INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING, THE LINK TO GREATER PRODUCTIVITY

BACKGROUND: Industrial Engineers, design organizational systems to enable people and society improve productivity, efficiency, effectiveness and the quality of the working environment.  All engineers work at planning, designing, implementing and controlling the systems that represent the way people use technology. But the organizational systems dealt by Industrial Engineers are broad and characterized by a need to integrate both the physical and decision making capabilities of humans together with all other aspects of design. Various problems, the Industrial Engineers exposed to are: -design of work method, workstation; -design of factory layout; -methods of controlling the flow of materials in the organization; development of overall plans for procurement of materials, production, inventory and distribution; -dealing with system maintenance aspect; -development of Marketing strategies etc. Industrial Engineers working is not only restricted to industrial setups, but extended to; health care systems; municipal systems; transportation systems; banking systems; construction systems etc. Human behavior and capabilities are key elements in the organizational systems dealt by Industrial Engineers. Industrial Engineers should consider both physical requirements and cost parameters and the physiological and behavioral performance of the human operators. The Industrial Engineer has a dual role, both to extend human capability to operate, manage and control the overall production systems and to ensure the safety and well being of those working in the system. Design and development of these organizational systems requires the unique background of the Industrial Engineer. To equip students with desired knowledge and skills to become a successful Industrial Engineer, the Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Ibadan has prepare Industrial Engineering curriculum to assist the students to develop the skills that meet the specific challenges of systems, which involve managerial activities. The Department of Industrial Engineering is commitment to achieving excellence in teaching and maintaining the highest standards in professional preparation. All graduates has developed a depth of understanding that enables them to contribute to the Industrial Engineering profession. The Department also seek to forge a close interaction with industries and foster an exchange of ideas between the faculty and practicing professionals. The Department is also committed to significantly contributing to the research conducted in Industrial Engineering both nationally and internationally. LECTURES OF THE DEPARTMENT DURING ONE OF OUR INDUSTRIAL TRAINING PRESENTATION.    FROM LEFT DR ANYAECHE, ENGINEER ORSARH, ENGINEER KOLAWOLE, DR OLADOKUN AND ENGINEER ADEYEYE. PRESENT 500LEVEL STUDENTS OF INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN, AFTER THEIR 400LEVEL IT PRESENTATION. OLANRELE OLADEJI DURING HIS INDUSTRIAL TRAINING PRESENTATION. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES: -Equip the students with problem solving skills. -Assist students to develop problem solving initiatives and creativity. -Develop links with business, service and manufacturing industries. -Equip students to apply state-of-the-art methodologies to analyze and evaluate complex systems and devise ways to improve their performance. -Train competent Engineers to understand the importance and scope of professional ethics. -Train competent Engineers who can be successfully employed in the field of Industrial Engineering to promote industrialization, productivity, social and economic development in the country. ALUMNI FROM NESTLE AND STUDENT, DURING IESA WEEK' 2008. PROFESSIONAL PROFILE Industrial Engineering is an extensive field of study since it consists of many seemingly diverse scientific disciplines with interfaces to various other fields of study from the sciences, engineering and management. It may encompass, for example, mathematical models and computer programs, manufacturing and production problems and financial and management systems or marketing or negotiation with a labor union. If one characteristic of Industrial Engineering has to be isolated then it may be the capability of the Industrial Engineer to integrate the contributions of all the other engineering disciplines into a final, functional and marketable product, at the lowest possible cost, by using his global system knowledge and understanding. This "product" may be a factory, or a part of a factory, or a motor vehicle, or a computer programme, or a dish washing machine, or even a procedure or a plan of action.  In general, Industrial Engineers are responsible for the:  Analysis, Design, Planning, Implementation, Operation, Management and Maintenance of integrated Systems consisting of People, Money, Material, Equipment, Information and Energy. It is difficult to define Industrial Engineering in a few well-chosen words since the boundaries of the field of study are certainly fuzzy. This however implies a very definite advantage since a person with a degree in Industrial Engineering has a very wide choice in terms of work environment and type of employer. The Industrial Engineer: -is, as the result of his technological training, his knowledge of economics and especially his commitment to higher productivity and profitability, often responsible for bringing the realities of the business world to the attention of all the other engineering disciplines with whom he is collaborating within a technological environment;   -often has the responsibility to bridge the gap between the technology driven design engineer and the profit motivated manager. In this way he functions as the coordinator and the translator, between the technology, engineering, mathematics and sciences on the one hand and the finances, profit and loss statements, human sciences and management on the other;   -thinks globally and should be capable of seeing the overall picture of any problem situation and thus consider and evaluate the consequences of any decision or proposal for the entire company;   -is an integrator who should combine all the parts of a problem or a proposed solution and also