Sunday, April 8, 2012

Industrial Engineering - Definition, Explanation, History, and Programs

"Industrial Engineering is Human Effort Engineering and System Efficiency Engineeering."
Japanese companies used industrial engineering extensively and improved the understanding of industrial engineering methods among their workmen and achieved unprecedented increase in the productivity of their industrial enterprises.
______________________________________________

Definitions
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].

“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]
“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]
“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]

"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]

“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]
“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) [8]
Definition proposed in this knol.
"Industrial Engineering is Human Effort Engineering and System Efficiency Engineeering. 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."

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. Narayana Rao, K.V.S.S., “Definition of Industrial Engineering: Suggested Modification.” Udyog Pragati, October-December 2006, Pp. 1-4.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
What is Industrial Engineering?
Industrial engineering can be better explained with the statement that the two focus areas of industrial engineering are human effort engineering and system efficiency engineering. These two focus areas match with Urwick’s statement 1 and 2. Industrial engineering (i) analyzes, measures, and improves the method of performing the tasks assigned to individuals, and (ii) Designs and installs better systems of integrating tasks assigned to a group (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).
It is interesting to note that the first representation to the teachers and practioners of industrial engineering was given in the name of Industrial and Efficiency Engineering Committee in 1912 in Society for Promotion of Engineering Education (S.P.E.E.). In this committee, there were three teachers and 8 practioners and Frank Gilbreth was among practioners (Gerald Thusesne, History of Development of Engineering Economic Representation in within A.S.E.E.).
System design and system efficiency design are to be distinguished by dividing system design into system functional design and system efficiency design. Engineers or managers with specialization in a function do the functional design part. An electrical power generation system is designed by electrical engineers. Industrial engineers may take up the functional design and do efficiency engineering work on it. Similarly a marketing system is designed by marketing managers, and industrial engineers may do efficiency engineering of it.
 The explanation of industrial engineering as human effort engineering and system efficiency engineering brings out more clearly the scope of the IIE definition that industrial engineering is concerned with the design, improvement, and installation of integrated systems. The word engineering is associated with design and production, fabrication or construction according to designs.  As explained above, system design in entirety cannot be the sole preserve of industrial engineers.  The functional design of production systems in various branches of engineering can be done by engineers of that branch only. Similarly functional design of various management systems in a business organization can be done by managers of that function only. Industrial engineers have a role to play in systems design and it is of designing efficiency into the functional systems designed by others.

Maynard stated the scope of industrial engineering in his preface to the second edition of Hand Book of Industrial Engineering, edited by him in 1963. Industrial engineers have been traditionally concerned with the design of manufacturing plants, methods improvement, work measurement, the design and administration of wage payment systems, cost control, quality control, production control and the like. These procedures are all directed toward the reduction of cost. All the techniques of industrial engineering reflect the common denominator of all industrial engineering work – an intense interest in improving thing that is currently being planned or done. Cost reduction or efficiency improvement is the focus of industrial engineering. Maynard also pointed out in his preface that developments in applied mathematics and statistics during the post world war years facilitated industrial engineer to tackle design of much larger systems with more predictive power.

In 1943, the Work Standardization Committee of the Management Division of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers identified the following areas as the purview of industrial engineer: Budgets and cost control, manufacturing engineering, organization analysis, systems & procedures, and wage & salary administration. The traditional industrial engineering methods of operation analysis, motion study, work measurement, standardization of the method were included in manufacturing engineering and these techniques are relevant for hourly base wage rate determination, incentives and administration of wage payment.

The study of various functional areas in industrial engineering curriculums is for the purpose of understanding the functional designs in those areas and industrial engineering graduates should not claim expertise in those subjects to do functional design unless they really specialize in them through extra study and experience of efficiency design of many systems in the same functional area.


According to M.H. Mathewson, industrial engineering is distinguished from other engineering disciplines in that it:

1. Places increased emphasis on the integration of human being into the system.
2. Is concerned with the total system.
3. Predicts and interprets the economic results.
4. Makes greater utilization of the contribution of the social sciences than do other engineering disciplines.

Industrial Engineering as practiced today can be explained by identifying three components.

1. Human Effort Engineering
2. System Efficiency Engineering
3. Systems Design, Installation and Improvement Management.
All methods and techniques of industrial engineering can be categorized under these three major components.

Visit
What is industrial engineering? Going's Answer in 1911 (Summary)
What is industrial engineering? Going's Explanation in 1911 (Full chapter)
Efficiency Improvement Techniques of Industrial engineering

1. Process Analysis
2. Operation Analysis
3. Time study
4. Value engineering
5. Statistical quality control
6. Statistical inventory control and ABC Classification Based Inventory Sytems
7. Six sigma
8. Operations research
9. Variety reduction
10. Standardization
11. Incentive schemes
12. Waste reduction or elimination
13. Activity based management
14. Business process improvement
15. Fatigue analysis and reduction
16. Engineering economy analysis
17. Learning effect capture and continuous improvement (Kaizen, Quality circles and suggestion schemes)
18. Standard costing
19. 5S
20. SMED
________________________________________________________________________________________
Development of Industrial Engineering -  History
Industrial engineering as the application of engineering approach to factory manufacture developed initially over a 30 year period spanning 1882 to 1912. The important mile stones in this period are:

