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Example IE Tasks
Industrial Engineers are affiliated with any of the following areas of IE:
- Manufacturing Systems & Facilities Design
Design of Factories & Warehouses; Optimization of production facilities.
- Manufacturing Processes
Designing tools/ equipment for use in manufacturing; Designing the machining and assembly operations to produce products such as cars, ships, etc.
- Machine Automation, Robotics
Designing machinery to automate mundane and/or unsafe manual operations.
- Computer Automation
Integration of factory/ plant systems under computer control; design of computer interfaces for people to interact and monitor production facilities; trying the factory into Enterprise and Supply Chain computer systems.
- Information Systems & Technologies
Design and management of database driven applications to support business processes; Design and management of network systems.
- Statistical Applications (Quality Control, Reliability Eng. , Experimental Design)
Measurement & evaluation of systems - insuring that quality products and services are produced; insuring that products will operate reliably and safely in the field; running statistical experiments aimed at improving product quality and reducing costs; computer simulation modeling of new or redesigned factories and other complex systems.
- Human Factors/ Ergonomics
Design of the human interfaces to computer systems, equipment, and products. Design of computer workstations to reduce eyestrain and carpal tunnel problems. Examples: design of cockpits of planes, nuclear & process plant control rooms, automobile "cockpits" (driver controls).
- Engineering Economics & Project Management
Cost Analysis and management of large engineering projects, such as building or renovating plants, interstate projects: fiscal management, time management, resource management.
The different areas of IE relate to several other disciplines. Students can tailor their career plan based on where their interests lie.
IE's in the Workforce
- IE's are a natural bridge between the technical and business worlds of many organizations, and move readily into technical management roles.
- IE's have a diverse range of lucrative career options:
- Manufacturing: Auto manufacturing (GM, etc), Petrochemical (Exxon, Dow, etc), Steel (Bayou Steel in LaPlace ), Shipbuilding (Avondale), Energy (Entergy), Equipment manufacturing (General Electric, Caterpillar, Halliburton), Fabrication Industries (Shaw).
- Supply Chains & Distribution Systems (Walmart, Target, UPS, FedEx, J.D. Hunt).
- Service Industries (Financial, Healthcare, Maintenance, Construction, etc).
- Consulting (Accentia, Ernst & Young, Price Waterhouse, etc).
- Government & Non-profit Organizations (NASA, Department of Defense [Civilian Positions], Transportation Departments, etc).
- Current BSIE starting salaries at LSU (Dec' 04): $43,000~58,000; Average $48,000.
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