Al Lawrence is an industrial engineering technician. He works for a company
that designs oil and gas refineries.
As a technician, Lawrence is involved in the design process for the industrial
facilities. But he says that there is much more to being a technician. "There
are many, many facets to this work," he says.
Technicians may help install equipment and inspect work done during the
building of various types of power generation plants. They may also be involved
in the actual building of the machinery. "We are the ones who might actually
put the turbine or different piece of equipment together," he says.
Lawrence says that technicians, while often working in resource or manufacturing
industries, still need to be creative people. "It's a rewarding experience
to piece a puzzle together," he says. "You have to be able to conceptualize
creatively on paper, or be able to put a piece of equipment together.
"For a lot of us, we used to tinker with cars and that kind of thing,"
he says. "Now we play with industrial facilities."
"Why, when you go to Disney World, do you line up in one line rather than
in many lines?" asks Joyce Yen. She is an industrial engineering professor
at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Believe it or not, this is a question for an industrial engineer. As part
of their work, industrial engineers design optimal combinations of people
and equipment to produce innovative and efficient organizations. This work
can apply just about anywhere.
"There are just so many different applications for industrial engineers,"
says Yen. Any industrial engineer could tell you that one line is simply more
efficient than many lines.
"That's why at the bank there is a single lineup, rather than one lineup
in front of every teller," she says. "An industrial engineer has figured out
that this is the most efficient way to form a line."
Where else could you find the work of an industrial engineer? "You could
ask the question, 'Why are the countertops in the kitchen at the height they
are?' And the answer would probably be that an industrial engineer worked
on the problem," says Yen.
How about if you have a certain amount of wood at the shop, and you want
to make tables and chairs to sell to the public? "You'd want to know how to
figure out how to cut up the wood so that you had the maximum use of materials
and the maximum profit," says Yen.
Perhaps you're planning to purchase books online. When you punch in your
order, you certainly hope that your requested item is in stock.
Of course, the warehouse can't physically hold every book printed in an
unlimited supply. The store has to figure out the optimum number of books
to have in stock in order to provide for the customer and still make a healthy
profit.
"Industrial engineering can take care of inventory problems like this,"
says Yen. "They can figure out how much of a particular item it's advisable
to have in stock."
Are you starting to see a familiar theme running throughout the examples
of industrial engineering?
"One of the things about this field is that you need an eye for detail,"
says Kirke Plank. He is dean of the engineering division at Blackhawk College
in Wisconsin.
"There is a lot of quality control, statistical processes, quality audits
and figuring out how different processes can go together."
"This is an area for people who like to figure out the best way to do something,"
adds Yen. "If you're the person who takes great pleasure in finding out the
best way to put clothes in your closet or that type of thing, this might be
for you.
"You have to really like to be efficient and really like to be organized."
Yen adds that because industrial engineering can involve working with people,
communication skills are also important.
"At the technician's level, you should really enjoy doing hands-on work,"
says Louie D'Orazio, an industrial engineering technology instructor. "This
is for people who really get satisfaction out of repairing and building something."
He warns that because industrial engineering technicians tend to work in
the manufacturing industry, they often have to roll up the sleeves and dig
into messy problems. "The work can be dirty, but that's also something that
many people enjoy."
There tend to be more women working in industrial engineering
than in many other engineering fields. "It's not even considered a nontraditional
area for women to work in anymore," says Plank. "You find quite a few women
working in industrial engineering and design."
Yen agrees. "I think that because it's one of the more people-oriented
disciplines, and is one that bridges business and engineering, you have more
women involved."
She also believes that the number of women already working in the field
helps encourage others to give it a try. "Once you reach a certain percentage
of women in a field, it tends to become attractive to others."
Industrial engineering technicians can work in a wide variety of industries
in a broad number of capacities.
"You could be working in a manufacturing environment working on something
electrical," says Plank. "You could be on the shop floor or you could be in
the office assisting with design. There are so many different ways for a technician
to be employed."
"Technicians do some design work assisting the engineer, but it's a lot
of hands-on intensive work," adds D'Orazio. "People get a chance to be innovative
at the same time as actually working on a problem. It's a fantastic field."