What does an industrial engineer do?

Industrial engineers are professionals who are concerned with optimizing complex systems or processes to improve efficiency, productivity, and overall performance. They apply principles from engineering, mathematics, and social sciences to design and streamline systems in various industries.

Million dollar question! Real question is: "What would you like to be done?" Here, "you" is capital owner. We (industrial engineers) work for people having money (or power, or control). "to be done" is anything that creates extra benefit to capital owner. We do not know to do something, but we make it done in a better way. (Mostly, we improve an existing system, rarely we built a completely new system. That's why I am using "in a better way".)

Industrial Engineers combine human resources, materials and management, and financial systems to increase an organization's productivity. We study process, identify inefficiencies, and implement improvements. In the ever-changing technological landscape we take on short courses such as LEAN Six sigma, data analysis, Business Analysis etc.etc to better equip ourselves but the goal is always to improve and optimize. The roles we take on differ from industry to industry and depends alot more on what the organization seeks to achieve.

Industrial engineers optimize processes to increase efficiency and reduce waste in various sectors. They analyze and improve production workflows, balancing manpower, materials, and machinery for maximum output and quality. Their work spans across industries like manufacturing, healthcare, and logistics, involving tasks like process modeling, problem-solving, data analytics and implementing cost-effective solutions. They also focus on safety, quality and ergonomics, ensuring smooth, efficient, and compliant operations.

Industrial engineers are like problem-solving superheroes. They use data science skills to crack complex codes, optimize processes for efficiency, and conduct cool simulations to see what works best. They're also the masterminds behind making supply chains run like clockwork. So, whether it's solving data puzzles, making things work better, planning operations, running simulations, or perfecting supply chains, industrial engineers are the go-to folks for making things work seamlessly.

O engenheiro industrial é responsável por definir, supervisionar e garantir a qualidade necessária para a fabricação dos mais diversos produtos. E hoje em dia o Engenheiro Industrial também é responsável pela segurança de cada colaborador responsável por ele e principalmente fazer que tudo isso traga qualidade, produtividade e retorno financeiro. Pois hoje além de tudo isso a empresa tem que trazer em primeiro lugar o acidente pessoal e patrimonial como a base da pirâmide.

Basically, be curious , trying to understand without changing something immediately. Seeing the bigger picture upto all the details, devise an improvement upto an innovation while guiding people to the next feasable maturity level.

Depende muito da empresa, mas a minha experiência diz, um Engenheiro Industrial tem como principais responsabilidades definir um processo, ao adquirir equipamentos novos, deve fazer a aprovação do equipamento no fabricante com o fabricante e mais tarde a aprovação do equipamento nas instalações da empresa (ter em conta tempos de ciclo, taxas de rejeição e se o processo está estável com ajuda de cartas de SPC), participar numa equipa multidisciplinar na construção de PFMEA, criar instruções com os parâmetros de processo, fluxo grama e operação. Deve ter uma estreita relação com o Engenheiro de Processo que deverá ser a pessoa que melhor conhece o processo e certamente já promoveu alterações ao processo reduzindo a sucata, tempo de ciclo.

Um engenheiro industrial projeta, otimiza e gerencia processos e sistemas complexos em diversas indústrias. Eles buscam melhorar eficiência, qualidade e produtividade, utilizando conhecimentos de engenharia, gestão e análise de dados. Suas responsabilidades incluem aprimorar métodos de produção, reduzir custos e garantir a segurança no ambiente de trabalho.

The industrial engineer is concerned with looking at the process and promoting improvements to contribute to increasing manufacturing and energy efficiency, reducing waste and industrial waste, thus contributing to the success of the institution

Here are some career paths for industrial engineers: Process engineer Develops new production plant processes, analyzes, and upgrades existing manufacturing facilities. Quality engineer For example, a utility company's quality engineer may improve customer satisfaction by designing a process to schedule service calls around the customer's availability. Manufacturing engineer Considers every aspect of efficiency in the workplace, like time, available technology, how many workers are required, and producing a product without errors. Project manager Oversees projects that require multiple teams of employees working together to complete tasks and reach goals.

La verdad es que los ingenieros industriales están muy preparados profesionalmente para trabajar y aportar en diversas áreas y en distintos cargos. En mi experiencia en el área de salud, ellos son indispensables pues optimizan procesos, aportan con análisis y control de gestión, evaluación de proyectos, sistematizan la información, también tienen capacidad para liderar equipos. Es ideal que en toda organización hayan ingenieros industriales.

Nowadays Data Science is one the hottest fields for IE’s due to their skills in programming, statistics and optimization. Besides they work as operation engineers or simulation experts

Para melhoria da eficiência dos processos, vale ressaltar que é extremamente importante o conhecimento minucioso das parcelas de custo das etapas do processo produtivo. Pois assim, o engenheiro industrial poderá canalizar as suas ações com mais assertividade na otimização destes resultados.

