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Industrial Engineering

Also Known As Industrial and Systems Engineering
Mechanical Engineering

Industrial engineering designs and improves the systems that turn materials, information, people and equipment into finished goods and services, rather than any single physical product. Its core methods, including time and motion study, process flow analysis, quality control and operations research, grew out of Frederick Winslow Taylor's scientific management movement of the early twentieth century and Henry Ford's moving assembly line. The discipline now covers manufacturing, logistics, healthcare delivery and other large scale operations wherever the design of the whole system matters as much as any individual machine in it.

Facts
Core Concern
Optimizing complex processes, systems and organizations that involve people, materials, information and equipment. 1
Core Principle
Industrial engineering optimizes complex processes, systems and organizations, improving the efficiency, productivity and quality of integrated systems of people, materials, information, equipment and energy rather than any single machine. 2
Disputed
Origin Year
1911
1911 marks the publication of Taylor's The Principles of Scientific Management, the work most often credited with founding the discipline; its first dedicated professional society, the American Institute of Industrial Engineers, was not founded until 1948.
Industrial Engineering
Filter Results11 entries
FAQs

What is the difference between industrial engineering and mechanical engineering?

Mechanical engineering designs individual machines and mechanical systems. Industrial engineering designs and improves the larger systems those machines operate within, including factory layouts, supply chains, staffing, scheduling and quality control, optimizing how people, equipment, materials and information work together as a whole process. An industrial engineer is less concerned with how a single machine works internally and more concerned with how a whole production or service system performs.
Connections

Associated With

Barcode, Inventions

Co-invented the barcode as a retail identification system.

Bill Smith, Engineers

Developed the Six Sigma quality methodology at Motorola.

Applied and popularized lean manufacturing analysis of the Toyota Production System.

Co-invented the barcode as a retail identification system.

Six Sigma, Methods
Systems Engineering, Fields

Both coordinate complex processes and organizations rather than a single physical artifact.

Principal architect of the Toyota Production System and lean manufacturing.

Advanced statistical quality control methods central to industrial engineering.

Developed statistical quality control, foundational to industrial engineering practice.

Includes

3D Printer, Inventions
Source 3D Printing (Wikipedia)
Andon, Inventions
Source Andon (manufacturing) - Wikipedia
Source Assembly Line (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
Source Automated guided vehicle, Wikipedia
Source Sorter (logistics), Wikipedia
Source Automated storage and retrieval system - Wikipedia
Bill Smith, Engineers
Source Computer numerical control (Wikipedia)
Source Control chart, Wikipedia
Source Corrugated fiberboard - Wikipedia
Source Design of experiments (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
Dick Morley, Engineers
Source Dick Morley (Wikipedia)
Source Digital twin (Wikipedia)
DMAIC, Methods
Source DMAIC (Wikipedia)
Source What Was the First Loading Dock? - Beuschel Sales, Inc.
Source Failure mode and effects analysis (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
Source Ishikawa diagram, Wikipedia
Source A History of TechnologyCharles Singer, E. J. Holmyard, A. R. Hall and Trevor I. Williams, editors
Source Gantt chart, Wikipedia
Gap analysis, Methods
Source Gap analysis (Wikipedia)
Source Gauge block (Wikipedia)
Hard Hat, Inventions
Source Hard hat - Wikipedia
Source The Complete History & Evolution Of The Safety Vest
Source Interchangeable parts (Wikipedia)
Source Airbag (Wikipedia)
Kaizen, Methods
Source Kaizen (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
Source Kanban (Wikipedia)
Source Kaoru Ishikawa (Wikipedia article)
Source Lawrence D. Miles (Wikipedia)
Source Lean manufacturing (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
Source Lillian Gilbreth (Wikipedia)
Source OSHA The control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout) 1910.147
Source Safeguarding History - Rockford Systems, LLC
Source Computer numerical control (Wikipedia)
Source Overhead crane (Wikipedia)
Pallet, Inventions
Source Pallet, Wikipedia
Source Pallet jack (Wikipedia)
Source Pallet racking (Wikipedia)
Palletizer, Inventions
Source Palletizer, Wikipedia
PERT Chart, Inventions
Source Program evaluation and review technique, Wikipedia
Source Is Pick-to-Light More Than A Stepping Stone? - Michel Baudin's Blog
Source PDCA (Wikipedia)
Poka-Yoke, Inventions
Source Poka-yoke - Wikipedia
Source Programmable logic controller (Wikipedia)
Punch Card, Inventions
Source Punched card - Wikipedia
Source Quality function deployment (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors
Source 70 years of reach trucks
Respirator, Inventions
Source Respirator, Wikipedia

Showing 1 to 50 of 72 in Includes, page 1 of 2.

