Industrial Engineers

Industrial Engineers apply social and physical sciences to improve organisational outcomes, and to predict and evaluate the results of change. They have a particular emphasis on the “human” aspects of work.

Industrial Engineers design and install integrated systems that utilise available resources - human, materials, equipment, energy, information and financial – to achieve optimum outcomes while ensuring that quality, safety, environment and human needs are met. 

Best known for their role in manufacturing and distribution enterprises, Industrial Engineers are also widely found in health care, commerce, transport, mining, and defence. 

Among the wide range of analytical tools and techniques Industrial Engineers use are:

·         Work-study
·         Standards development
·         Operations research
·         Process simulation
·         Logistical systems
·         Value analysis
·         Ergonomics
·         Quality assurance and control
·         Scheduling and inventory control
·         Materials handling
·         Process engineering
·         Project management
·         Cost engineering
·         Safety and environmental control

 

Organisational changes are generated by managers responding to global competition pressures, changes to the marketplace, and society. Industrial Engineers are well placed to analyse and propose changes, to predict the outcome of change, and to advise on the most effective means of implementation.

 

Industrial Engineers need to teach others the use of appropriate techniques, ensuring that they are used properly while updating techniques they use themselves.  

Industrial Engineers need to continuously develop their capabilities as part of a process of continuous socio-economic change.