, tunnels, communication systems, healthcare facilities, schools, habitats, transportation systems, and factories. The Industrial Engineering process of systems integration facilitates the success of these infrastructures. In this sense, the scope of Industrial and Systems Engineering spans all the levels of activity, task, job, project, program, process, system, enterprise, and society.
It is essential to recognize the alliance between industry and Industrial Engineering as the core basis for the profession. The profession has branched off on too many different tangents over the years. Hence, it has witnessed the emergence of Industrial Engineering professionals who claim sole allegiance to some narrow line of practice, focus, or specialization rather than the core profession itself. Industry is the original basis of Industrial Engineering and it should be preserved as the core focus. This should be supported by the different areas of specialization. While it is essential that we extend the scope of Industrial Engineering to other domains, it should be realized that over-divergence of practice will not sustain the profession. A fragmented profession cannot survive for long. The incorporation of systems can help to bind everything together.
INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING - TIES TO THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION (Part one)
Industrial engineering has a proud heritage with a link that can be traced back to the Industrial Revolution. Although the practice of Industrial Engineering has been in existence for centuries, the work of Frederick Taylor in the early 20th century was the first emergence of the profession. It has been referred to with different names and connotations. Scientific management was one of the original names used to describe what industrial engineers do.
Industry, the root of the profession’s name, clearly explains what the profession is about. The dictionary defines industry generally as the ability to produce and deliver goods and services. The industry in Industrial Engineering can be viewed as the application of skills and cleverness to achieve work objectives. This relates to how human effort is harnessed innovatively to carry out work. Thus, any activity can be defined as industry if it generates a product, be it service or physical product. A systems view of Industrial Engineering encompasses all the details and aspects necessary for applying skills and accuracy to produce work efficiently. Hence the academic curriculum of Industrial Engineering must change, evolve, and adapt to the changing systems environment of the profession.
WHAT IS INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING?
Industrial engineering can be described as the practical application of combination of engineering fields, together with the principles of scientific management. It is the engineering of work processes and the application of engineering methods, practices, and knowledge to production and service enterprises. Industrial engineering places a strong emphasis on an understanding of workers and their needs in order to increase and improve production and service activities. Industrial engineering activities and techniques include the following:
- Designing jobs (determining the most economic way to perform work).
- Setting performance standards and benchmarks for quality, quantity, and cost.
- Designing and installing facilities.
An important aspect of industrial engineering is its concern with the human element in industrial processes. The classical industrial engineering of the late 19th and early 20th centuries emphasized time studies, work sampling, methods engineering, costing methods, and employee incentives to make human interaction with industrial processes cost effective and reliable. Modern industrial engineering, in addition to the classical methods, deals with mathematical process modelling, management science methods, automation, and robotics. The use of advanced mathematical methods has become possible with the advent of computers.
Mathematical process modelling allows the consideration of all available information on a process and the prediction of outcomes for given inputs and process parameters. The work of industrial engineers is varied and ranges from practical aspects of data gathering and analysis to the use of advanced mathematical methods of process simulation and optimization, as firms seek to reduce costs and increase productivity. Industrial engineers are in demand in all industries, ranging from manufacturing to service enterprises.
ABOUT INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING
Industrial engineering (IE) is all about choices - it is the engineering discipline that offers the most wide- ranging array of opportunities in terms of employment, and it is distinguished by its flexibility. While other engineering disciplines tend to apply skills to very specific areas, Industrial Engineers may be found working everywhere: from traditional manufacturing companies to airlines, from distribution companies to financial institutions, from major medical establishments to consulting companies, from high-tech corporations to companies in the food industry.
Industrial Engineering is the only engineering discipline with close links to management - many Industrial Engineers (IE's) move on to successful careers in management. Also, if you think that one day you will start and run your own company, an Industrial Engineering program will provide you with the best training for this - regardless of what the company will actually do!
So what do Industrial Engineers do?
In very simple terms, while engineers typically make things, IE's figure out how to make or do things better. This is what gives IE's so much flexibility - as you can imagine, everyone would like to do things better! IE's are primarily concerned with two closely related issues: productivity and quality. They address these two issues by looking at integrated systems of machines, human beings, information, computers and other resources. A variety of skills and techniques are used to design and operate such systems in the most productive way possible, while continuously improving them and maintaining the highest levels of quality. IE's make significant contributions to their employers by making money for them while, at the same time, making the workplace better for fellow workers.
¿WHAT’S DE MEANING OF INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING?
Industrial engineering is also 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 or 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, Overall Equipment Effectiveness, 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.
¿WHAT IS INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING? (Part II)
The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology defines industrial engineering as: the profession in which a knowledge of the mathematical and natural sciences gained by study, experience and practice is applied with judgment to develop ways to utilize economically, the materials and forces of nature for the benefit of mankind concerned with the design, improvement and installation of integrated systems of people, materials, equipment and energy. It draws upon specialized knowledge and skill in the 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.
¿WHAT IS INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING? (Part I)
The American Institute of Industrial Engineers (AIIE) defines industrial engineering as concerned with the design, improvement and installation of integrated systems of people, materials, equipment and energy. It draws upon specialized knowledge and skill in the 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.