Open Questions

Sources
1. Technology: A World History
Daniel R. Headrick, Oxford University Press, 2009View the Source
2. Industrial Engineering (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia Foundation
  • Introduction section
    Industrial engineering is a branch of engineering that focuses on optimizing complex processes, systems, and organizations by improving efficiency, productivity, and quality.
  • Lead section, opening definition of industrial engineering
    Industrial engineering (IE) revolves around the design, improvement and installation of integrated systems of people, materials, information, equipment and energy.
  • In Group: Industrial and Systems Engineering, lead sentence: revolves around the design, improvement and installation of integrated systems of people, materials, information, equipment and energy
View the Source
A History of Technology
Charles Singer, E. J. Holmyard, A. R. Hall and Trevor I. Williams, editors, Oxford University Press, 1954Includes: Frederick Winslow TaylorView the Source
Kaoru Ishikawa (Wikipedia article)
Includes: Kaoru Ishikawa, Lead
Quote, Includes: Kaoru Ishikawa, Lead
a professor in the engineering faculty at the University of Tokyo who was noted for his quality management innovations
View the Source
Walter A. Shewhart (Wikipedia)
Includes: Walter A. Shewhart, Categories
Quote, Includes: Walter A. Shewhart, Categories
American industrial engineers
View the Source
Taiichi Ohno (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Taiichi Ohno, Lead section
Quote, Includes: Taiichi Ohno, Lead section
Ohno Taiichi (大野耐一, Ōno Taiichi; February 29, 1912, May 28, 1990) was a Japanese industrial engineer and businessman.
View the Source
Lillian Gilbreth (Wikipedia)
WikipediaIncludes: Lillian Gilbreth, Lead section
Quote, Includes: Lillian Gilbreth, Lead section
Lillian Evelyn Gilbreth (née Moller; May 24, 1878, January 2, 1972) was an American psychologist, industrial engineer, consultant, and educator who was an early pioneer in applying psychology to time-and-motion studies.
View the Source
Six Sigma (Wikipedia)
Includes: Six Sigma, Categories
Quote, Includes: Six Sigma, Categories
Quality management
View the Source
Lean manufacturing (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Lean Manufacturing, Categories
Quote, Includes: Lean Manufacturing, Categories
Lean manufacturing
View the Source
Total quality management (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Total Quality Management, Categories
Quote, Includes: Total Quality Management, Categories
Quality management
View the Source
Kaizen (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Kaizen, Categories
Quote, Includes: Kaizen, Categories
Lean manufacturing
View the Source
Andon (manufacturing) - Wikipedia
Includes: Andon, Categories
Quote, Includes: Andon, Categories
Lean manufacturing
View the Source
Poka-yoke - Wikipedia
Includes: Poka-Yoke, Categories
Quote, Includes: Poka-Yoke, Categories
Lean manufacturing
View the Source
Kanban (Wikipedia)
Includes: Kanban System, Categories
Quote, Includes: Kanban System, Categories
Lean manufacturing
View the Source
Control chart, Wikipedia
Includes: Control Chart, Categories
Quote, Includes: Control Chart, Categories
Quality control tools
View the Source
Ishikawa diagram, Wikipedia
Includes: Fishbone Diagram, Categories
Quote, Includes: Fishbone Diagram, Categories
Quality control tools
View the Source
Time and motion study, Wikipedia
Includes: Time and Motion Study, Categories
Quote, Includes: Time and Motion Study, Categories
Industrial engineering
View the Source
Value-stream mapping (Wikipedia)
Includes: Value Stream Mapping, Categories
Quote, Includes: Value Stream Mapping, Categories
Lean manufacturing
View the Source
Design of experiments (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Design of experiments, Categories
Quote, Includes: Design of experiments, Categories
Industrial engineering
View the Source
Failure mode and effects analysis (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Failure mode and effects analysis, Categories
Quote, Includes: Failure mode and effects analysis, Categories
Lean manufacturing
View the Source
Quality function deployment (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Quality function deployment, Categories
Quote, Includes: Quality function deployment, Categories
Quality management
View the Source