Industrial Engineers can contribute in various roles including - Industrial Engineering roles - Manufacturing Engineering roles - Quality Engineering roles - Production Planning and Control roles - Supply Chain Engineering roles - Project/Program Management roles - Product Manager roles (That's what I do now and I started off as an Industrial Engineer) - Factory Automation Engineer roles - Data analyst roles Top industries for Industrial Engineers include - Semiconductor Industry (That's where I work and it's very fulfilling and enriching in all aspects) - Automotive Industry - Pharmaceutical Industry - Power/Energy Industry (Oil, Gas, Mining, Solar, EV, Battery) - Big Tech! - Defense and Military Sector - Space and Nuclear Sector

As an industrial engineer and LSS Master Black Belt I am an Extreme Problem Solver from the board room to shop floor. An IE has the broad knowledge of industrial applications giving them more of a holistic view of systems and processes. IE make wonderful plant or operational managers.

O engenheiro industrial precisa estar atualizado com o uso de novas ferramentas e tecnologias buscando maior eficiência e melhor qualidade. Inovação é a chave para um mercado competitivo, lembrei-me de um tema "miopia em marketing" às vezes focamos muito na solução mas não pensamos no real problema. Havia o caso em que mulheres reclamavam que seus cabelos despenteavam ao vento e aquela touca tipo rede usada na época não era muito bonita, enquanto a indústria têxtil buscava desenvolver toucas com fios cada vez mais finos para dar melhor aparência e proteger o penteado a indústria química desenvolveu o laquê. O foco aí foi no problema então soluções mais robustas surgiram.

As an industrial engineer with a master's degree, I realized that what your career really teaches you is how you face and overcome problems. Thanks to those learned skills you will be prepared to overcome any circumstance in your professional career. In addition to those soft skills you have a whole baggage of technical skills, maybe you are not as expert as others who have focused their carrer on a single technological field but with your way of learning you can develop the same job and learn to be as good as them. In general, I would say that being an industrial engineer has more advantages than disadvantages.

Industrial Engineers add value by bringing a unique perspective to challenges that may only be seen through one perspective previously. Where IEs have successfully been deployed in an organization, they often become a long-term part of the org due to the value that they drive. It can be a challenge for a business or organization to first justify and rationalize the cost of an IE position or team if they don't have prior experience with IEs. One challenge area that IEs may face can be in driving change in cultures that have strong aversion to change. Brilliant ideas and plans from IEs are of no value if the leaders and front-lines are not willing to implement the suggested actions.

Entre los beneficios de ser Ingeniero Industrial es que te puedes desempeñar en diversos sectores: industrial, comercial, financiero, entre otros; porque la formación y posterior praxis hace que seas un profesional con capacidad de análisis, que vela por la calidad de los procesos y que se involucra en la toma de decisiones. Entre las dificultades que puede tener es que espera respuestas inmediatas para avanzar con las responsabilidades encomendadas.

Some of the key responsibilities of industrial engineers include: 1. Analyze production processes and workflows to identify areas for improvement. 2. Develop and implement quality control systems to ensure that products and processes meet specific standards and requirements. 3. Work on optimizing supply chain processes, including inventory management, logistics, and distribution. 4. Design efficient layouts for facilities, considering factors such as workflow, safety, and resource utilization. 5. Often take on project management roles, overseeing the planning, implementation, and completion of projects within an organization. 6. Focus on creating work environments that are safe, efficient, and conducive to productivity.

Industrial Engineering provides unique opportunities for individuals to drive major success in their careers without having any single skillset that would be considered in the 90th+ percentile in their field. The best IE's are the ones who have crafted a handful of slightly above average skillsets that when combined together provide a unique ability to view problems and drive solutions. For example, if you have slightly above-average skills across process mapping, data analytics, project management, and business acumen, you can be well positioned to drive impactful improvements at an enterprise level.

An industrial engineer is the interface between human needs and machines, processes, systems etc.etc. They are concerned with safety, product design and development. Product relialisation system designs. The layout design, performance of systems, gap identification and proposing solutions using measurement and analytical tools and methodologies. Industrial engineers can work in mines, manufacturing, banks. Simply put, where there are humans, machines, systems, an industrial engineer can contribute meaningfuly

As an Industrial Engineer you are an internal consultant that is always looking for opportunities for improvement. You have the training to lead your organization into systematic, logical and data driven advancements.

In my experience IE’s also need to focus on people skills (often called soft skills). Convincing others, coaching hands on workers and 1st level managers successfully can lead to a career path in Management. A skilled coach/leader who understands all the educational principals and implementation of the IE skills/tools mentioned previously is an invaluable member of any company. If interested get out of the technical box and coach and lead others. It is much more satisfying & rewarding in my opinion.