industrial engineering

industrial engineering
industrial engineer.
engineering applied to the planning, design, and control of industrial operations.
[1970-75]

* * *

Application of engineering principles and techniques of scientific management to the maintenance of high levels of productivity at optimum cost in industrial enterprises.

Frederick W. Taylor pioneered in the scientific measurement of work, and Frank (1868–1924) and Lillian (1878–1972) Gilbreth refined it with time-and-motion studies. As a result, production processes were simplified, enabling workers to increase production. The industrial engineer selects tools and materials for production that are most efficient and least costly to the company. The engineer may also determine the sequence of production and the design of plant facilities or factories. See also ergonomics.

* * *

Introduction

      application of engineering principles and techniques of scientific management to the maintenance of a high level of productivity at optimum cost in industrial enterprises.

Engineering and science as a support to management
      The managers responsible for industrial production require an enormous amount of assistance and support because of the complexity of most production systems, and the additional burden of planning, scheduling, and coordination. Historically, this support was provided by industrial engineers whose major concern was with methods, standards, and the organization of process technology.

      Industrial engineering originated with the studies of Taylor, the Gilbreths, and other pioneers of mass production methods. Their work expanded into responsibilities that now include the development of work methods to increase efficiency and eliminate worker fatigue; the redesign and standardization of manufacturing processes and methods for handling and transporting materials; the development of production planning and control procedures; and the determination and maintenance of output standards for workers and machines. Today the field is characterized by an emphasis on mathematical and computer modeling.

The evolving nature of industrial engineering
      In recent years industrial engineering has broadened significantly as a discipline, and the support it now provides to production and manufacturing managers comes from staff specialists drawn not only from the field of industrial engineering but also from operations research, management science, computer science, and information systems. In the 1970s and 1980s industrial engineering became a more quantitative and computer-based profession, and operations research techniques were adopted as the core of most industrial engineering academic curricula in both the United States and Europe.

      Since many of the problems of operations research originate in industrial production systems, it is often difficult to determine where the engineering discipline ends and the more basic scientific discipline begins (operations research is a branch of applied mathematics). Indeed, many academic industrial engineering departments now use the term industrial engineering and operations research or the reverse, further clouding the distinction.

William K. Holstein Ed.

Additional Reading
H.B. Maynard (ed.), Industrial Engineering Handbook, 3rd ed. (1971).

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Industrial engineering — is a branch of engineering dealing with the optimization of complex processes or systems. It is concerned with the development, improvement, implementation and evaluation of integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information, equipment,… …   Wikipedia

  • Industrial Engineering — (deutsch Arbeitsingenieurwesen) bezeichnet ein Arbeitsgebiet, in dem es um die Gestaltung, Planung und Optimierung von Leistungserstellungsprozessen im weitesten Sinne mit ingenieurwissenschaftlichen Methoden geht. In der Umsetzung handelt… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • industrial engineering — UK US noun [U] PRODUCTION ► the use of machines to manufacture products, and the study of this: »He has a master s degree in industrial engineering. industrial engineer noun [C] ► »The agency has an industrial engineer to help managers reform… …   Financial and business terms

  • industrial engineering — noun the branch of engineering that deals with the creation and management of systems that integrate people and materials and energy in productive ways • Syn: ↑industrial management • Hypernyms: ↑engineering, ↑engineering science, ↑applied… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Industrial Engineering — ◆ In|dus|tri|al En|gi|nee|ring 〈[ındʌ̣strıəl ɛndʒıni:rıŋ] n.; s; unz.〉 Erforschung der Rationalisierung u. Verbesserung von Arbeitsprozessen in der industriellen Fertigung nach wissenschaftl. Prinzipien [engl.] ◆ Die Buchstabenfolge in|dus|tr...… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Industrial Engineering — In|dus|tri|al En|gi|nee|ring [ ... niəriŋ] das; s <aus gleichbed. engl. amerik. industrial engineering> Rationalisierung von Arbeitsprozessen in der Industrie nach technischen u. wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Prinzipien …   Das große Fremdwörterbuch

  • Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research —   Titre abrégé Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. Discipline Chimie …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Industrial engineering and operations research — (IEOR) is an academic discipline concerned with making systems more efficient. Often this goal is achieved through the use of modeling and other computational methods. See also *Operations research *Industrial engineering *Optimization *Logistics …   Wikipedia

  • Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research — Infobox Journal|title=Industrial Engineering Chemistry Research discipline=Chemical engineering language=English abbreviation=Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. website= [http://pubs3.acs.org/acs/journals/toc.page?incoden=iechad Content URL]… …   Wikipedia

  • industrial engineering technician — pramonės inžinerijos technikas statusas T sritis profesijos apibrėžtis Technikas, kuris dalyvauja sistemų, į kurias įtraukti žmonės, medžiagos ir įrenginiai, analizės, projektavimo, kūrimo, koordinavimo ir tobulinimo darbuose. atitikmenys: angl.… …   Inžinieriai, technikai ir technologai. Trikalbis aiškinamasis žodynėlis

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”