PDCA (Wikipedia)
Includes: Plan-Do-Check-Act, Categories
Quote, Includes: Plan-Do-Check-Act, Categories
Quality management
View the Source
Root-cause analysis (Wikipedia)
Includes: Root cause analysis, Categories
Quote, Includes: Root cause analysis, Categories
Quality control tools
View the Source
Scientific management (Wikipedia)
Includes: Scientific Management, Categories
Quote, Includes: Scientific Management, Categories
Management theory
View the Source
Automated storage and retrieval system - Wikipedia
Includes: Automated Storage and Retrieval System, Categories
Quote, Includes: Automated Storage and Retrieval System, Categories
Warehouses
View the Source
Gantt chart, Wikipedia
Includes: Gantt Chart, Categories
Quote, Includes: Gantt Chart, Categories
Project management techniques
View the Source
Program evaluation and review technique, Wikipedia
Includes: PERT Chart, Categories
Quote, Includes: PERT Chart, Categories
Engineering management
View the Source
Sorter (logistics), Wikipedia
Includes: Automated Sortation System, Categories
Quote, Includes: Automated Sortation System, Categories
Logistics
View the Source
Assembly Line (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Assembly Line, Categories
Quote, Includes: Assembly Line, Categories
Mass production
View the Source
Warehouse management system, Wikipedia
Includes: Warehouse Management System, Categories
Quote, Includes: Warehouse Management System, Categories
Logistics
View the Source
Gap analysis (Wikipedia)
Includes: Gap analysis, Categories
Quote, Includes: Gap analysis, Categories
Product management
View the Source
DMAIC (Wikipedia)
Includes: DMAIC, Categories
Quote, Includes: DMAIC, Categories
Data management
View the Source
W. Edwards Deming (Wikipedia)
Includes: W. Edwards Deming, Lead section
Quote, Includes: W. Edwards Deming, Lead section
William Edwards Deming (October 14, 1900, December 20, 1993) was an American business theorist, composer, economist, industrial engineer, management consultant, statistician, and writer.
View the Source
Programmable logic controller (Wikipedia)
Includes: Programmable Logic Controller, Lead section
Quote, Includes: Programmable Logic Controller, Lead section
A programmable logic controller (PLC) or programmable controller is an industrial computer that has been ruggedized and adapted for the control of manufacturing processes, such as assembly lines, machines, robotic devices, or any activity that requires high reliability, ease of programming, and process fault diagnosis.
View the Source
3D Printing (Wikipedia)
WikipediaIncludes: 3D Printer, Lead section
Quote, Includes: 3D Printer, Lead section
3D printing, also called additive manufacturing, is the construction of a three-dimensional object from a CAD model or a digital 3D model.
View the Source
Automated guided vehicle, Wikipedia
Includes: Automated Guided Vehicle, Lead section
Quote, Includes: Automated Guided Vehicle, Lead section
They are most often used in industrial applications to transport heavy materials around a large industrial building, such as a factory or warehouse.
View the Source
Therblig, Wikipedia
Includes: Therbligs, Lead section
Quote, Includes: Therbligs, Lead section
Therbligs are elemental motions used in the study of workplace motion economy.
View the Source
Statistical Process Control (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Statistical Process Control, Lead section
Quote, Includes: Statistical Process Control, Lead section
Statistical process control (SPC) or statistical quality control (SQC) is the application of statistical methods to monitor and control the quality of a production process.
View the Source
Shaker broom vise (Wikipedia)
Includes: Shaker Broom Vise, Lead section
Quote, Includes: Shaker Broom Vise, Lead section
The Shaker broom vise is a specialized production vise that made the normally round broom flat to make it more efficient for cleaning purposes.
View the Source
Interchangeable parts (Wikipedia)
Includes: Interchangeable Parts, Introduction
Quote, Includes: Interchangeable Parts, Introduction
They are made to specifications that ensure that they are so nearly identical that they will fit into any assembly of the same type.
View the Source
Computer numerical control (Wikipedia)
  • Includes: Numerical Control, Introduction
    Computer numerical control (CNC) or CNC machining is the automated control of machine tools by a computer.
