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Functions and Focus Areas of Industrial Engineering - Brief Explanation

New. Popular E-Book on IE - Introduction to Modern Industrial Engineering.  #FREE #Download.

In 0.1% on Academia.edu. 11,600+ Downloads so far.

https://academia.edu/103626052/INTRODUCTION_TO_MODERN_INDUSTRIAL_ENGINEERING_Version_3_0


Online Education/Training Session on "Effective Industrial Engineering and Productivity Management."

I developed an online education/training session on "Effective Industrial Engineering and Productivity Management." I can present the session in one hour, one and half hour or two-hour long sessions. The sessions will be valuable when company industrial engineers and other engineers and managers attend as a group. Industrial engineers require active cooperation and participation of other engineers and managers in their studies and projects. Hence a common presentation and discussion on effectiveness will be very useful.


Supporting Information.

Effective Industrial Engineering - Some Thoughts by Narayana Rao K.V.S.S.

Effective industrial engineering has to satisfy management about the contribution it made to the organization year after year.

The prime contribution of IE has to be cost reduction through productivity improvement.

https://nraoiekc.blogspot.com/2025/07/effective-industrial-engineering-some.html

https://www.linkedin.com/in/narayana-rao-kvss-b608007/


Online Free Access Handbook of Industrial Engineering includes all modules of IE Online Course Notes.


Accompanying case study: Value Engineering of Paddy Transplanter


"Functions and Focus Areas of Industrial Engineering" - Paper Published in NITIE Journal dated Oct-Dec 2016. The journal was printed in June 2018.

Free download
https://www.academia.edu/42302708/Functions_and_Focus_Areas_of_Industrial_Engineering



Lesson 7. Industrial Engineering of Belt Drives by F.W. Taylor - 1893.

Functions of Industrial Engineering







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The functions of management are currently given as Planning, Organizing, Resourcing, Executing and Control.

What are functions of Industrial Engineering (IE)?


Industrial engineering has the following functions:

Research in Industrial Engineering
Productivity Science
Productivity Engineering
Productivity Management
Communication, Training and Implementation
Productivity Measurement
Review



Research in Industrial Engineering


Industrial engineering has emerged out of shop management and scientific management developed and promoted by F.W. Taylor. Development of science related to production systems or work systems consisting of machines and men is the foundation for this subject. Hence research is an important function of industrial engineering. Industrial engineers are to be taught scientific research method and process so that they can understand the research papers published by IE researchers and also undertake research related to local applications.


Productivity Science


Research propositions and the tests of research propositions are to be consolidated into scientific theories related to various issues of interest in the field of industrial engineering.

Productivity Science of Machining - Taylor to Current Times

Productivity science of human effort - Development of Science in Mechanic Arts - F.W. Taylor

Productivity Science of Human Effort - F.W. Gilbreth


Productivity Engineering


Redesign of engineering processes to make them more productive is productivity engineering. The two important outputs of engineering processes are products or services and processes to produce those goods and services. Redesign of human actions also is part of productivity engineering. Productivity engineering is driven forward by productivity science. Improvement iterations take place within productivity engineering itself due to inventions taking place.

F.W. Taylor who is the father of productivity engineering of processes and L.D. Miles, father of productivity engineering of products strongly stated that productivity engineering has to maintain the effectiveness or quality of the basic engineering product or process designed by the design engineering team. Industrial engineering as theory and practice does not in any reduce the effectiveness or quality of the systems they are redesigning.


Productivity Management


Productivity management consists of activities of industrial engineers in the field of management. These activities have two objectives. One objective is to assess various management policies, programs and processes for the impact on productivity of engineering processes. Where they do not have desirable effects, industrial engineers have to propose redesign of them.

The second objective is the management of productivity in organizations. Industrial engineers are responsibility for managing the productivity. They have to plan for productivity improvement, organize for it, acquire resources for it, executive productivity improvement projects and activities and control them to achieve the planned goals.

Productivity science gives impetus for developing management methods that increase productivity. Thus productivity science is an input to productivity engineering and productivity management.



Communication, Training and Implementation


Industrial engineering is carried out as staff activity. The redesigns of the IE projects are to be communicated to various persons in the organization to establish its feasibility and also get them approved by competent authorities for funding. Then, industrial engineers have to train various persons in the new methods. Even though, they are a staff function, they have to be part of implementation teams and their work is not over till implementation is done.

Productivity Measurement


Measurement of productivity is an important function. After productivity improvement projects are implemented, measurements have to validate the improvement. Also past measurements or new measurements become the basis for planning productivity improvement programs.

Industrial Engineering Data and Measurements

Review


Based on the productivity measurements, a review of situation is to be made to take decisions regarding future efforts in the area of productivity. The results of review become the sources for further research, productivity engineering and productivity management activities.

Engineering Process - Review, Analysis and Improvement for Productivity


Principles of industrial engineering


The principles of industrial engineering proposed by Dr. K.V.S.S. Narayana Rao - Presented at the 2017 Annual Conference of Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) - at Pittsburgh, USA are the basis for deriving the functions of industrial engineering.

Industrial Engineering in All Branches of Engineering - Principle of Industrial Engineering

Industrial engineering defined as system efficiency engineering has application in all branches of engineering. Productivity improvement is needed in engineering systems of all branches and therefore industrial engineering needs to be used in all branches of engineering. It needs to be taught in all engineering branches.

