INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING

Industrial engineering is the branch of engineering that concerns the development, improvement, implementation and evaluation of integrated systems of people, knowledge, equipment, energy, material and process. Industrial engineering draws upon some kind of principles and methods of engineering analysis and synthesis. It eliminates waste of time, money, materials, energy and other resources.Industrial Engineering should also be known as Operations management, Production Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering or Manufacturing Systems Engineering depending on the viewpoint or motives of the user.

In healthcare, Industrial Engineers are most commonly known as Management Engineers or Health Systems Engineers. Whereas most engineering disciplines apply skills mostly to very specific areas, industrial engineering is applied in virtually every industry, like shortening queues at a theme park, streamlining an operating room, distributing products worldwide, and manufacturing cheaper and more reliable automobiles. Even though the term industrial engineering is originally applied to manufacturing, it has extended its service to similar fields like operations research, systems engineering, ergonomics and quality engineering.




To become a production and industrial engineer one needs to do at least BE (Production and Industrial Engineering) of four years duration. A candidate who have passed his/her 10+2 or equivalent with science as a subject is eligible for admission to the Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Engineering. The method of selection include entrance test and interview. Some institutions offer admission on merit basis also. Industrial engineering is also taught as a special subject after BE mechanical / electrical. For admissions to P. G courses in Industrial Engineering/Management, candidates should have a Bachelor's Degree in any branch of engineering/technology (BE / BTech) or equivalent with first division.

Some institutes are also offering admissions based on CAT/GATE score. The duration of PG Diploma in Industrial Engineering is 2 years, and selection is through Group Discussion and Interview. The eligibility for admission to a Fellow Doctoral Programme (Ph. D. program) is a Master of Science degree in Industrial Engineering ME / MTech - Full Time course; 1st Class). NET qualifier can also apply. Method of selection include the most academic qualifications, work experience, seminar presentation and Interview; in fact it is based on the applicants total academic and professional achievements.

Industrial Engineering Quality control :It is a set of measures taken to ensure that defective products or services are not produced, and that the design meets performance requirements. Quality Assurance covers all activities from design, development, production, installation, servicing and documentation. It can considerably reduce the cost of waste and rework. Statistical process control: In manufacturing, usually proceeds are checked by randomly sampling and testing a fraction of the output. Testing every output is generally avoided due to time or cost constraints, or because it may destroy the object being tested. The variances of critical tolerances are continuously tracked, and manufacturing processes are corrected before bad parts can be produced. Productability: Quite frequently, manufactured products might have unnecessary precision, production operations or parts. Simple redesign can eliminate these, lowering costs and increasing manufacturability, reliability and profits. Motion economy: Industrial engineers study how workers perform their jobs, the goal is to reduce the time it takes to perform a certain job and redistribute work so as to require fewer workers for a given task. Personal skills : The individual should be creative, inquisitive, analytical, and detail-oriented, and able to work in a team and communicate well, both orally and in writing. A strong base in computer applications is an important element of the course, which facilitates component production, process planning, production planning, etc.

The job of an industrial engineer centers around the use of people, materials, energy, information and machines in the most effective way. Industrial Engineers work to increase productivity by the management of people and methods of business organisation. They also evolve management control systems to assist in financial planning, cost analysis, production planning and physical distribution of goods and services. Industrial Engineer can get jobs in almost all types of industries. Self employment opportunities are available as consultants or specialists in methods and work operation usually after suitable years of industrial experience.

They also have the option to join private consultancy firms, R&D establishments of big companies or as purchase engineers and technical sales managers. Because of the broad-based nature of the course, production and industrial engineers can work with all types of engineering and manufacturing industries in the private and public sectors. The areas covering industrial Engineering today include work-study, operations and maintenance, production planning and control, materials management, value engineering, network models such as p e r t (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) /c p m (Critical Path Method), operations research, computer science, financial Management, Statistical Quality Control, etc. Those who have higher qualifications and adequate managerial experience can attain top positions in the industrial/management field with an attractive remuneration and incentives.

Industrial Engineers can also work as plant engineers, manufacturing engineers, quality engineers, process engineers and industrial managers in different industries, management and service sector in the middle management cadre. Most of the opportunities are in the private sector. The Union Public Service Commission must hold the Engineering Services Examinations every year for appointments to various Central services. Bachelor's degree holders in engineering/technology are eligible to appear for the examination. A manufacturing engineer makes significant contribution in the production of consumer goods, durables or capital equipment. A programme in manufacturing engineering equips students with knowledge and skills to develop and manage systems governing productivity and quality improvement activities in any engineering-related industry. Also called industrial engineers, manufacturing engineers plan the most effective ways for an organization to use people, material, information, energy and machines.

They take care of selecting the most appropriate machinery and equipment, designing industrial layout, organising assembly line, checking quality and monitoring distribution and inventory. Opportunities exist in industrial and other sectors both in public and private as business systems analyst or business process engineer; production, process, assets or manufacture engineer; quality control manager; health and safety manager; human resource manager; logistics manager or facilities engineer; project manager; plant supervisor; scheduling and planning manager; operations manager; management consultant, etc. Industrial engineers work in a variety of research labs and industries including manufacturing, communications, transportations, banking, pharmaceuticals, finance, travel, semiconductor, e-business, sports, health and information technology.



Those engineers, who choose to work in the private sector, negotiate their terms and conditions with the management themselves. Most fresh engineers start at Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,000 per month, with allowances. Those that go on to add a management degree in addition to engineering can command salaries of Rs 10,000 to Rs 40,000 per month. In the government sector, the salary scale for engineers starts very low for Junior Engineers. The basic scale for Assistant Engineers is a little higher. Executive Engineers get a little better, while the Superintendent Engineers receive a better sum when compared to the lower ranks.