  • Includes: Computer Numerical Control, Introduction
    Computer numerical control (CNC) or CNC machining is the automated control of machine tools by a computer.
View the Source
Pallet, Wikipedia
Includes: Pallet, Introduction
Quote, Includes: Pallet, Introduction
A pallet (also called a skid) is a flat transport structure, which supports goods in a stable fashion while being lifted by a forklift, a pallet jack, a front loader, a jacking device, or an erect crane.
View the Source
Pallet jack (Wikipedia)
Includes: Pallet Jack, Introduction
Quote, Includes: Pallet Jack, Introduction
Pallet jacks are the most basic form of a forklift and are intended to move palletized loads within warehouses, distribution centers, retail stores, and construction sites.
View the Source
Radio-frequency Identification (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: RFID, Introduction
Quote, Includes: RFID, Introduction
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects.
View the Source
Corrugated fiberboard - Wikipedia
Includes: Corrugated Cardboard, Introduction
Quote, Includes: Corrugated Cardboard, Introduction
Corrugated board is manufactured on large high-precision machinery lines called corrugators.
View the Source
Turnstile, Wikipedia
Includes: Turnstile, Introduction
Quote, Includes: Turnstile, Introduction
A turnstile (also called a gateline, baffle gate, automated gate, turn gate in some regions) is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time.
View the Source
Palletizer, Wikipedia
Includes: Palletizer, Introduction
Quote, Includes: Palletizer, Introduction
A palletizer or palletiser is a machine which provides automatic means for stacking cases of goods or products onto a pallet.
View the Source
Overhead crane (Wikipedia)
Includes: Overhead Crane, Introduction
Quote, Includes: Overhead Crane, Introduction
An overhead crane, commonly called a bridge crane, is a type of crane found in industrial environments.
View the Source
Punched card - Wikipedia
Includes: Punch Card, Introduction
Quote, Includes: Punch Card, Introduction
Developed over the 19th to 20th centuries, punched cards were widely used for data processing, the control of automated machines, and computing.
View the Source
Tabulating machine (Wikipedia)
Includes: Tabulating Machine, Introduction
Quote, Includes: Tabulating Machine, Introduction
It spawned a class of machines, known as unit record equipment, and the data processing industry.
View the Source
Gauge block (Wikipedia)
Includes: Gauge Block, Introduction
Quote, Includes: Gauge Block, Introduction
Gauge blocks are the main means of length standardization used by industry.
View the Source
Pallet racking (Wikipedia)
Includes: Pallet Rack, Introduction
Quote, Includes: Pallet Rack, Introduction
Forklift trucks are usually required to place the loaded pallets onto the racks for storage.
View the Source
Digital twin (Wikipedia)
Includes: Digital Twin, Introduction
Quote, Includes: Digital Twin, Introduction
In the 2010s and 2020s, manufacturing industries began moving beyond digital product definition to extending the digital twin concept to the entire manufacturing process.
View the Source
Dick Morley (Wikipedia)
Includes: Dick Morley, Introduction
Quote, Includes: Dick Morley, Introduction
He was involved with the production of the first PLC for General Motors, the Modicon, at Bedford and Associates in 1968.
View the Source
Airbag (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: John W. Hetrick, History section
Quote, Includes: John W. Hetrick, History section
Hetrick was an industrial engineer and member of the United States Navy.
View the Source
OSHA The control of hazardous energy (lockout/tagout) 1910.147
Includes: Lockout-Tagout Device, Page text
Quote, Includes: Lockout-Tagout Device, Page text
Employees servicing or maintaining machines or equipment may be exposed to serious physical harm or death if hazardous energy is not properly controlled.
View the Source
Safeguarding History - Rockford Systems, LLC
Includes: Machine Guard, Page text
Quote, Includes: Machine Guard, Page text
In the absence of safety regulations, manufacturers prioritized productivity over worker protection, leading to devastating consequences such as amputations, respiratory illnesses, and burns.
View the Source
The Complete History & Evolution Of The Safety Vest
Includes: High-Visibility Clothing, Page text
