This is a three year co-operative education program (538) that provides specialized training in the field of Industrial Engineering.
Management today has at its disposal techniques which help it to make decisions more rapidly and with greater insight into operations, allowing better control of production, service, quality, marketing and costs as well as a better deployment of labour.
| | | Many industrial engineers move into management positions because the work is closely related. Industrial Engineering is the business side of manufacturing. |
Industrial engineers determine the most effective ways to use the basic factors of production—people, machines, materials, information, and energy—to make a product or to provide a service. They are the bridge between management goals and operational performance. They are more concerned with increasing productivity through the management of people, methods of business organization, and technology than are engineers in other specialties, who generally work more with products or processes. Although most industrial engineers work in manufacturing industries, they may also work in banks, hotels, transportation, consulting services, healthcare, and communications.
To solve organizational, production, and related problems most efficiently, industrial engineers carefully study the product and its requirements, use mathematical methods such as operations research to meet those requirements, and design lean 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. Industrial engineers determine which plant location has the best combination of raw materials availability, transportation facilities, and costs. Industrial engineers use computers for simulations and to control various activities and devices, such as assembly lines and robots. They also develop wage and salary administration systems and job evaluation programs. Many industrial engineers move into management positions because the work is closely related. Industrial Engineering is the business side of manufacturing.
Employment
For Industrial Engineering graduates most of the jobs are in manufacturing industries, with others working in professional, scientific, and technical services firms, many of whom provide consulting services to manufacturing firms. Because their skills can be used in almost any type of organization, industrial engineering graduates are more widely distributed among industries than are other technology graduates.
Job Outlook
Because the main function of industrial engineers is to make a higher quality product as efficiently and as safely as possible, their services should be in demand in the manufacturing sector as firms seek to reduce costs and increase productivity. We need Industrial Engineers when production is high (to maximize the efficiency of the manufacturing process) and also when production is low (to work on problem solving and cost reduction strategies).
Starting annual salaries are usually at the high end of all Technology graduates in the $45,000 range.
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