What does an IE do? and what qualities does an IE should have?
An industrial engineer, like all other engineering, makes analysis, solves problems and designs systems. However, systems that are of interest to industrial engineering are very different from other engineering. While a mechanical engineer focuses machine systems, a computer engineer focuses computer systems, an electrical-electronic engineer focuses electrical-electronic systems; industrial engineering focuses on complex systems and processes that includes human, machinery, materials, information, money and energy. In this context, both industrial systems such as health system and transportation system at strategic level as well as operational level systems such as patient acceptance system and vehicle planning system are of interest to the industrial engineers. This requires industrial engineers to have different academic and personal skills and to address problems with a different approach.
An industrial engineer has to take all the elements of the system (analysis, problem solving, design) into account, taking a holistic approach from the point of view of the system. The industrial engineer has no luxury to solve problems, analyze and design by considering only the specific elements in the system.
The industrial engineer should look from different aspects and find multi-objective solutions to the engineering problems. They are able to manage complex systems and problems, analyze systems / problems by using analytical thinking ability, find efficient solutions and design systems. They should be able to use various techniques such as optimization, simulation and statistics with computer and information technologies.
Industrial engineers should approach the solution-oriented and have research inquiry. They should produce creative solutions to make a system “more efficient, more effective, lower cost, more profitable, better quality, faster, more coordinated, …” . Industrial Engineering can be defined as ‘better’ engineering.
An industrial engineer accounts into human factor in systems and produce human-oriented solutions. In this context, industrial engineers should have social skills. On the other hand, it is not possible for an industrial engineer to do his/her job by sitting in an office. Therefore, he must be enthusiastic adventurer. Last but not least, an Industrial Engineer must have planning and organizing skills to carry out all the above activities.