One can see all functions of industrial engineering can be performed in engineering activities of all engineering branches. It is from the successful and effective application industrial engineering in all engineering branches that industrial engineers can go to other disciplines and initiate productivity improvement activities by involving specialists in those disciplines to investigate productivity improvement.

Focus Areas of Industrial Engineering


Productivity Science

Industrial Engineering Strategy (Added on 11 June 2022)

Facilities Industrial Engineering (Added on 11 June 2022) 

Product Industrial Engineering

Process Industrial Engineering

Industrial Engineering Optimization

Industrial Engineering Statistics

Industrial Engineering Economics

Human Effort Industrial Engineering

Productivity Measurement

Productivity Management

Data Processing and Information Systems for Industrial Engineering - Added on 16 July 2019

Applied Industrial Engineering

I am a happy. Prof. Beth Cudney, Ph.D, Professor of Data Analytics, Maryville University liked my comment. 
"Industrial engineering inputs to the product development process are important. Product industrial engineering makes significant contribution to product development."
on the post: 

Course Modules for Each Focus Area



Objectives of Basic Engineering and Industrial Engineering


Engineering has two aims: 
To develop effective products and processes that satisfy customers. 
To develop efficient products and processes that give profits and satisfaction to the producers (both managers-capitalists and employees). 
Industrial engineering is focused on efficiency while the functional engineers are focused on effectiveness. 
Both engineering streams have big data bases of knowledge, information and data that are to be used to do the design and execution work successfully to the satisfaction of customers.

Focus Areas of Industrial Engineering - Brief Explanation


Productivity Science: Science developed for each element of machine operation and each element of human tasks in industry.
Productivity Science - Determinants of Productivity

Industrial Engineering Strategy: 
Industrial engineering is profit engineering. If a company is not employing industrial engineering, it is unnecessarily foregoing profits inherent in the products that it developed and designed to the performance satisfaction of good number of users. Profit conscious managers and owners have to understand and employ industrial engineering to achieve the full profit potential of their products. Certain strategic decisions related to industrial engineering function are to be taken by top management of the organization as part of strategic plan of the organization. Certain strategic decisions are to be taken by the Chief Industrial Engineer. These decisions are part of the focus area of industrial engineering strategy.

Facilities Industrial Engineering:
The processes of different products and its components are performed using the facilities of the organization. In designing various facilities of industrial buildings and different facilities within the building, industrial engineering has a role to play. In selection of the equipment used by multiple processes industrial engineering has a role to play. Improvement of machines to increase productivity was done by F.W. Taylor, founder of industrial engineering. Maintenance of various equipment and its overhaul can also be examined by industrial engineers as part of facilities industrial engineering. Layout of the equipment and various production departments decide the amount of material handling and transport within the facility. Layout improvement is an important task of industrial engineering.  Hence facilities level industrial engineering  or facilities industrial engineering is to be identified as an important area in industrial engineering.

Product Industrial Engineering: Redesign of products to reduce cost and increase value keeping the quality intact.
Product Industrial Engineering


Process Industrial Engineering: Redesign of processes to reduce cost and increase value keeping the quality intact.
Process Industrial Engineering

Industrial Engineering Optimization: Optimizing industrial engineering solutions created in Product Industrial Engineering and Process Industrial Engineering.
Operations Research - An Efficiency Improvement Tool for Industrial Engineers

Industrial Engineering Statistics: Using statistical tools like data description, sampling and design of experiments in industrial engineering activity.
Statistics and Industrial Engineering

Industrial Engineering Economics: Economic analysis of industrial engineering projects.
Engineering Economics is an Efficiency Improvement Tool for Industrial Engineers


Human Effort Industrial Engineering: Redesign of products and processes to increase satisfaction and reduce discomfort and other negative consequence to operators.
Motion Study - Human Effort Industrial Engineering

Productivity Measurement: Various measurements done by industrial engineers in industrial setting to collect data, analyze data and use the insights in redesign: Product Industrial Engineering and Process Industrial Engineering.
Industrial Engineering Data and Measurements

Productivity Management: Management undertaken by industrial engineers to implement Product Industrial Engineering and Process Industrial Engineering. Management processes industrial engineering is also part of productivity management.
Productivity Management

Applied Industrial Engineering: Application of industrial engineering in new technologies, existing technologies, engineering business and industrial processes and other areas.



Industrial Engineering Free Online Course Notes for Each Focus Area

Modules  of Industrial Engineering ONLINE Course


Modules

Principles of Industrial Engineering - Taylor - Narayana Rao - Presentation in 2017 IISE Annual Conference - Pittsburgh, USA.

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Compare and find the agreement of many scholars, departments of industrial engineering with the above explanation


University of Pretoria
http://www.up.ac.za/en/industrial-and-systems-engineering/article/45515/the-industrial-engineering-profession




Updated  27.9.2024, 27.7.2023, 6.6.2023, 11.6.2022, 27.4.2022,  11 Nov 2021,    21 March 2021,  16 July 2019,   9 June 2018
Published 25 July 2017
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17 comments:

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    Very informative and lucid presentation on Industrial Engineering. The 21 principles outlined in the presentation are an evolution of the principles of IE relevant to the current era of 21st century. Defining IE as Human Effort Engineering and System efficiency engineering provides a new perspective to look at IE. The point of view on effectiveness and efficiency improvements, productivity improvements at system level, commentary on the current misconceptions about IE and the correct perspectives are very insightful.

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