工業(yè)工程(IE)專業(yè)是一門管理科學與工程技術交叉滲透的綜合性學科，它采用系統化、專業(yè)化和科學化的方法，綜合運用多種學科的知識，目的是降低成本，提高質量和生產率。美國是工業(yè)工程的發(fā)源地，工業(yè)工程對美國的國民經濟一直產生著重要的影響。因此在美國，企業(yè)中都設有工業(yè)工程部門，IE工程師目前在歐美等發(fā)達國家已成為第二大工程職業(yè)，被稱為“工業(yè)界的MBA”。正是因為IE工程師良好的就業(yè)前景，目前，有越來越多的人申請該專業(yè)。什么是工業(yè)工程(IE)?簡單點說，就是讓生產流程、產品或系統變得更好的一個專業(yè)。其它的工程師是在創(chuàng)造東西，如何使得其它工程師創(chuàng)造東西時的系統和流程優(yōu)化，就是工業(yè)工程師的職責，即創(chuàng)造或改善系統和流程。IE是工程領域里最人性化的專業(yè)，工業(yè)工程師這一職業(yè)現在已經得到了廣泛的認可，在20世紀初，有兩名IE的奠基者Frank和Lillian Gilbreth，幫助醫(yī)院提出了一個做手術和培訓醫(yī)生、護士和技術員的方法，結果，做手術的時間大幅縮短，存活率得到了提升，這足以體現工業(yè)工程師在實際應用中的價值，在尋求優(yōu)化流程的過程中，IE的目的就是幫助減少或消除各個領域的浪費，尤其是時間、金錢、材料和能源的浪費。從大方向來講，工業(yè)工程(IE)可以分為Human Factor(人因學)、Manufacturing(制造業(yè))、Operation Research(運籌學)、Production(生產)這四個大方向。其中Human Factor和 Operation Research屬于新興方向，專業(yè)都比較年輕，Operation Research起源于二戰(zhàn)時對物質的分配和統籌，數理含量非常高，不僅僅在工業(yè)工程(IE)下有相關方向，在有些數學系下也有相關的研究。Operation Research還可以延伸出Financial Engineering(我們在關于金融的文章中會有更詳細的說明)，Project Management(項目管理)，Engineering Management(工程管理：有一些學校該專業(yè)已經獨立出來了，比如Stanford University和George Washington University)等方向。Human Factor不僅僅在IE下有，在CS下也有相關的方向。事實上，這也說明了工科的特點：各個專業(yè)之間非常的交叉。Manufacturing和Production可以算是傳統方向，Manufacturing是有關制造方面的，非常偏工廠端的，與Mechanical Engineering 的交叉比較多;Production可以說是Distributed Control(分散控制)、Supply Chain(供應鏈)、Analysis and Modeling(分析和模仿)，Transportation(運輸)、Logistics(物流)、Stock Theory(存貨理論)、Queuing Theory(排隊理論)以及Game Theory(博弈論)的應用等。如果細分的話，我們可以把工業(yè)工程(IE)分為以下諸多方向：1..Project Management項目管理2.Manufacturing， Production and Distribution制造、生產和分配3.Supply Chain Management供應鏈管理4.Productivity， Methods and Process Engineering生產力、方法和加工工程5.Quality Measurement and Improvement質量檢測與改進6.Program Management程序管理7.Ergonomics/Human Factors人因學8.Technology Development and Transfer技術開發(fā)和轉讓9.Strategic Planning戰(zhàn)略規(guī)劃10.Management of Change變革管理11.Financial Engineering金融工程這11個大的方向下又有很多小的說明和分支：1.Project Management項目管理Develop the detailed work breakdown structure of complex activities and form them into an integrated plan制定復雜活動的詳細任務分解結構，形成整合計劃Provide time based schedules and resource allocations for complex plans or implementations為復雜的計劃和工序提供時間進度表以及資源分配策略Use project management techniques to perform Industrial Engineering analyses and investigations利用項目管理技術進行工業(yè)工程分析和調查Conduct facility planning and facility layout development of new and revised production plants and office buildings對新的以及改造過的生產廠房和辦公樓進行設備規(guī)劃與布局Form and direct both small and large teams that work towards a defined objective， scope & deliverables組織和指導朝著特定的目標、范圍和產品而努力的小型和大型團隊Perform risk analysis of various project options and outcomes對各種項目選項和成果進行風險分析2.Manufacturing， Production and Distribution制造，生產和分配Participate in design reviews to ensure manufacturability of the product參與設計評審以確保產品的可生產性Determine methods and procedures for production distribution activity為產品分配活動確定方法和流程Create documentation and work instructions for production and distribution為生產和分配制定工作流程說明Manage