all the contributions of the other engineers, scientists and commercial people into one final working entity. He therefore works with people as one of the most important, but at the same time difficult, resources to control;   -is a planner who should determine which equipment is appropriate, where it should be located, how many of each type of equipment is needed, which technology should be used to produce how much of which product, when, by whom, how should it be transported, which product is required by the customer, where and how large the market for the product is, what quality is acceptable, from where should the raw materials be acquired, what is an acceptable price, how should the product be stored, how should it be financed and how often and in what manner should the equipment be maintained;   -always attempts to improve any system or process. For this his wide background is of importance and a great advantage since it enables him to apply and integrate all the different technologies and concepts from the various other disciplines into new applications. In this process he uses and applies all the available mathematical techniques and models to not only improve but to achieve the "best" solution. The Industrial Engineer may be involved with activities such as: -The planning, design and implementation of manufacturing processes and equipment;   -The design and management of a program for quality improvement and control.   -The development and implementation of performance measurement standards.   -The planning and execution of a program aimed at productivity improvement.   -The management and control of a new technology development program. -The design and operation of a material requirements planning system.   -The development of mathematical models for the analysis of systems.   -The design of a manufacturing plant and the associated plant layout.   -The evaluation of system reliability, availability and maintainability.   -The selection of appropriate technology, processes and equipment.   -The coordination of the activities of an engineering team.   -development of overall plans for procurement of materials, production, inventory and distribution   -The design and implementation of an information system.   -The design and operation of a materials handling system.   -The operation and management of a production process.   -The analysis of financial investment opportunities.   -The planning and control of production facilities.   -The design and operation of a simulation model.   -The execution of economic feasibility studies. -The economic evaluation of alternatives.   -The management of a distribution system.   -The determination of user requirements.   -The financial planning of a project.   -The calculation of production cost.   -dealing with system maintenance aspect.   -The control of a planning project.   -The integration of a system.   -The scheduling of activities. Industrial Engineering may be the broadest of all modern management functions. The field of industrial engineering is a large umbrella that includes a wide variety of tasks established for the purpose of designing implementing and maintaining management systems for effective operations. JOB OPPORTUNITIES Almost any company in the industrial, business and service sectors may benefit from the services of an Industrial Engineer. This may include, for example, the retail, health, financial, manufacturing, construction or chemical sectors. Therefore, the graduate Industrial Engineer enjoys a very wide choice of type of employment, employer and working conditions. The profession is not dependent on employment opportunities, which may exist or may be created in only one or two of the major industrial sectors. The availability of suitable employment is therefore not severely affected if a specific sector experiences economic stagnation. In a similar way, if a specific sector experiences significant growth the Industrial Engineer as a new employment opportunity may exploit it. Similarly, excellent opportunities for promotion usually exist within a specific organization while advancement into other departments of an organization, including management, is often possible.  The graduate Industrial Engineer is therefore exceptionally flexible and has the capability to survive in industry since his knowledge and experience is applicable to almost any organization. He will not be easily caught in a specific field of specialization, which is no longer in demand for some or another reason. Traditionally, the larger corporations employed Industrial Engineers but smaller companies are increasingly interested in using the services of the profession. Graduate of Industrial Engineering can start their own companies while several potential employment environments in Africa have not been fully exploited as yet. The world, and especially Africa, requires relatively few specialized engineers. The requirement is rather for engineers who are capable of identifying, and if necessary adapt, the appropriate technology, who have a global perspective and who can integrate the contributions of the various specialists. In this way "new" technology may be developed to solve problems and handle situations, which are at present unknown and for which pre-training is not possible. Industrial Engineers are  eminently suitable to provide for this need. Very little doubt exists that adequate employment opportunities will exist in the future while new and challenging opportunities will probably develop. It can be proven that the average remuneration of graduate Industrial Engineers, in South Africa and abroad, is higher than the average remuneration of the engineering profession as a whole!   Present employment opportunities exist, and future opportunities may be expected to develop in amongst others the following economic sectors: Mining sector Banking sector Financial sector Health services Chemical industry Consulting services Construction industry Secondary manufacturing Retail and wholesale sectors Distribution and transport services Food and beverage industry Electricity supply services Communication industry Pharmaceutical industry Primary manufacturing Electronic industry Local government Agricultural sector Process industry Hotel industry