Management Skills for Industrial Engineers - For Managing IE Projects, Department and Function

Industrial engineering moulded itself into a techn0-managerial  function concerned with design, installation and improvement of human effort, work places with respect to human factors, efficient work systems (efficient utilisation of resources), and  efficient planning and control systems. Industrial engineers (IEs) also aspire to manage the design of systems, installation of systems and improvement of systems.

In their curriculums, IEs do need to have inputs regarding generic IE techniques and also inputs in various innovative solutions that IE has developed in various production and service processes. They also need inputs in the production and service processes so that they can understand the functional designs and the present state of a process to carry out efficiency evaluation and improve its efficiency.

IE curriculum also needs to have inputs to develop managerial skills in IEs in the area of managing their projects and studies to successful and fruitful completion. They need concepts and skills that help them in managing the IE departments at corporate levels as well as division and even plant level. Sometimes individual IE can be attached to a design team to make the design efficient as a part of the team.

IE is now rightly being viewed as a function to be carried out by managers, supervisors and  even operators as a part of their production or other activity. IEs need managerial skills to manage this enterprise-wide IE activity and provide specialist staff inputs to projects initiated by line managers.

"Industrial Engineer" magazine is publishing various articles on management to provide inputs in the area of management to students as well as practioners of industrial engineering. This knol will highlight some of the articles published in the magazine apart from the ideas from IE handbooks and as well as textbooks.

Price of atrophy by Kevin McManus (IE, August 2009) highlights that skills get atrophied when not used. Managers of IE departments have to ensure that the skills of IEs are not atrophied prematurely by giving appropriate assignments to their staff members so that important skills are used periodically. 

To continued with posting periodically.

Original knol - http://knol.google.com/k/narayana-rao/management-skills-for-industrial/2utb2lsm2k7a/ 2025