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.

Productivity, types of productivity, productivity index, total productivity

Whats is productivity?

Productivity is the ratio of output to some or all of the resources used to produce the output.

Types of productivity

We can mention the following types of partial productivities:

• Labor productivity: units produced / hours worked
• Capital productivity: output / capital input
• Material productivity: output /material input

What is the productivity index?

We can calculate a type of partial productivity as labor productivity as output per man hours for a complete year. These figures obtained from year to year can be indexed and can be related to a base year so that output per man our comparisons can be made.

Definition of total productivity

It is the ratio of tangible output and tangible input.

Differences among partial productivity, total factor productivity and total productivity

Men, materials, machines, methods, money, energy, etc. are inputs.

• Partial productivity: output / one class of input
• Total factor productivity: net output / (labor + capital)
• Total productivity : sum of all tangible outputs / sum of all tangible inputs

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

About industrial engineer job

What can we say about an industrial engineering job?

An industrial engineer’s job is to find the best combination of people, tools, materials, parts, information and power to provide products or services efficiently. In contrast to other engineering specialties such as civil engineering or mechanical engineering, industrial engineering track isn’t restricted to one industry or type of work. It may be industrial in the sense of working in a traditional manufacturing, mining or transportation environment. Or it can lead to work for a financial services firm, a government agency or a magazine publisher.

Industrial engineers research, analyze, model and test whole systems. They’re efficiency experts; safety engineers; ergonomics engineers; environmental health engineers; and in many cases, managers, principals or business owners. Al most any organization that you can name has a need for someone who understands what all the factors affecting its mission are, how they’re related, and what can be done to make it all work better. That’s what industrial engineering does – it makes a system, a process or an organization work better.

• Doctors make people well
• Electrical engineers work with electricity
• Teachers teach
• Civil engineers build roads and bridges
• Firemen put out fires

Here's the best suggestion Institute of Industrial Engineers has heard:

People always ask "What is Industrial Engineering?" And to that question there is no real reply, we are found everywhere, doing everything. Industrial Engineering is about "process engineering" rather than "product engineering" which gives up a difficult job description. The best answer is the simplest one... Industrial Engineers make systems productive.

So what do industrial engineers do to increase productivity and assure quality?
An Industrial Engineer can perform several activities to fulfill its task:
Processes and Procedures of manufacturing or service activities can be examined through Process Analysis.

They can Use Work Study comprehending Method Study and Time Study. Method Study is the Study of How a job is performed examining and recording the activities, operators, equipment and materials involved in the process. Time Study records and rates the times of jobs being performed. The mentioned activities are also called operations Management. Furthermore can Industrial Engineering involve inventory management to make a manufacturing process more feasible and efficient. Industrial Engineers are also involved in design activities for Products, Equipment, Plants and Workstations. Here ergonomics and motion economy play a role. Last but not least is the Industrial Engineer playing an important role in developing Quality Management Systems (as they i.e. should comply with the ISO 9000 Standards). Here they often have job titles like Quality Engineer or Quality Manager.

Industrial engineers (IEs) figure out how to do things better, drawing upon specialised knowledge and skills in the mathematical and physical sciences, engineering sciences, humanities and the social sciences to analyse, design, improve, control and evaluate production systems.

Some benefits that can be directly linked to the work of industrial engineers include;

• More efficient and more profitable business practices while increasing customer service and quality,
• Good organization,
• Increased ability to do more with less,
• Making work safer, faster, easier, and more rewarding,
• Reducing the costs associated with new technologies,
• Showing ways to improve the working environments.