INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING – WORKING CONDITIONS
Industrial engineers spend part of their time in factories, observing operations and trying to spot problems. At times, they must travel to construction sites, laboratories, industrial plants, transportation facilities, warehouses, and other places that are part of their company's total operations. Most of their time is spent in offices, where they monitor or direct operations, identifying and solving problems and working to improve efficiency. Many engineers work a standard forty-hour week. At times, deadlines or design standards may bring extra pressure to a job, requiring longer hours.
EARNINGS AND BENEFITS
Earnings for engineers vary significantly by specialty. Even so, as a group engineers earn some of the highest average starting salaries among those holding bachelor's degrees. Petroleum and nuclear engineers earn the highest median wage, while agricultural engineers earn the lowest. Beginning industrial engineers with bachelor's degrees earn a median annual salary of $49,567 in private industry. Those with master's degrees earn about $56,561 a year. The median annual income for all industrial engineers is $65,020. Benefits include paid holidays and vacations, health insurance, and pension plans.
INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING - GETTING THE JOB
The placement offices in universities or engineering schools can provide information about getting a job as an industrial engineer. Professional and trade publications as well as newspaper want ads and Internet job sites often list job openings. Applicants may apply directly to manufacturing companies that are likely to need industrial engineers.
ADVANCEMENT POSSIBILITIES AND EMPLOYMENT OUTLOOK
Advancement usually depends on education and experience. Industrial engineers are often promoted to jobs as managers and executives. Others advance by improving their skills and becoming experts in one industry or in one phase of industrial engineering. Some start their own engineering consulting firms or manufacturing companies.
The field of industrial engineering is expected to grow about as fast as the national average for all occupations through 2014. The job outlook is good. As firms seek to reduce costs and increase productivity, they are anticipated to turn increasingly to industrial engineers to develop more efficient processes to reduce costs, delays, and waste. Because their work is similar to that done in management occupations, many industrial engineers leave the occupation to become managers. Many job openings are expected to be created by the need to replace the industrial engineers who transfer to other occupations or leave the labor force.
INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING EDUCATION AND TRAINING REQUIREMENTS A bachelor's degree in industrial engineering is required for almost all entry-level industrial engineering jobs. College graduates with degrees in a physical science or mathematics may occasionally qualify for some engineering jobs, especially in specialties in high demand.
Most engineering programs involve a concentration of study in an engineering specialty, along with courses in both mathematics and science. Many programs also include courses in general engineering. A design course, often accompanied by a computer or laboratory class, is part of the curriculum of most programs.
HOW SHOULD BE AN INDUSTRIAL ENGINEER? Industrial engineers must be good at solving problems. They must combine their technical knowledge with a sense of human capabilities and limitations. They should be able to organize many details into a broad view of the total operations and organization of a company. Although much of their work is done independently, industrial engineers must also be able to cooperate with other engineers, technicians, and managers. They must be able to talk with production workers and be willing to understand their concerns. Since they may present their plans in the form of written reports or oral presentations, industrial engineers must have good communication skills.
INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING DEFINITION
Industrial engineers determine the most effective ways to use the basic factors of production—people, machines, materials, information, and energy—to make a product.
They are primarily concerned with increasing productivity through the management of people, methods of business organization, and technology. To solve organizational, production, and related problems efficiently, industrial engineers carefully study the product requirements, use mathematical methods to meet those requirements, and design manufacturing and information systems. They develop management control systems to aid in financial planning and cost analysis, and design production planning and control systems to coordinate activities and ensure product quality. They also design or improve systems for the physical distribution of goods and services, as well as determining the most efficient plant locations. Industrial engineers develop wage and salary administration systems and job evaluation programs. Many industrial engineers move into management positions because the work is closely related to the work of managers.
WHAT INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERS DO? 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.
DEFINITION OF INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING - THE WORK OF AN INDUSTRIAL ENGINEER The field of engineering is subdivided in several major disciplines like mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, civil engineering, electronical engineering, chemical engineering, metallurgical engineering, and also industrial engineering. Certainly this discipline can also be subdivided further. Industrial Engineering integrates knowledge and skills from several fields of science: From the Technical Sciences, Economic Sciences as well as Human Science - all these can also be supported with skills in Information Sciences.
The Industrial Engineer comprehends knowledge in those sciences in order to increase the productivity of processes, achieve quality products and assures Labour safety.
