Taylor - Narayana Rao Principles of Industrial Engineering

Industrial Engineering for Society Prosperity through Productivity Improvement satisfying all constraints and limits. 

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/

New. Popular E-Book on IE,

Introduction to Modern Industrial Engineering.  #FREE #Download.

In 1% on Academia.edu. 12,000+ Downloads so far.

https://academia.edu/103626052/INTRODUCTION_TO_MODERN_INDUSTRIAL_ENGINEERING_Version_3_0

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

Industrial Engineers, Display Industrial Engineering Principles in Your Department. 

Practice them and Provide Value to the organization.

Taylor - Narayana Rao Principles of Industrial Engineering were developed Prof. Narayana Rao K.V.S.S. in two stages. In the first Stage, Taylor's principles of scientific management were converted into basic principles of industrial engineering.

Principles of Scientific Management - Taylor

The managers following scientific management thought do the following things.

First. They develop a science for each element of a man's work, which replaces the old rule-of.-thumb method.

Second. They scientifically select and then train, teach, and develop the workman, whereas in the past he chose his own work and trained himself as best he could.

Third. They heartily cooperate with the men so as to insure all of the work being done in accordance with the principles of the science which has been developed.

Fourth. There is an almost equal division of the work and the responsibility between the management and the workmen. The management take over all work for which they are better fitted than the workmen, while in the past almost all of the work and the greater part of the responsibility were thrown upon the men.

(From THE PRINCIPLES OF SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT - F.W.Taylor)

The principles explain the question what is industrial engineering (IE)?

Basic Principles of Industrial Engineering - Narayana Rao

1. Develop science for each element of a man - machine system's work related to efficiency and productivity.

2. Engineer methods, processes and operations to use the laws related to the work of machines, man, materials and other resources.

3. Select or assign workmen based on predefined aptitudes for various types of man - machine work.

4. Train workmen, supervisors, and engineers in the new methods, install various modifications related to the machines that include productivity improvement devices and ensure that the expected productivity is realized.

5. Incorporate suggestions of operators, supervisors and engineers in the methods redesign on a continuous basis.

6. Plan and manage productivity at system level.

(The principles were developed on 4 June 2016 (During Birthday break of 2016 - 30 June 2016 to 7 July 2016).

The principles were developed by Narayana Rao based on principles of scientific management by F.W. Taylor)

Principles of Industrial Engineering - Narayana Rao - Detailed List

Clicking on the link will take you to more detailed content on the principle

1. Productivity science

2. Productivity engineering

3. Industrial Engineering is applicable to all branches of engineering

4. Principles of (machine) utilization economy to be developed for all resources used in engineering systems.

5. Industrial engineering optimization

6. Industrial engineering economics

7. Implementation team membership and leadership

8. Human effort engineering for increasing productivity

9. Principles of motion economy to be used in all IE studies in the area of human effort engineering

10. Operator comfort and health are to be taken care of.

11. Work measurement

12. Selection of operators

13. Training of operators, supervisors and engineers

14. Productivity training and education to all

15. Employee involvement in continuous improvement of processes and products for productivity improvement.

16. Productivity incentives

17. Hearty cooperation

18. Productivity Management

19. System level focus for productivity

20. Productivity measurement

21. Cost measurement

The full paper on the principles by Prof. K.V.S.S. Narayana Rao is now available for downloading from IISE 2017 Annual Conference Proceedings in Proquest Journal Base.

https://www.proquest.com/docview/1951119980

Presentation on Principles of Industrial Engineering First made by Dr. Narayana Rao on 23 May 2017 in IISE Annual Conference, Pittsburgh, USA.

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John Heap

Managing Director at Institute of Productivity

Principles of Productivity Science

Stimulated by recent exchanges in this group, on behalf of the World Confederation of Productivity Science, I have drafted the following principles of productivity science .... the principles that productivity leaders and practitioners should adopt to ensure their work is technically and ethically valid. Comments welcome!


Undertake a structured and systematic review of the social, environmental and economic value created by human endeavour;

Measure, at macro and micro levels, the value created - and the resources consumed to produce it;

Design products in ways which facilitate efficient manufacturing, distribution and subsequent disposal; Design services that are user-focused and scalable whilst remaining efficient in terms of their requirements for physical infrastructure and administrative support. 

