Systems engineering is a fundamental application of IE. Systems engineers focus on solving problems from a system’s-level perspective, which includes people, machines, materials, energy, technology, information and software. Systems engineers must design solutions that consider all of a system’s components so that everything works together to improve overall system performance.
Industrial and systems engineers (ISEs) figure out how to do things better. They design processes and systems that improve quality and productivity. ISEs work to eliminate wasted time, money, materials, and energy which saves money and increases output. This is why more and more companies are hiring industrial and systems engineers and then promoting them into management positions.
As companies adopt management philosophies of continuous productivity and quality improvement to survive in the increasingly competitive world market, the need for industrial and systems engineers is growing. Why? Industrial and systems engineers are the only engineering professionals who are trained as productivity and quality improvement specialists. They are leaders in six sigma and lean systems initiatives.
The industrial and systems engineer is synonymous with systems integrator—a big-picture thinker who takes what exists today and conceptualizes what should exist in the future. A lot of engineers become disillusioned with the engineering profession because they get involved in minutiae or they end up on a CAD machine all the time and they never get out in the operating environment. ISE provides an opportunity for a challenging career working with people where you can have a direct impact on the success of an organization.
