Unlike other engineering disciplines, industrial engineering applies this knowledge in many different fields: information technology (IT), healthcare, aerospace, energy production, finance, industrial and commercial consulting, to name a few. You can find industrial engineers in banks, hospitals, government, factories, universities, wholesale companies and airports. Industrial engineers see the whole system and understand the events that affect the organization.
The tools of industrial engineering have changed over the years. By using mathematical models, systems can be made more efficient and productive. Operations research / management science courses in industrial engineering are geared towards the application of mathematical analysis to determine how systems can work best. A system can also be improved using computer and information engineering. Finally, people's productivity can also be increased by better designing their work environment and the machines they use. This area is called human factors.
An industrial engineer can work in all types of industrial, commercial and other similar institutions, from public organizations to hospitals, marketing companies to manufacturing plants. There is a very important reason why the demand for industrial engineers has steadily increased over the last 20 years. This is due to the desire of organizations to increase their productivity levels through thoughtful and systematic work.
For-profit organizations have to increase their productivity in order to compete in domestic and foreign markets. Non-profit organizations also have to increase their efficiency in order to remain a useful institution.
Bir endüstri mühendisi, kamu kuruluşlarından hastanelere, pazarlama şirketlerinden üretim tesislerine kadar her tür endüstriyel, ticari ve benzer diğer kurumlarda çalışabilirler. Endüstri mühendislerine olan talebin son 20 yıldır sürekli olarak artmasının çok önemli bir nedeni vardır. Bu da organizasyonların verimlilik düzeylerini üzerinde düşünülmüş ve sistematik olarak yapılan çalışmalarla artırma isteklerinden kaynaklanmaktadır.
Kar amaçlı çalışan organizasyonlar iç ve dış pazarda rekabet yapabilmek için verimliliklerini arttırmak zorunda kalmaktadırlar. Kar amacı gütmeyen organizasyonlar da yararlı bir kurum olarak kalmaya devam etmek için verimliliğini arttırmak zorunda kalmaktadırlar.