Strive to identify and eliminate or minimize waste across the lifecycle of services and products (including throughout manufacturing and delivery processes);

Ensure all working environments and working practices are designed to ensure the safety and well-being of the workforce;

Minimise the consumption of energy and natural resources;

Minimise harmful effects on the natural environment;

Establish working systems, processes and methods that reduce inherent variability; 

Treat all members of the workforce with respect and, wherever possible, engage them in decision-making processes that affect their work roles or working conditions;

Ensure that all staff have the tools, equipment and skills necessary to maximize their performance;

Engage individuals and teams in productivity and performance enhancing reviews and investigations.

Posted on linked on 27 June 2018
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/2587524/2587524-6417631280732651523

Industrial Engineers, Display Industrial Engineering Principles

 in Your Department. 

Practice them and Provide Value to the organization.

Principles of Industrial Engineering

1. Productivity Science Principle of Industrial Engineering.

2. Productivity Engineering Principle of Industrial Engineering.

3. Ubiquity of Industrial Engineering Principle.

4. Machine Utilization Economy Principle of Industrial Engineering.

5. Optimization Principle of Industrial Engineering.

6. Return on Investment Principle of Industrial Engineering.

7. Implementation Principle of Industrial Engineering.

8. Human Effort Engineering Principle of Industrial Engineering.

9. Motion Economy Principle of Industrial Engineering.

10. Operator Comfort and Health Principle of Industrial Engineering.

11. Work Measurement Principle of Industrial Engineering

12. Operator Selection Principle of Industrial Engineering

13. Process Training Principle of Industrial Engineering

14. Productivity training Principle of Industrial Engineering

15. Employee Involvement Principle of Industrial Engineering

16. Productivity Incentives Principle of Industrial Engineering

17. Hearty Cooperation Principle of Industrial Engineering

18. Productivity Management Principle of Industrial Engineering

19. System Level Focus   Principle of Industrial Engineering

20. Productivity Measurement Principle of Industrial Engineering

21. Cost Measurement Principle of Industrial Engineering

Industrial Engineering - More Principles

Industrial Engineering Principle of Respect for People.

Taylor wrote, "The writer has a profound respect for the working men of this country. "

https://nraoiekc.blogspot.com/2013/08/personal-relations-between-employers.html

Quality Principle of Industrial Engineering

https://nraoiekc.blogspot.com/2020/06/taylor-on-quality-human-relations-and.html

Effectiveness First - Efficiency Next Principle of Industrial Engineering.

https://nraoiekc.blogspot.com/2023/04/effectiveness-first-efficiency-next.html

Industrial Engineering Principle of Incremental Engineering Modifications and Engineering Improvements for Productivity

Taylor - Narayana Rao Principles of Industrial Engineering - Productivity Improvement.

http://nraoiekc.blogspot.com/2017/06/taylor-narayana-rao-principles-of.html

Updated on  4.8.2024,  29.6.2024,  13.10.2023, 6.4.2023,  27.1.2023,  13 Jan 2023,  4 August 2021, 29 June 2021,  5 July 2017, 28 June 2017

Is There a Difference Between Process Engineering and Industrial Engineering?

Process Engineering is also an established discipline with bachelors and masters degrees. Industrial engineering is also an established discipline. So there is a difference between them even though both deal with processes. Industrial engineering is more specific with its focus on productivity, efficiency and cost. Industrial engineering's involvement in process improvement is its productivity focus and productivity related improvements that give cost reduction and waste elimination.

Process engineering is the comprehensive engineering that brings a process into existence and effectiveness. A process designer has to first establish a process that gives the desired output from specified material inputs. Once a process is certified for effectiveness, many iterations of improvement are done on the process to improve it in various dimensions to make it a commercially feasible and profitable quality product. Many specialized engineering branches, specializing in dimensions of performance were created to help the process designers. For example industrial engineering, quality engineering and reliability engineering disciplines focus on specific dimensions of performance.

Process engineering is similar to industrial engineering; many job duties overlap with each other. However, industrial engineering focuses more on how to make general production processes more efficient.

https://learn.org/articles/What_Do_Process_Engineers_Do.html  

Industrial Engineer Vs. Process Engineer

Sep 02, 2022

Comparing Industrial Engineers to Process Engineers

Industrial engineers and process engineers are both involved in producing items. Industrial engineers focus more on the manufacturing process while process engineers may consider product design improvements, changes to the materials used and revising the manufacturing process or technology used.

Responsibilities of Industrial Engineers vs. Process Engineers

The main objective of an industrial engineer is to make manufacturing more efficient. 

