About Industrial and Systems Engineering

What is ISE?

ISE stands for Industrial and Systems Engineering. Historically, the term is derived from two disciplines known as Industrial Engineering and Systems Engineering. According to the Institute of Industrial Engineers:

Industrial engineering is concerned with the design, improvement and installation of integrated systems of people, materials, information, equipment and energy. It draws upon specialized knowledge and skill in the mathematical, physical, and social sciences together with the principles and methods of engineering analysis and design, to specify, predict, and evaluate the results to be obtained from such systems.

Systems Engineering is much more difficult to define, as it means different things to different people and entities. At the University of Florida, Systems Engineering generally refers to Operations Research. According to the Institute for Operations Research and Management Science:

Operations Research is the discipline of applying advanced analytical methods to help make better decisions. By using techniques such as mathematical modeling to analyze complex situations, operations research gives people the power to make more effective decisions and build more productive systems.

As you can see, the fields of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research are related. The field of Industrial Engineering dates back to the early part of the century with a desire to improve manufacturing operations. The field of Operations Research dates back to the Second World War and a desire to run efficient military operations. The fact is, both fields are concerned with the efficiency of systems and both fields use similar tools.

At the University of Florida, we define Industrial and Systems Engineering as a discipline concerned with the design and application of analytical methods to the analysis, design, and optimization of systems. The tools used include statistics, simulation, engineering methods, mathematical modeling, and optimization. True to our roots, we take these tools one-step further and implement our solutions with the use of algorithms, databases and user interfaces. After all, solutions are only useful when implemented.

What sets industrial and systems engineering apart from other engineering disciplines is its broader scope – a systems perspective. As stated earlier, ISE deals with people as well as equipment, material, information, and money. An ISE understands the total picture and always seeks improvements in productivity. (Productivity in simple terms means getting the most output for the least input.) It is this broader perspective that allows an ISE to work in a number of fields – or study a number of different types of systems. The type of system to be studied, whether manufacturing, transportation, healthcare, financial, telecommunications, energy, or even biological, is irrelevant. The tools used, with a systems perspective, are the same.

What Problems do ISEs Solve?

The Industrial and Systems Engineer can solve a variety of problems in a variety of settings. Here are just a few questions an ISE answers, divided by application area:

Manufacturing Systems
    ·  How can output be increased?
    ·  When should a facility be expanded? How much capacity should be added?
    ·  What size workforce is needed? When should shifts be scheduled?
    ·  Which automated system should be purchased and implemented?
    ·  When should the equipment be replaced and which models purchased?

Supply Chain Management
    ·  Where should a facility be located?
    ·  How much inventory should be maintained and where should it be kept?
    ·  How should information be shared between customers, suppliers and manufacturers?
    ·  Which supplier should be a partner?

Transportation and Logistics
    ·  Which loads should be placed on which trucks for transport?
    ·  How should the trucks be routed through town or across country?
    ·  How large a fleet of trucks is needed? Which size of truck?
    ·  Should the shipment be sent by truck, rail or aircraft?
    ·  How should the aircraft be loaded to assure balance?

Information/Communications Systems
    ·  Which technology should be implemented?
    ·  Where should a hub be located?
    ·  How much capacity should be routed through the network?
    ·  How should the network be designed (locations and routes)?

Energy/Water Distribution Systems
    ·  Which generation technologies should be utilized?
    ·  What information must be gathered for efficient utilization?
    ·  How should a distribution network be designed?
    ·  When should a network be upgraded?

Financial Engineering
    ·  How can the risk of an investment be reduced?
    ·  How can we build a robust investment portfolio?
    ·  What price and length should a service or warranty contract be?
    ·  Which capital projects should be funded (capacity expansion, equipment replacement)?

Pharmaceutical and Biomedical
    ·  What pattern of test identifies a disorder?
    ·  Which potential drugs should continue the testing (R&D) process?
    ·  What algorithm will help identify the DNA sequence?

Healthcare Systems
    ·  How many beds are needed in the ER?
    ·  When should doctors and nurses be scheduled?
    ·  How can patient wait time be reduced?

What is common? Efficiency. In all systems and application areas, Industrial and Systems Engineers answer questions in order to improve efficiency.

How is ISE Different?

Industrial and Systems Engineers are different because of a systems perspective. For example, a Mechanical Engineer may be tasked with designing a machine to make it faster or more energy efficient. However, the Industrial and Systems Engineer will be tasked with designing the production line that integrates all machinery in order to produce a product. Furthermore, the Industrial and Systems Engineer will oversee all operations of the plant to make sure that the system, not just an individual machine, is running efficiently.

Industrial and Systems Engineers are also concerned with designing and implementing solutions. Whereas a Computer Engineering or a Computer Science Engineer is concerned with making a computer run fast and database software to execute commands quickly, it is the Industrial and Systems Engineer that devises a solution to a problem and implements it with the computer – often with a decision support system that ties the solution algorithm tied to the data in a database with a manageable user interface.