Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

Industrial and manufacturing engineers focus on efficiency and productivity. They balance any number of factors—time, number of workers, available technology, achieving an end product with minimal errors, worker safety, environmental concerns and cost—and improve the way they interact with one another to streamline processes and eliminate wastefulness.

Industrial and manufacturing engineers will plan and design plant layouts and facilities. They will study new machinery and facilities to recommend efficient combinations. They will analyze the costs of production and design, develop and conduct time studies and work simplification programs. They will determine the human resource and skill requirements necessary and develop training programs. They will conduct studies and implement programs that allow for the optimum utilization of machinery, materials and resources—all with the goal of ensuring that projects, programs and organizations are run safely, efficiently and profitably.