They look for ways to improve the manufacturing process so that companies can save money. Their work requires them to study a number of factors, such as schedules, the order of operations involved and types of equipment used so that they can determine ways to make modifications that will reduce the time and money needed to complete products. 

Process engineers are involved with all aspects of production. Their work can involve producing design plans for new products or modifying existing schematics to improve existing products. They look for ways to change the design, materials and method of production to correct malfunctions, improve performance and save money.

https://bestaccreditedcolleges.org/articles/industrial-engineer-vs-process-engineer.html

Is industrial engineering and process engineering the same?

https://www.quora.com/Is-industrial-engineering-and-process-engineering-the-same

Process Engineer vs. Industrial Engineer: What Are the Differences?

Learn about the two careers and review some of the similarities and differences between them.

Job Search Insights

Published Oct 5, 2022

https://climbtheladder.com/process-engineer-vs-industrial-engineer/

3000th Published Post. Posts created are more because some are kept as draft posts.

Development Strategy for Industrial Engineering

Applied Industrial Engineering - Industrial Engineering 4.0 is a growth opportunity for Industrial Engineering Profession in the World

Summary of

"Thinking about the Application and Development Strategy of Industrial Engineering"

Quan-qing LI, Ming LI
(C)2011, IEEE

Characteristics of Industrial Engineering

Analysis of the origin of industrial engineering, reveals that the original industrial engineering has the following characteristics:

1. It is developed to solve management problems of production side of manufacturing industry. (F.W. Taylor mentioned that management or entrepreneur or financial capitalists/investors focused on marketing and finance and production was left to superintendents and foremen. The systems content of production management activity was very low and reliance was on the persons and their knowledge based on their experience and thinking.)

2. Efficiency was the objective and Industrial Engineering was called "Efficiency Engineering" also.

3. The subject reflected the characteristic of "Thing Big, Act Small." The big aspect refers to the objective, the efficiency and cost of of the production activity of the enterprise. The small aspect refers to the action point. The IE activity can start from little things such as an individual worker's action, working tool, workflow (a step of the process) and so on.

Application Range of Industrial Engineering

The authors say it is sufficient to say that IE analyses and improves objects and people.  Materials and equipment are objects.  Operation of objects requires energy. Also operation is based on information. Hence the term objects covers material, machine, energy and information.

Two Kinds of Technology - Specialized Engineering and Industrial Engineering

Basic Engineering - Industrial Engineering (Effort Engineering - Productivity Engineering)

Processes or systems convert input into output through a conversion process.

Input ------------- Conversion -------------> Output

In the conversion task, two kinds of technology play a big roles. One is the technology to realize physical and chemical change which transforms the input into desired shape having the desired properties and functions. This technology is created by various specialized engineering branches in various products.  The second type of technology modifies the first technology or redesigns the first core technology into combination (integration) and collocation, and makes the system more efficient and less costly (maintaining the quality). The second technology is called the industrial engineering technology. The first technology pays main attention to production process. The second technology pays attention to production management issues of productivity and cost reduction.

For any system, improving efficiency and reducing cost are its inspiring objectives.

Reasons for Neglecting Industrial Engineering Technology

Specialized engineering technology is the necessary condition of the system existence and running. Without it the system is unable to run, so it cannot be neglected. With industrial engineering the system can be run better for more profits and less waste.  But many entrepreneurs are satisfied with the normal running of the system and do not aspire after the good that is possible with additional effort.

Second, the specialized engineering technology is produced first. Industrial engineering technology is produced after a time lag (hysteresis).

Third the benefit of specialized engineering technology is immediate, appearance of the production system. The benefits waste elimination methods take more time to show significant results.

Development Stages of Industrial Engineering in Various Technologies

In each technology we can see:
1. Germination period.
2. Cornerstone-laying period
3. Growth period
4. Slow growth or maturity period.


In each technology, the four periods will appear. As specialized engineering disciplines create new technologies, there will be germination period during which industrial engineers have to explore and understand the new technology and identify the productivity levers and barriers. They have to develop productivity science of the new technology. Based on the science they have to develop productivity engineering solutions. As productivity solutions are demonstrated, more and more organizations adopt them and the growth phase will start. The growth period is extended by new scientific and engineering solutions. Productivity management innovations related to the new technology may also come into existence. As technology matures, IE related to the technology also stagnates.

The authors feel in manufacturing sector, IE is in slow growth period. In service industry, it is still in cornerstone-laying period.

