Introduction
- The principal activity engaged in by engineers that distinguishes them from other professionals is that of the design of systems.
- Industrial engineers design industrial systems, where
‘industrial’ should be defined to include all types of
organizations, not just manufacturing
Industrial Systems Design
Just what do we mean when we say that industrial and systems engineers design industrial systems?
Industrial engineers design systems at two levels.
- The first level is concerned with the physical workplace at which human activity occurs ----->human activity systems
.
- The second level is concerned with procedures for planning, measuring, and controlling all activities taking place within the organization ----->.management control systems
Human Activity System:
- The manufacturing process itself.
- Materials and all other resources utilized in the production process.
- Machines and equipment.
- Methods by which workers perform tasks.
- Material handling equipment and procedures.
- Workplace design.
- Storage space size and location.
- Data recording procedures for management reporting.
- Layout of facilities and specification of material flow.
- Procedures for maintenance and housekeeping.
- Safety procedures.
Management Control System:
- Management planning system.
- Forecasting procedures.
- Budgeting and economic analyses.
- Wage and salary plans .
- Incentive plans and other employee relations systems.
- Production scheduling.
- Dispatching.
- Progress and status reporting.
- Corrective action procedures.
- Overall information system.
- Quality control system.
- Cost control and reduction.
- Recruiting, training, and placement of employees
- Materials requirementplanning.
- Inventory control procedures.
- Resource allocation.
- Organization design.
Industrial Systems Design Tasks
- How well the IE performs the above design tasks determines to a very great extent how efficiently andeffectively his or her organization will operate.
- The difficulty involved in performing these design tasks is enormous; yet, these tasks should all be related for an optimal design for the total system.
- Truthfully speaking, almost all human activity systems are not really designed; they simply evolve.
- Few IEs really engage in overall system design, almost all are concerned with improving a part of an existing system.
