1- INTRODUCTION
¡ How did the two words “industrial” and “engineering”
become combined to form the label “industrial engineering”?
¡ What is the relationship of industrial engineering to
other engineering disciplines, to business administration, to the social
sciences?
Industrial Engineering is concerned with the design,
improvement and installation of integrated system of people, materials and
equipment. It draws upon the specialized knowledge and skill in mathematical,
physical and social science together with the principles and methods of
engineering analysis to predict and evaluate the results to be obtained from
such systems.
Industrial Engineering is unique in the sense that it
is a link between technology and Management, technology and economics and
technology and science. Industrial Engineering discipline is different from
other engineering disciplines. It can be stated that Industrial Engineering
deals with people as well as things.
·
To understand the
role of industrial engineering (IE) it is helpful to learn the historical
developments that were involved in the development of IE.
·
Principles of
early engineering were first taught in military academies and were concerned
primarily with road and bridge construction and with defenses.
2- Some facts
Ø
Interrelated
advancements in the fields of physics
and mathematics laid the groundwork for practical applications of mechanical
principles.
Ø
The first
significant application of electrical science was the development of the
telegraph by Samuel Morse (approximately 1840).
Ø
Thomas Edison’s
invention of the carbon lamp (approximately 1880) led to widespread use of
electricity for lighting purposes.
¡
The science of
chemistry is concerned with understanding the nature of matter and learning how
to produce desirable changes in materials.
¡
Fuels were needed
for the new internal combustion engines. Lubricants were needed for the rapidly
growing collection of mechanical devices. Protective coatings were needed for
houses, metal products, ships, and so forth.
¡ Five major engineering disciplines (civil, chemical,
electrical, industrial, and mechanical) were the branches of engineering that
came out prior to the 1st World War.
¡ Developments following 2nd World War led to other
engineering disciplines, such as nuclear engineering, electronic engineering,
aeronautical engineering, and even computer engineering.
3- Chronology of Industrial Engineering
Ø Charles Babbage
visited factories in England
and the United States
·
He carefully
measured the cost of performing each operation as well as the time per
operation required to manufacture a pound of pins.
·
Babbage presented
this information in a table, and thus demonstrated that money could be saved by
using women and children to perform the lower-skilled operations.
·
The
higher-skilled, higher-paid men need only perform those operations requiring
the higher skill levels.
Ø Frederick W. Taylor is credited with recognizing the
potential improvements to be gained through analyzing the work content of a job
and designing the job for maximum efficiency.
Ø
Frank B. Gilbreth
extended Taylor
Ø
Another early
pioneer in industrial engineering was Henry L. Gantt, who developed the
so-called Gantt chart. The Gantt chart was a significant contribution in that
it provided a systematic graphical procedure for pre-planning and scheduling
work activities, reviewing progress, and updating the schedule. Gantt charts
are still in widespread use today.
·
During the 1920s
and 1930s much fundamental work was done on economic aspects of managerial
decisions, inventory problems, incentive plans, factory layout problems,
material handling problems, and principles of organization.
4- Definition of
Industrial Engineering
The following formal definition of industrial
engineering has been adopted by the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE):
“Industrial Engineering
is concerned with the design, improvement, and installation of integrated
systems of people, materials, information, 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
system”.
5- Scope
The
extent of industrial engineering is evidenced by the wide range of such
activities as research in biotechnology, development of new concepts of
information processing, design of automated factories, and operation of
incentive wage plans.
6-
Diversity
¡
Industrial
engineering is a diverse discipline concerned with the
design, improvement, installation, and management of integrated systems of
people, materials, and equipment for all kinds of manufacturing and service
operations.
¡
IE is concerned
with performance measures and standards, research of new products and product
applications, ways to improve use of scarce resources and many other problem
solving adventures.
¡
IE draws upon
specialized knowledge and skill in the mathematical, physical, and social
sciences, together with a strong background in engineering analysis and design
and the management sciences to specify, predict, and evaluate the performance
from such systems.
7-
Employment
·
An Industrial
Engineer may be employed in almost any type of industry, business or institution,
from retail establishments to manufacturing plants to government offices to
hospitals.
·
Because their
skills can be used in almost any type of organization, and also industrial
engineers are more widely distributed among industries than other engineers.
·
For example,
industrial engineers work in insurance companies, banks, hospitals, retail
organizations, airlines, government agencies, consulting firms, transportation,
construction, public utilities, social service, electronics, personnel, sales,
facilities design, manufacturing, processing, and warehousing.
8-
What
activities
Ø
Develop
applications of new processing, automation, and control technology.
Ø
Install data
processing, management information, wage incentive systems.
Ø
Develop
performance standards, job evaluation, and wage and salary programs.
Ø
Research new
products and product applications.
Ø
Improve
productivity through application of technology and human factors.
Ø
Select operating
processes and methods to do a task with proper tools and equipment .
Ø
Design
facilities, management systems, operating procedures .
Ø
Improve planning
and allocation of scarce resources . Enhance plant environment and quality of people's working life .
Ø
Evaluate
reliability and quality performance .
Ø
Develop management
control systems to aid in financial planning and cost analysis .
Ø
Implement office
systems, procedures, and policies .
Ø
Analyze complex
business problems by operations research .
Ø
Conduct
organization studies, plant location surveys, and system effectiveness studies.
Ø
Study potential
markets for goods and services, raw material sources, labor supply, energy
resources, financing, and taxes.
9-
The
evolution of the industrial and systems engineering profession has been
affected significantly by a number of related developments
1- Impact of Operations Research
¡
The development
of industrial engineering has been greatly influenced by the impact of an
analysis approach called operations research.
¡
This approach
originated in England and
the United States
2.
Impact of Digital Computers
Digital
computers permit the rapid and accurate handling of vast quantities of data,
thereby permitting the IE to design systems for effectively managing and
controlling large, complex operations.
The
digital computer also permits the IE to construct computer simulation models of
manufacturing facilities and the like in order to evaluate the effectiveness of
alternative facility configurations, different management policies, and other
management considerations.
Computer
simulation is emerging as the most widely used IE technique. The development
and widespread utilization of personal computers is having an exciting impact
on the practice of industrial engineering.
3.
Emergence of Service Industries
In the early days of the industrial
engineering profession, IE practice was applied almost fully in manufacturing
organizations. After the 2nd World War there was a growing awareness
that the principles and techniques of IE were also applicable in
non-manufacturing environments.
Thousands of Industrial Engineers are
employed by government organizations to increase efficiency, reduce paperwork,
design computerized management control systems, implement project management
techniques, monitor the quality and reliability of vendor-supplied purchases,
and for many other functions.