Difficulties Faced by IE in Extending Its Applications

1. Industrial engineering applications have to customized to the organizations. Hence its extension is made difficult.

2. Similarly industrial engineering is technology specific. Industrial engineering is nearly the technology of "one-to-one" to solve the problem.

3. The hysteresis involved in developing IE solutions and the possibility of running the systems based on specialized engineering solutions for a long period means, the application of IE can be delayed in the new technologies.

4. The idea, "Think Big, and Act Small" may not be working right. IE does not have methods that aid thing big. IEs are not happy with micro level initiatives and improvements. Hence IE as an activity is negatively impacted from both sides.

Suggestions to Speed up the Application and Extension of Industrial Engineering

1. Popularize the basic purpose of industrial engineering. It is seeking more efficiency. Do not be satisfied with the present level of efficiency. Search for ideas in productivity science, productivity engineering and productivity management. Develop applications in house. Contact consultants, researchers and academicians.

2. The industrial engineering has to speed up research and development. It needs innovations in research (science), technology (engineering) and methods. Only innovations in technology and methods can be used by the organizations and therefore can provide growth to industrial engineering profession.

Innovations in Industrial Engineering - Changing Landscape of Industrial Engineering

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You can view the full article in

https://wenku.baidu.com/view/c139c207bed5b9f3f90f1c2f.html


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Applied Industrial Engineering Implementation Steps - Industrial Engineering 4.0 Context

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Related Article

Applied Industrial Engineering  Bulletin
IE in New Technologies - IE with New Technologies
http://nraoiekc.blogspot.com/2017/12/applied-industrial-engineering-2017.html

Chapter - Introduction to Industrial Engineering - 2013 Edition

The Origin of Industrial Engineering

Industrial engineering originated in the activity of engineers managing engineering activities. More specifically, it originated in engineers managing the production activity. Frederick William Taylor is regarded as the father of the discipline. He advocated functional management, a management or supervision system wherein number of experts participate in the management of the a department instead of a single person being the manager or supervision and responsible for the successful performance of the department. Taylor's advocacy of function management in production departments was accepted by the management profession in the form of staff assistance to managers. Industrial engineering emerged as one of the staff activities. Industrial engineering has focus on human effort engineering and system efficiency engineering. In the management literature effectiveness and efficiency are considered as two important dimensions of the performance of an organization or a department.  Industrial engineering has focus on efficiency.

Effectiveness refers to producing the goods or services the consumers want. Manager has to find out what goods the market wants, forecast the demand and create a production-distribution system capable of producing and distributing the output in the market at a profit. There is significant customer interaction in this process even for a production manager. Industrial engineering department supports the production managers in the area of running the department (or the organization if they are assisting the CEO) with high efficiency. It analyses the resource usage in the production-distribution systems created by managers or specialist designers of the systems and provides design alternatives that improve the system efficiency. While the system design is a synthesis activity done in response to a demand to create a system capable of producing and distributing a product or service satisfying a target production quantity with a specified minimum profit, industrial engineering focuses on the analysis of the entire system as well as components to identify opportunities to reduce resource use.  It is a redesign activity, done over an extended time frame to continuously increase efficiency. What is the reason for increase in efficiency over a period of time. It is now theoretically as well as empirically proved that efficiency increasing ideas come to people as they are repeating an activity. This is termed as learning effect. Technology is continuously subjected to improvement and capital equipment manufacturers are coming with better technology to reduce costs. Industrial engineers also participate in this continuous improvement of production-distribution system with a special methods and tools that focus on eliminating waste, capturing the ideas of large number of operators, supervisors and engineers on continuous basis and incorporating the recent offerings of capital equipment manufacturers, subcontractors, component manufacturers and raw material suppliers that provide cost reduction opportunities.

Industrial engineering becomes a special function that has focus on improving efficiency same as eliminating waste or reducing cost.

Efficiency - Multiple Explanations

We depicted industrial engineering as management function or activity with special focus on efficient industrial or business activities. What is efficiency of a production-distribution system? In the case of machines we define efficiency as output/input. But in the case of production systems, the definition given by Harrington Emerson, a pioneer industrial engineer is elimination of waste. This definition was  utilized by Japanese company, Toyota Motors to improve efficiency of its operations many fold and became better than American companies. So efficiency of a production system is defined in terms of identifying and eliminating waste. How is waste identified? Waste is identified in one way by comparison. Waste can be defined in terms of resources. One can talk of waste of manpower, waste of material, waste of machine time, waste of energy etc. Toyota management man, Taichi Ohno came out with 7-wastes model. In this model, wastes include inventory (stock of materials, components etc.) and rework due to production of defective items.

