Industrial Engineering

Industrial engineering is engineering that intervenes in the entire life cycle of a project and encompasses several trades. Industrial engineering optimizes manufacturing operations and the control and assets associated with those operations. It also considers the requirements for quality, cost, schedule, robustness, and safety, from product design to the end of the project life cycle.

It is, in a sense, the equivalent of project management in the service industry. Its scope of intervention is therefore very broad:

• commercial: prospecting and participation in tenders from a technical point of view
• feasibility: analysis of costs and deadlines, but also of the technical feasibility of the realization
• production: support to the realization of the project for all the normative documentation
• purchases: supply of equipment for the production phase
• management of subcontractors: selection and follow-up during the project
• control of operations
• acceptance of work

The industrial engineer is a decision maker and can be described as an architect of the company. They are as interested in production systems, processes and services as they are in the people who work there. Their main motivation is to constantly reconcile the human, economic and technological aspects of private or governmental organizations.

Today, industrial engineers are a major driver of technological change in companies, and are heavily involved in continuous improvement, change management, and technology project management.

While other engineering disciplines apply their expertise in specific fields, industrial engineers can work in a wide range of industries. With their multidisciplinary knowledge and skills, they can work in: manufacturing production companies, service companies, hospital services, transportation or distribution companies, telecommunications companies, airlines, etc.

Here is a summary of the skills, competencies and qualities required of industrial engineers:

• Good mathematical skills and competencies;
• Diverse technical and scientific knowledge;
• Time management skills and competencies;
• Strong organizational and efficiency skills;
• Management and leadership skills;
• Passion for improvement;
• Excellent communication and listening skills;
• Creative problem solving skills;
• Negotiation skills;
• Diplomacy. Patience;
• Great ability to adapt to change;
• Continuous desire to learn. Curious mind;
• Sense of ethics.

The need for industrial engineers is growing rapidly, why? Industrial engineers are the only trained technical professionals who can integrate technological (productivity, systems, services), economic (analysis, profitability), and human (team management, training, etc.) issues into their work.

At the end of your four years of study, you will combine your engineering and management skills.

You work to eliminate waste of time, money, materials and energy. Your goal is to improve efficiency and productivity (to make companies profitable), safety (to improve working conditions) and quality (to provide better service).

Industrial engineers work in the organization and management of companies. In a manufacturing company, they may design production lines, factory architecture, and all the systems that orchestrate the flow of products and information.

Also works in service companies, such as telecommunications, transportation, banks, hospitals, or others, they can design business processes, organize functions and services, plan roles, set shifts, and assign tasks to people. Contributes directly to the management of companies by ensuring that all necessary resources are used optimally.