1. The idea that engineers have to design and fabricate products at costs, large number of consumers can afford to pay was advocated. This idea gave birth to the subject of Engineering Economics subsequently. H.R. Towne’s address in 1886 to American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) “The Engineer as an Economist” was a classic paper in this area.  The papers of Oberlin Smith also fall in this group.
 2. Engineers got interested in wage incentive methods. Papers by Towne, F.R. Halsey and H.L.Gantt between 1880 ad 1895 addressed this issue.
 3. Engineers got involved in factory accounting issues. An English engineer and accountant, Emile Garcke and J.M. Fells published a book on factory accounts in 1889.
 4. Engineers recognized the importance of production control and paid attention to improve the procedures of production control. H.C. Metcalfe’s “ A Shop Order System of Accounts” was an early paper in this regard.
 5. F.W. Taylor addressed issues related to shop management in a more comprehensive manner in his paper “Shop Management” (1903).
 6. Frank Gilbreth developed the motion study technique.
7. H.L. Gantt advocated training of operators.
 8. Harrington Emerson came out with a book that emphasized efficiency of business organizations and systems.
 9. Lillian Moller Gilbreth work along with Frank Gilbreth and applied psychology to industrial work.
10. Hugo Diemer authored book on Factory Management emphasizing industrial engineering (1910).
11. Charles Going authored the book, Principles of Industrial Engineering (1911).
What is industrial engineering? Going's Answer in 1911

Among the pioneers, F.W. Taylor is hailed as the father of scientific management as he was the first person to perceive the interconnection between these initiatives and integrated them into a philosophy of management “Scientific Management.”

The earliest reference to Industrial Engineering was  the address delivered by Henry R. Towne[1] at the Purdue University on February 24th, 1905. According to him,” the Engineer is one who, in the world of physics and applied sciences, begets new things, or adapts old things to new and better uses; above all, one who, in that field, attains new results in the best way and at lowest cost.” Towne explained that Industrial Engineering is the practice of one or more branches of engineering in connection with some organized establishment of a productive character, in which are conducted the operations required in the production of some article, or series of articles, of commerce or consumption. Nearly all industrial work of this kind, especially if it be conducted on a large scale, involves technical, physical, and engineering questions, varying with the kind of industry but usually of wide scope.

Industrial engineers have to do both technical and administrative work; that is, they have to take responsibility both for the design and character of the product, and for the economy of its production. According to Towne, the industrial engineer as  the man  responsible for the daily operation and, still more, for the vitality and growth of a large industrial plant, must be a many-sided Engineer. He has to consider the planning and, construction of new buildings. He has also to deal with the question of power and its distribution, with steam engines and boilers, with electric generation and transmission, with shafting and belting, in many cases with pumping and the use of compressed air for many purposes, in all cases with heating, ventilating, plumbing and sanitation, and in large plants with questions of internal transportation  he has to  select the right men for the various positions to be filled, and inspire them with ambition and the right spirit in their work. He has to  coordinate their work so as to produce the best final result and understand and direct the technical operations and appreciate quickly and surely whether or not they are properly performed. Industrial engineer combines in one personality  two functions of technical knowledge and executive ability, and a person  who has aptitude for both the fields  has open to him unlimited opportunities in the field of industrial engineering.
According to Urwick, persons who liked Taylors ideas called themselves as industrial engineers, when both big business companies and trade union disliked "scientific management."[2]
 
References
 
  1. Towne, Henry R., “Industrial Engineering” An Address Delivered  At the Purdue University, Friday, February 24th, 1905, downloaded from http://www.cslib.org/stamford/towne1905.htm
  2. 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.
Undergraduate and Graduate Programs in Industrial Engineering

F.W.Taylor is credited with instigating the first undergraduate curriculum in Industrial Engineering by recommending to Beaver, President of the Board of Trustees of Pennsylvania State University that Mechanical Engineering be taught from the vantage point of view of manufacturing rather than from the perspective of power plants and higher mathematics.

In 1908, the first course was offered as an option in Mechanical Engineering.

In 1909, the first baccalaureate program in Industrial Engineering was offered at Pennsylvania University. Hugo Diemer, a young professor from the University of Kansas, recruited by Penn state University on the recommendation of Frederick Taylor, developed and coordinated the program. Diemer is credited with offering the first paper/course in industrial engineering to be taught in the United States – “Machinery and Millwork” – at University of Kansas School of Engineering in 1899.  Professor Diemer described industrial engineers as persons "who are thoroughly familiar with the productive processes, with broad interests, and who are at the same time thorough accountants and businessmen." Accounting as an area of importance to industrial engineers was mentioned by Towne also.
Diemer wrote his most famous book "Factory Organization and Administration"  published by McGraw-Hill in 1910.

http://www.managers-net.co.uk/Biography/diemer.html
Visit the knol for more about programs
Good Industrial Engineering Programs

No comments:

Post a Comment