Productivity: Productivity is another term related to efficiency. Productivity can be measured as output for specfic inputs. One can say to make one unit of output 4 mandays are being utilized in an organization. If in another organization, only 3.5 mandays are being utilized to make one unit of similar output there is a need for analysis and investigation to improve productivity. If similar machines are being used in both the organizations, probably there is waste in the first organization. Productivity measurements can be done for each resource and such measures are called partial productivity measures. There are attempts to calculate total factor productivity in terms of money. Industrial engineering department is entrusted with the responsibility of improving productivity.

Standard Cost: Standard cost calculation was made possible by industrial engineering technique of time study. F.W. Taylor, the father of industrial engineering developed the time study method through which very small elements of man-machine work was timed using stop watches and fair amount of time necessary to complete the element by any trained operator was determined. With this method, it was possible to fix standard time required to do one unit of out for man-machine systems. Cost of production for unit of output could be calculated with this method. Many times in companies there are deviations from the prescribed method termed as standard method and actual costs differ from standard costs. This difference is a waste, and there can be actions to minimize this waste. Apart from it, there can be reduction in standard cost itself because of the learning effect. Japanese managers and industrial engineers have implemented systems for exploiting learning effect in a systematic manner by demanding reduction in standard cost every month. Continuous improvement in activities made possible by suggestion schemes is termed as Kaizen by Japanese people. Kaizen means good change and the Japanese term encourages operators to think of good change always.  Reduction in standard cost is improvement in efficiency and productivity. Hence efficiency improvement is cost reduction and industrial engineers are responsible for cost reduction. In any organization, industrial engineers have to reduce standard cost per unit every period and this reduction will result in reduction of total cost of the organization for the same level of output between two successive periods.

Efficiency improvement is carried out by industrial engineers through human effort engineering and system efficiency engineering.

Industrial Engineering Definitions

Going

Industrial engineering directs the efficient conduct of manufacturing, construction, transportation, or even commercial enterprises of any undertaking, indeed in which human labor is directed to accomplishing any kind of work . Industrial engineering has drawn upon mechanical engineering, upon economics, sociology, psychology, philosophy, accountancy, to fuse from these older sciences a distinct body of science of its own . It is the inclusion of the economic and the human elements especially that differentiates industrial engineering from the older established branches of the profession (Going, 1911) [1].

Maynard

“Industrial engineering is the engineering approach applied to all factors, including the human factor, involved in the production and distribution of products or services.” (Maynard, 1953) [2]

Lehrer

“Industrial engineering is the design of situations for the useful coordination of men, materials and machines in order to achieve desired results in an optimum manner. The unique characteristics of Industrial Engineering center about the consideration of the human factor as it is related to the technical aspects of a situation, and the integration of all factors that influence the overall situation.” (Lehrer, 1954) [3]

AIIE

“Industrial engineering is concerned with the design, improvement, and installation of integrated systems of men, materials, and equipment. It draws upon specialized knowledge and skill in the mathematical, physical, and social sciences together with the principles and methods of engineering analysis and design, to specify, predict, and evaluate the results to be obtained from such systems.” (AIIE, 1955). [4]

Nadler

"Industrial engineering may be defined as the art of utilizing scientific principles, psychological data, and physiological information for designing, improving, and integrating industrial, management, and human operating procedures." (Nadler, 1955) [5]


Lyndal Urwick

“Industrial engineering is that branch of engineering knowledge and practice which
 1. Analyzes, measures, and improves the method of performing the tasks assigned to individuals,
2. Designs and installs better systems of integrating tasks assigned to a group,
3. Specifies, predicts, and evaluates the results obtained.
 It does so by applying to materials, equipment and work specialized knowledge and skill in the mathematical and physical sciences and the principles and methods of engineering analysis and design. Since, however, work has to be carried out by people; engineering knowledge needs to be supplemented by knowledge derived from the biological and social sciences.” (Lyndall Urwick, 1963) [6]

"Industrial engineering is concerned with the design, improvement and installation of integrated systems of people, materials, information, equipment and energy. It draws upon specialized knowledge and skill in the mathematical, physical, and social sciences together with the principles and methods of engineering analysis and design, to specify, predict, and evaluate the results to be obtained from such systems." [7]

