XPN Industries

The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology defines industrial engineering as: the profession in which a knowledge of the mathematical and natural sciences gained by study, experience and exercise is used with judgment to develop methods to utilize economically, the types of materials and forces of nature for the benefit of mankind worried about the design, improvement and installation of integrated systems of people, materials, equipment and. It draws upon specialized knowledge and skill within the mathematical, physical and social sciences together with the principles and methods of engineering analysis and design to specify, predict and assess the results to be obtained from such systems.

History

The origins of industrial engineering could be traced back to many different sources. Fredrick Winslow Taylor is most often considered as the father of industrial engineering even though all his ideas where not original. Some of the preceding influences might have been Adam Smith, Thomas Malthus, David Ricardo and John Stuart Mill. All of their works provided classical liberal explanations for the successes and limitations of the Industrial Revolution.

Another major contributor to the field was Charles W. Babbage. a mathematics professor. One of his major contributions to the field was his book On the Economy of Machinery and Manufacturers in 1832. In this book he discusses many different topics coping with manufacturing, a few of which will be extremely familiar for an IE. Babbage discusses the concept of the learning curve, the division of task and how learning is affected, and also the effect of learning around the generation of waste.

Within the late nineteenth century more developments where being made that will lead to the formalization of industrial engineering. Henry R. Towne stressed the economical facet of an engineer’s job. Read the rest of this entry »