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What is IE?

Industrial engineers are the professionals called in when an engineer is needed to look at "the big picture", an entire process or method for getting work done.They focus on how to make something work better or more efficiently by taking into account all resources (people, technology, information) and how they interact. Industrial engineering involves analysis, effective design, and implementation of integrated systems. An effective IE often serves as a bridge between engineering and management, concerned with both technology and the potential organizational impacts associated with change.

Industrial engineers are like master puzzle makers. They take a large problem, break it into smaller, more manageable sized pieces, then put all the pieces back together in a different way to solve the problem. If you think that this type of problem-solving is challenging and fun, industrial engineering may be the career for you!

As a practicing IE you might:

• Create and design a new manufacturing procedure which decreases the time required to make each product, raising profits and thus saving the jobs of dozens of people.
• Implement a new system of quality control to assure that products meant for young children are not only fun, but safe for their use.
• Examine patient needs at a health clinic and design a computer model which helps the clinic change staffing patterns to serve its patients without customary delays.
• Design a computerized inventory and shipment system which automatically routes products to retailers on a regular schedule saving tens of thousands of dollars annually.
• Restructure an office for more productivity by changing the layout, adding a new computer system and suggesting a different relationship between management and the general work force.

For more on what IE is and what IE's do, check out the following links:

• Occupational Outlook Handbook
• Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE)
• Engineering and You (prepared by the Junior Engineering Technical Society (JETS)

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Last modified: November 02, 2006 10:59:40