 Sawada

"Industrial engineering is an art for creating the most efficient system composed of people, matters, energy, and information, by which a specific goal in industrial, economic, or social activities will be achieved within predetermined probabilities and accuracy. The system may be for a small single work station, a group, a section, a department, an institution or for a whole business enterprise. It may be also be of a regional, national, international, or inter-planetary scope."(Sawada, 1977) [8]

Narayana Rao

“Industrial Engineering is Human Effort Engineering. It is an engineering discipline that deals with the design of human effort in all occupations: agricultural, manufacturing and service. The objectives of Industrial Engineering are optimization of productivity of work-systems and occupational comfort, health, safety and income of persons involved.” (Narayana Rao, 2006) [9]


Narayana Rao

"Industrial Engineering is Human Effort Engineering and System Efficiency Engineering. It is an engineering discipline that deals with the design of human effort and system efficiency in all occupations: agricultural, manufacturing and service. The objectives of Industrial Engineering are optimization of productivity of work-systems and occupational comfort, health, safety and income of persons involved."(Narayana Rao, 2009) [10]

Yamada

Total Industrial Engineering is  "a system of methods where the performance of labor is maximized by reducing Muri (unnatural operation), Mura (irregular operation) and Muda (non-value added operation), and then separating labor from machinery through the use of sensor techniques."  (Yamashina)

( Source:  http://wenku.baidu.com/view/a1cdf8ec4afe04a1b071de84.html)

Narayana Rao

"Industrial Engineering is Human Effort Engineering and System Efficiency Engineering. It is an engineering-based management staff-service discipline that deals with the design of human effort and system efficiency in all occupations: agricultural, manufacturing and service. The objectives of Industrial Engineering are optimization of productivity of work-systems and occupational comfort, health, safety and income of persons involved."(Narayana Rao, 2011) [Added to this knol on 14.9.2011]

References

1. Going, Charles Buxton, Principles of Industrial Engineering, McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, 1911, Pages 1,2,3
2. Maynard, H.B., “Industrial Engineering”, Encyclopedia Americana, Americana Corporation, Vol. 15, 1953
3. Lehrer, Robert N., “The Nature of Industrial Engineering,” The Journal of Industrial Engineering, vol.5, No.1, January 1954, Page 4
4. Maynard, H.B.,  Handbook of Industrial Engineering, 2nd Edition,  McGraw Hill, New York, 1963.
5. Nadler, Gerald, Motion and Time Study", McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York, 1955
6. Urwick, Lyndall, F., “Development of Industrial Engineering”, Chapter 1 in Handbook of Industrial Engineering, H.B. Maynard (Ed.), 2nd Edition, McGraw Hill, New York, 1963.

7. http://www.iienet2.org/Details.aspx?id=282

8. Sawada, P.N., "A Concept of Industrial Engineering," International Journal of Production Research, Vol 15, No. 6, 1977, Pp. 511-22. 

9. Narayana Rao, K.V.S.S., “Definition of Industrial Engineering: Suggested Modification.” Udyog Pragati, October-December 2006, Pp. 1-4.

10. Narayana Rao K.V.S.S.,   Industrial Engineering

Going's definition is an important one and clarifies the uniqueness of industrial engineering in engineering as well as management subjects. It is the focus on human factor and economic factor that distinguishes IE from other engineering branches and management subjects. Defintions of AIIE and IIE have created ambiguity in the explanation of industrial engineering. It would have been more appropriate if AIIE and IIE defined IE as economic design of production systems. That would have clarified the role of IE in systems design.

Explanation of IE as human effort engineering and system efficiency engineering provides a great breadth to IE discipline ranging from a single operator with a simple tool to global systems in terms of size and it provides a great area of focus that is efficiency in the two important performance dimensions of management: effectiveness and efficiency.

Industrial Engineering Tool Kit

What the important methods and techniques of Industrial Engineering?

Human Effort Engineering

1. Principles of Motion Economy and Motion Study.

    Therbligs, SIMO chart, Chronocycle graph

2. Motion Economy Device Design and Work Station Design

2. Work Measurement

    Stop watch time study, work sampling, PMTS - MTM, MOST

3. Ergonomics

4. Safe Work Practice Design

    Personal protective devices

5. Wage Incentives and Job Evaluation

System Efficiency Engineering

1. Method Study and Methods Efficiency Design

    Process analysis, operation analysis, work station design

2. Product Design Efficiency Engineering: Value Engineering

3. Capital Equipment Efficiency Engineering : Engineering Economics, Replacement Studies, OEE improvement,

4. Plant Layout Efficiency Improvement: Plant Layout Studies for reduction of material movement, operator movement and movement of salesmen etc. Assembly Line Balancing ,

5. Statistics Based Techniques: Statistical Quality Control (SQC), Statistical Process Control (SPC), and Six Sigma Projects etc.

