Why Industrial Engineering?

Why Industrial Engineering?

Industrial engineering is a branch of engineering which known as Scientific Management before and now it is known as Industrial Engineering. In 1909, Scientific Management was introduced by Frederick Winslow Taylor, this Scientific Management further become the main conceptual of nowadays industrial engineering. In a book titled Pengantar Teknik Industri, Sukaria Sinulingga said that, basically, scientific management was a scientific concept concerned with industrial efficiency improvement, like utility improvement in any production factor especially in man power. That scientific management concept is the basic of industrial engineering but nowadays it is not just about that and this essay will explain more about what the industrial engineering is.

If industrial engineering were defined grammatically, it consist of two words. The first word is industrial, based on Oxford Dictionary, industrial is formed from the word industry, it is defined as an economic activity concerned with the processing of raw materials and manufacture of goods in factories. The second word is engineering, it is defined as a branch of science and technology concerned with the design, building, and use of engines, machines and structures. So, grammatically it means that industrial engineering is a branch of specific engineering which concern with the all of industrial system components. Instead of that grammatically meaning, Industrial engineering is officially defined by IIE as a branch of engineering concerned with all about the design, improvement, and installation of integrated system 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 system. IIE is the abbreviation of Institute of Industrial Engineers and IIE is an international, non-profit association that provides leadership for the application, education, training, research, and development of industrial engineering.

Industrial engineering doesn’t like the other engineering branch, it little bit difference with the others, such as mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, civil engineering and others branch of engineering. For example, in a factory that has a manufacturing process, a mechanical engineer is just expected to handle all about the mechanical systems and its components in the manufacturing process, an electrical engineering is just expected to handle all about the electrical systems in the manufacturing process and factory building, a civil engineer is just expected to handle all about the work place of the factory building, but an industrial engineer is expected to analyze and design which mechanical system, electrical system, and work place is the best and also with the lowest cost. After analyze and design the best of them, the industrial engineer is also expected to improve them into a better integrated system and combine that engineering aspect with an appropriate human resource or man power, then install or apply that complex integrated system into the manufacturing process for more effective and efficient result. The point of that example are, industrial engineering is more complex and general than the other branch of engineering. And also from that example, it can be assumed that the principle of the industrial engineering is industrial efficiency. Industrial efficiency will improve the productivity of the industry which mean more profit or money.

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