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Industrial engineers: Who are they and what do they do? And more importantly, could industrial engineering be for you?
Industrial engineers are really good at making work easier and faster.
What exactly does an industrial engineer do every day?
Analyzes how people and processes work: records the sequence of steps required to complete the process and details the tasks completed at each step
Measures the output of work: records what is produced by the analyzed work and determines if what is produced is enough to meet demand (aka "time studies")
Identifies waste: industrial engineers love removing any tasks or steps that slow output
Provides solutions: comes up with ideas that mean less effort is required
Organizes the workplace: uses ergonomic principles to design work areas
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Where do industrial engineers work?
Manufacturing: improving production processes to get the product to the customer faster
Healthcare: getting the patient to treatment as efficiently as possible
Government Bodies: reducing bureaucracy by removing unnecessary paperwork
Travel/Transport: reducing queue time, making sure people or products get to their destination as quickly as possible
Other roles to watch for:
Many industrial engineers are called lean specialists or continuous improvement engineers. They have the same objectives as industrial engineers in removing waste from processes (trimming excess fat to keep systems lean!) and making things go smoother and quicker.
Quiz
Which of these workplaces will you find an industrial engineer in action?
Product must move from the start to the end of the production line as quickly as possible. The input from people and machines provide lots of opportunity for improvement. An industrial engineer wouldn't be very busy in the other 3 workplaces.
You'll love it if...
You like interacting with people to get information
You enjoy analysing data
You're stimulated by problem solving
It's not for you if.....
You prefer to stay at your desk all day
You find watching people work incredibly boring
You don't like recording details
Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash
Average Salary (USD) = 
Average Salary (CAD) = Pick the future industrial engineer
Peter
Very good at planning activities
Very detail oriented, likes to excel at tasks
Vihar
Enjoys working on projects alone
Finds analysis boring
Emily
Sees herself as a people manager
Likes to work on corporate strategies
Quiz
Which person looks best suited to a career as an industrial engineer?
Peter looks to have a good attention to detail and will be more suited to analysis than the other two. Neither Vihar nor Emily have a strong interest in fine details, a trait that is required for an industrial engineer
Take Action
So, could industrial engineering be in your future?
If you think so....
This Byte has been authored by
David Slattery
Wannabee learning designer