6. Mathematical Optimization, Operations Research and Quantitative Techniques

    Linear programming models, Integer programming, Non-linear programming

7. Engineering Economics

    Engineering Economic Appraisals of projects submitted by Engineering Departments

8. Specialised Functional IE Solutions: SMED. Lean Manufacturing, BPR, 7 Wastes Model

Each of these methods and techniques will be explained briefly in a specific chapter for each method. 

Bibliography - Addition in 2013

20 ways to improve productivity in garment production
http://www.onlineclothingstudy.com/2012/02/20-ways-to-improve-productivity-in.html
Many IE tools are mentioned in the list. Nice article

Practice of Twinning by Arcelor Mittal - Asking a low productivity unit to study and implement processes of high productivity plant
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304444604577340053191940814.html


Productivity - Efficiency Improvement - Cost Reduction Projects in Various Industries and Organizations - A Collection - made in 2013

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Chapter is being made available to readers as it is being written. Suggestions are welcome. 

Focus of Industrial Engineering - Badiru's Questions in 1994 - Efficiency the Answer

Badiru and Baxi in the article "Industrial engineering education for the 21st century",
Badiru, Adedeji B; Baxi, Herschel J. Industrial Engineering 26. 7 (Jul 1994): 66 made the following observations


IE is quickly losing its identity as a value-adding profession. The basic cause of this problem is that many IEs graduate without resolving the question of identity related to the following questions:

* What separates an IE from other engineers? and

* What contribution does the profession make to an organization?"

Answers given by Narayana Rao  K.V.S.S. in 2013.

What is the solution to these observations?

Clear answers to the two questions;


* What separates an IE from other engineers? and

* What contribution does the profession make to an organization?"

* What separates an IE from other engineers? 

The uniqueness of IE is the special focus on human effort and economic aspect of engineering. Industrial engineering is a management activity that originated in managing engineering activities. Every branch of engineering has associated industrial engineering activity. IE curriculums should provide specialization in various branches of Engineering under IE degree. May be a student will take two or even three engineering branches as elective specialisation in his IE studies.

In management IE is a staff activity and supports the line manager of department in improving the efficiency of the department. IE can be a position assisting the CEO and Chief Industrial Engineering has to be a coveted position of each IE graduate.

* What contribution does the profession make to an organization?"

The contribution of the IE department or function in an organization is improvement in efficiency and consequent reduction in cost. IE as a service activity, staff activity or overhead activity must be able to  improve the efficiency and reduce costs every period and every year. They have to be become the focal point of the cost reduction initiatives in the company and they have to independently monitor the technology environment relevant to their organization to identify cost reduction technology and method opportunities. Simultaneously they should be able independently design some in-house  method that give them cost reduction advantage compared to their competitors.

IEs have to trained in their multiple techniques so that they can use any one of them or an appropriate combination of them to improve the systems of their organization


Add to the observations of Badiru and Baxi observations of Weiss


Observations, based on 60 years of success, by the president of H.B. Maynard & Co. Inc.: IE
Torrey, Eric E. Industrial Engineering26. 12 (Dec 1994): 60.



Roger Weiss, president of H B Maynard & Co. Inc.,



WHAT DOES AN IE DO?

One of the consistent problems that the IE profession faces is the inability of IEs to really sell the value of their profession within the company.

I told a prospective client, a couple of weeks ago, that they needed to hire a couple of industrial engineers into their company...  And, when I told him a good industrial engineer would return their salary 10 times, he just looked at me in disbelief and said, 'Well, maybe that is the first year.'

They did not understand was they had so much latent potential.

And again, the focus was all on the direct labor. He said, 'How many people can we get out of here?' I said, 'Is the issue getting people out or getting product out?' It was not a matter of downsizing, it was a matter of getting more with what they had. And the benefits of that are fairly substantial.

"I guess it is that over the years (IEs) have not succeeded in selling their worth, or measuring their own worth. It is kind of ironic. People in the measurement business should be able to measure their own worth and prove to the company that they are actually saving them money."

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Badiru - further

The root of this identity problem lies in the structured and isolated approach of various IE courses.

