Engineer.
The basic word is engineering. We find that the root for the word engineer traces through old English and medieval Latin, to the Roman verb, genere, meaning, to beget, to create. In the purest sense, therefore, an engineer is a creator.
Mr. Henry R. Towne once said that:- "The engineer is one who, in the world of physics and applied sciences, begets new things or adapts old ones to new and better usages; above all one who, in that field, attains new results in the best way and at the lowest cost."
It is evident that if one is an engineer in deed and in truth, that he must be creative, be productive; that he must be familiar with the laws of physics and of science and so apply them as to obtain useful results at the lowest cost.
In a recent statement of the Honorable Franklin K. Lane as published in "Industrial Management," he said, "By an Engineer, I mean the man who can apply imagination to facts—the planner, the one who sees his way through, the one who deals with realities in the light of possibilities."
An engineer is a creator; he is one who thinks ahead with the sure background of facts. Since engineering covers such a wide scope, it has become increasingly necessary to divide it into special branches. Hence there have arisen branches of engineers known as Civil, Mining, Electrical, Mechanical, Industrial and many others. Indeed there are many sub-divisions of each of these.
Industrial Engineer
Our particular concern at the present moment is with the Industrial Engineer. What is an Industrial Engineer, we ask? We have indicated that the engineer is a creator, a planner. Then what does the Industrial Engineer or Industrial Creator or Industrial Planner, create or plan? Again we turn to the definition of terms and find that, “Industrial, means that which relates to industry, or to labor, as an economic factor." Another meaning, and the one that is most applicable to our discussion is, by “industrial is meant that derived from human toil, rather than from natural advantages or resources on the one hand, and mere pecuniary profit on the other." { "natural advantages or resources on the one hand, and mere pecuniary profit on the other" - refer to trading and speculation}. Industry refers to human toil includes using machines and tools.
In the light of the definition of an engineer and of the word industrial, we can say that, the Industrial Engineer is the creator of plans that relate to human toil, for productive purposes; or, the Industrial Engineer is one "who deals with realities in the light of possibilities,” as they relate to human toil for productive purposes.
As ordinarily and narrowly used, the Industrial Engineer is considered as one having to do with the productive methods of a factory. This, of course, is a very restricted and a very narrow view. Mr. Henry R. Towne, in an address in 1905, defined the Industrial Engineer as "The man who combines with an extended scope of technical knowledge, good administrative powers; who can select the right man for the various positions to be filled; who can inspire them with ambition and the right spirit in their work; who can coordinate their work so as to produce the best final result, and who, throughout can understand and direct the technical operations; who can appreciate quickly and surely whether they are properly performed; and who combines in one personality the two functions of technical knowledge and executive ability." Mr. Towne has established an ideal which all Industrial Engineers. should endeavor to reach.
Our friend Mr. Harrington Emerson defined the Industrial Engineer by outlining his function. Said Mr. Emerson in his address to this Society last March: "It is the function of the Industrial Engineer to discover industrial standards, to make them known, to emulate them and teach how to realize them." Mr. Emerson's outline of the functions of an Industrial Engineer might be restated in this way; The Industrial Engineer is a creator of industrial standards, a planner through which standards become known and applied and realized.
To summarize, the Industrial Engineer is a creator of plans and standards to govern the use of human labor for productive purposes.
The term use of human labor includes use of machines and tools by humans. Using machine by an operator is human labor still.
The productive purposes for which the human toil may be used may be the manufacture of a knitting needle; an automobile; an aeroplane, or it may be applied to determining the best method for finding the cost of a locomotive, the sale of a pin, or the checking of a pay roll. And again, it may be used for establishing standard practice; in scheduling the work through a factory; in routing a salesman over a given territory; or a workman through an employment office or a course of training. Indeed the Industrial Engineer, as the creator of plans, may apply his skill to the best way of accomplishing any task, or to the establishment of standards for any procedure. His scope is unlimited, hence the confusion.
We have answered the question, "Who are Industrial Engineers?" We have indicated that the scope of the Industrial Engineer is unlimited. He may, and does create plans to govern human labor in every activity of human life. This is the broad interpretation. That it is possible of attainment is evidenced by the fact that the services of the Industrial Engineer have been utilized in industrial plants, hospitals, transportation systems, educational institutions, banking houses, commercial enterprises, military activities, both on land and on sea, insurance offices, and many other enterprises.
What are standards?
Best practices as determined by a company's engineers and managers are standards for that company. The endeavor is to make sure that whenever an activity is done for which the standard exists, standard is used. Also, there has to be effort to create a standard for every element of an operation in the company.
Industrial engineers are engaged in developing standards for every element in the company, using them in various operations of the processes and thereby develop standard processes. Best practices have maximum productivity and quality.
"WHAT THE PRINCIPLES OF INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING ACTUALLY ACCOMPLISH WHEN APPLIED BY THE FOUR CLASSES OF INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERS"
L. W. WALLACE President, The Society of Industrial Engineers
1920
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