Industrial Engineering and Productivity

Industrial Engineering is concerned with the design, improvement and installation of integrated systems of men, materials 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 a system. Industrial engineering is an engineering profession that is concerned with the optimization of complex processes, systems, or organizations.

Industrial engineering is central to manufacturing operations. Industrial engineers design, create, test and assess various ways of managing industrial production processes. Their main goal is to discover new ways of making these processes more efficient ad they do that by implementing systems that integrate all production components of a product or a service, like workers, machinery, raw materials, energy and information.

Industrial engineers need a diverse skill set, including a unique combination of theoretical and practical knowledge, to improve efficiency in production processes. For example, they must analyze supply chains and other process flows, confer with clients and customers to learn more about their needs and specifications, and educate workers on new policies or technologies. Some of the most common industrial engineering tasks are:Discovering new ways to improve the efficiency of manufacturing processes and service deliveryFixing Standard-Times and Production NormsDesigning Plant LayoutDesigning Material Handling EquipmentTaking care of Ergonomic factorsProject Networking like PERTEnterprise Resource Planning.