The academic curriculum rarely emphasizes the fundamental philosophy of IE itself. That philosophy is a holistic approach to design, development and implementation of integrated systems of men, machines and materials. 


Industry measures performance in terms of real contributions to organizational goals.


Many young graduates mistakenly perceive their expected roles as being part of the management personnel, having little or no direct association with shop-floor activities. Such views impede hands-on experience and prevent the identification of root causes of industrial problems.

Many new graduates take a long time to become productive in developing solutions that require multidisciplinary approaches.



Industrial engineering education for the 21st century: IE
Badiru, Adedeji B; Baxi, Herschel J. Industrial Engineering 26. 7 (Jul 1994): 66.



Format updated in January  2020

Introduction to Industrial Engineering - Chapter Contents

Industrial Engineering Definitions - 1911 to 2009

THE PURPOSE AND EVOLUTION OF INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING

Efficiency and Effectiveness


Industrial Engineering

Focus of Industrial Engineering

Fundamentals of Industrial Engineering

Human Effort Engineering


Systems Efficiency Engineering - A Focus Area of Industrial Engineeering

Industrial Engineering and Systems Design

What is industrial engineering? Going's Answer in 1911


What is industrial engineering? Going's Explanation in 1911

What is Industrial Engineering?

What is Industrial Engineering? Videos

A New Charter for Industrial Engineers


Total Industrial Engineering - H. Yamashina

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

The Role and Career of the Industrial Engineer

Industrial Engineering - Issues for Debate and Resolution

What is Industrial Engineering?

10 Feb 2010

What is industrial engineering?

 

Industrial Engineering is Human Effort Engineering and System Efficiency Engineering.

 

Human effort engineering is designing human effort required in production of goods and services as well as in distributing them. In human effort engineering the human factor is to be integrated with machines and materials involved in producing goods and services. The human effort has to be productive, comfortable, safe and healthy for the operator and the organization.

 

System efficiency engineering is evaluating the production, distribution and administrative systems for efficiency and improving them where needed. System levels studies deal with integration of resources as well as with utilization of single resource.

 

Are There any Alternative Explanations?

 

The Pennsylvania State University's (Penn State) Harold and Inge Marcus Department of
Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering explains the same question this way

 

 

 

What is industrial engineering?
To design systems or make systems more productive and efficient, industrial engineers develop ways of integrating...

 

People
Machines
Materials
Energy
Information

There are roughly four main areas of industrial engineering:

 

Human Factors (ergonomics, human-machine interface)
Operations Research
Manufacturing
Statistics and Quality

 

(Source: http://www.ie.psu.edu/ProspectiveStudents/Questions/Q1.html accessed on 10.2.2010)

 

Comments:

 

"Industrial engineers design systems" may not be a correct explanation of the subject area of industrial engineering. Functional specialists are there in various areas like electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and chemical engineering etc. It is such specialists who design the basic systems. Industrial engineers can not have knowledge in these diverse areas to design systems. But, industrial engineers can evaluate these diverse systems for specific dimensions and human effort and efficiency are the two dimensions with which industrial engineers are concerned.

 

The resources which are to be examined are specified as people, machines, materials, energy and information. In these resources, utilization of people from effort design point of view is totally the specialty of industrial engineers.

 

The Penn State IME's explanation of four main areas is also not appropriate. Functionally the discipline can be explained as consisting of

 

Human Effort Engineering

System Efficiency Engineering

Systems Design, Installation and Improvement Management

 

Operations research a subject used in improving system efficiency. Statistical quality control is method which will improve the efficiency of quality department. Industrial engineering is applicable in agriculture and animal breeding sector, manufacturing sector and service sector. It is applicable in all departments of an organization.

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What is industrial engineering? Going's Answer in 1911  (Summary)

 

What is industrial engineering? Going's Explanation in 1911

What is Industrial Engineering? Videos

Original Knol - http://knol.google.com/k/narayana-rao/what-is-industrial-engineering/2utb2lsm2k7a/ 2289

Industrial Engineering is Project and Report Oriented and Management Continuous Direction Oriented

When you want to differentiate between industrial engineering which is subject of management or discipline of management, and management as a whole, one characteristic is that the output of an industrial engineer is captured in a report which can be evaluated, modified and approved by a manager or group  of managers and implemented. In case of management, there is planning and organization which are report oriented, but direction and leading are guidance oriented or continuous interaction oriented. They clarify the situation or requirements on a continuous basis and keep up the enthusiasm and the positive feelings in people all around for better effort and output by the system.