18 May 2020
The interest to start this post comes from brief revision of Chapter 3 of L.D. Miles book - "Techniques of Value Analysis and Engineering." The first technique given by Miles is "Avoid Generalities." Industrial engineering is stymied by these generalities. The prevailing belief about industrial engineering by many who occupy the top administrative positions in IE professional hierarchy are contributing to decelerate the discipline and profession. I remember it today because, I heard it in 1994 itself in evening meeting in NITIE. A speaker said, industrial engineering is dead. I may even imagine today that he should have said close the program in the area as early as possible. Even in 2020, the same view prevails. Industrial engineering is associated with manufacturing and mechanical engineering. Manufacturing is going down as a proportion in GDP. So industrial engineering is going down and it has no future. But the fact is industrial engineering's focus is productivity improvement and cost reduction. Even today productivity improvement is a major focus of performance in top global companies.
Increased productivity at the heart of Volkswagen
The goal: 30 percent higher productivity worldwide by 2025.
Volkswagen - Industrial Engineering Activities and Jobs
https://nraoiekc.blogspot.com/2020/04/volkswagen-industrial-engineering.html
Industrial Engineering Practice in Top 100 Global Manufacturing Companies.
https://nraoiekc.blogspot.com/2020/03/industrial-engineering-in-top-global.html
In 1994, I happened to read an editorial on IE. Due to that reading, I argued in that meeting, that IE has a purpose of supporting people in work (engineering work) and it must have a future. As Miles said, one has to look for a low cost input that will make the farm suitable for profitable cultivation. I kept my thinking live for many many years even though I have not taught IE directly. That only led me to the study of works of Taylor and Taylor Society. The diversion that occurred in industrial engineering is the neglect of engineering. Taylor's main contribution in engineering and management is that advocacy of analyzing the relation between each engineering element and cost, each engineering element and time taken for completing an engineering operation and improving the engineering based on the analysis to reduce cost and time. To strengthen industrial engineering, its focus on engineering elements and their improvements has to increase substantially.
Industrial engineering have to know engineering in depth, but they have to practice it in shop floor, based on observations and data collection to improve the operations on each machine or equipment so that time taken is reduced, inputs used are reduced and thus cost is reduced. The associated human effort is also observed and studied and improved. The role of human operators is coming down in many engineering systems in comparison to the time of Taylor. So in industrial engineering practice in engineering organizations, the importance of machine is increasing more and more. The description of machine shop process industrial engineering captures the role of improving engineering elements.
Machine Shop Process Industrial Engineering
Productivity Science
Productivity Science of Machining - Stephenson - Agapiou
IE Measurements
Process Industrial Engineering - Process Alternatives and Economic Analysis of IE Proposed Alternatives
IEOR - Optimization in Machining Processes
IE Statistics Optimization - Six Sigma Method
Human Effort Engineering in Machine Shop
Applied Industrial Engineering in Machine Shop
For effective industrial engineering, industrial engineers have to increase engineering knowledge involved in operations under their jurisdiction. Operations are the steps in a process. Engineering elements in the operations are to be improved. Look at some of the engineering elements of machining operations - machine tool, cutting tool, tool holders, fixtures, temperature in cutting, tool wear, surface finish issues, cutting fluid issues. Each element needs to be improved.
Metal Cutting Theory, Machines and Tools for Machine Work Study
Process Planning for Machining
My first training programme in NITIE in 1994 (Sep.12 to 17, 1994).
Ud. 5.2.2022
Pub 18.5.2020
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