Quote, Includes: High-Visibility Clothing, Page text
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) plays a vital role in workplace safety, ensuring workers are protected from potential hazards.
View the Source
What Was the First Loading Dock? - Beuschel Sales, Inc.
Includes: Dock Leveler, Page text
Quote, Includes: Dock Leveler, Page text
It’s easier to talk about the modern loading dock and how the system of safely loading and unloading goods came about with Kelley’s first counterbalanced dock leveler.
View the Source
Is Pick-to-Light More Than A Stepping Stone? - Michel Baudin's Blog
Includes: Pick-to-Light System, Page text
Quote, Includes: Pick-to-Light System, Page text
Pick-to-Light directs manual picking by lighting up bins.
View the Source
Aviation Ground Support Equipment Timeline - Tronair
Includes: Tow Tractor, Page text
Quote, Includes: Tow Tractor, Page text
1923 - Forklift Manufacturer Creates The Duat Tow Tractor
View the Source
70 years of reach trucks
Includes: Reach Truck, Page text
Quote, Includes: Reach Truck, Page text
For customers, it was a real game-changer back then: thanks to the reach truck, they were able to make optimal use of both the floor space and the height of the room for the storage of production goods as space was precious even back then.
View the Source
The History of Eye Protection and How It Has Evolved
Includes: Safety Goggles, Page text
Quote, Includes: Safety Goggles, Page text
In the early 1900s, Garrett Morgan invented a gas mask and later received a patent for safety goggles, a feature he had designed to be worn inside the mask itself but discovered it could be worn alone for eye protection.
View the Source
Hard hat - Wikipedia
Includes: Hard Hat, Lead section
Quote, Includes: Hard Hat, Lead section
A hard hat is a type of helmet predominantly used in hazardous environments such as industrial or construction sites to protect the head from injury due to falling objects (such as tools and debris), impact with other objects, and electric shock, as well as from rain.
View the Source
Safety harness, Wikipedia
Includes: Safety Harness, Lead section
Quote, Includes: Safety Harness, Lead section
A safety harness is a form of protective equipment designed to safeguard the user from injury or death from falling.
View the Source
Steel-toe boot, Wikipedia
Includes: Steel-Toe Boot, Lead section
Quote, Includes: Steel-Toe Boot, Lead section
A steel-toe boot (also known as a safety boot, steel-capped boot, steel toecaps or safety shoe) is a durable boot or shoe that has a protective reinforcement in the toe which protects the foot from falling objects or compression.
View the Source
Respirator, Wikipedia
Includes: Respirator, Lead section
Quote, Includes: Respirator, Lead section
A respirator is type of mask designed to protect the wearer from inhaling hazardous atmospheres including lead fumes, vapors, gases and particulate matter such as dusts and airborne pathogens such as viruses.
View the Source
Containerization (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Shipping Container, Lead section
Quote, Includes: Shipping Container, Lead section
Containerization, also referred as container stuffing or container loading, is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers.
View the Source
Open Questions (1 open question)
Who deserves primary credit for founding industrial engineering as a discipline: Frederick Winslow Taylor, originator of time study, or Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, originators of motion study?

Time study and motion study were developed independently and stood in philosophical tension; the disagreement between Taylor and the Gilbreths became a personal rift that, after Taylor died, turned into an open feud between the Gilbreths and the Taylor camp, and the documented record states that friction over questions of history and intellectual property still remains even after Lillian Gilbreth attempted to heal the rift.

What would resolve this A settled historical account, backed by primary correspondence or patent records, establishing whose methodological contribution founded industrial engineering as a discipline and how the intellectual property dispute between the two camps was actually resolved.
History of TechnologyWikipedia contributors, Frank Bunker Gilbreth (Wikipedia)
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