resources and maintain schedule requirements to meet required production and distribution schedules管理資源和維持流程的要求以實現規(guī)定的生產和分配流程Process Optimization utilizing Simulation tools (Arena， etc)采用模擬分析工具(例如Arena等)實現優(yōu)化Facilitate and Lead process improvement teams協助和領導流程改進團隊3.Supply Chain Management供應鏈管理Manage Supplier relationships管理供應商關系Managing and report on company Supplier Cost/ Performance Indices to management管理供應商成本/性能指標，并向管理人員報告Audit Suppliers and ensure supplier processes and procedures are being followed稽核供應商，確保供方遵循了流程Travel to suppliers to resolve issues到供應商處商談以解決問題Coordinate first article Inspections 首件檢測Work with Outsource Manufacturers to ensure product quality， delivery and cost， is maintained與外包商合作以保證產品質量、順利交付和成本4.Productivity， Methods and Process Engineering生產力，方法和加工工程Define proper work methods for tasks確定合適的任務完成方法Define appropriate processes for work flow activities確定合理的工作流程Define key production measures確定關鍵的生產措施Define goals and data capture/analysis for key measures確定核心措施的目標和數據獲取/分析Perform root cause analysis to improve poor performing processes通過影響因素分析來改善加工過程Develop appropriate incentive plans for work tasks為工作任務制定適宜的激勵計劃Determine capacity requirements and subsequent investment options確定容量需求以及相應的投資選擇5.Quality Measurement and Improvement質量檢測與改進Resolve quality-related issues in all aspects of the business解決所有與質量相關的問題Work with design and production teams and outsource manufacturers to ensure product quality is maintained during the design and production phases在設計和生產階段，與設計和生產團隊、外包制造商合作以確保產品質量Audit defined processes and procedures to ensure that they are being followed審核規(guī)定的程序和流程以確保它們是按照流程進行Coordinate and Facilitate 3rd Party Quality Audits協調和促進第三方質量審核Provide refresher training on procedures for company personnel on Quality and process-related issues， including the use of analytical tools and techniques such as SPC， Six Sigma， etc.在質量和流程相關問題上，對公司員工提供進一步培訓，包括利用分析工具和技術，例如SPC， Six Sigma等Manage and resolve issues with incoming material through the Receiving process通過接收處理，解決與來料相關的問題6.Program Management項目管理Develop proposals for new programs對新項目制定方案Manage program/project teams to ensure program stays on schedule， on budget， and meets performance expectations管理項目團隊，以確保項目按照原定計劃、預算進行，并符合性能預期。Coordinate a matrix of team member across departments within an organization to ensure completion of project tasks在一個機構里，協調不同部門的不同團隊成員以確保項目任務的完成7.Ergonomics/Human Factors人因學Ensure Human Factors Engineering is utilized in New Product Design確保人因學工程在新產品設計上的使用Ensure Human Factors Engineering disciplines are utilized in production setup and configuration確保人因學工程在產品安裝和配置方面的使用Ensure company Ergonomics policies are defined to minimize causes of employee injury and discomfort確保公司人因學政策的確定，以最小化雇員的受傷和不適情形8.Technology Development and Transfer技術開發(fā)和轉讓Identify basic business problems requiring analysis鑒定基本的需要分析的業(yè)務問題Determine if technology or process based solution best確定以技術或流程為基礎的解決方案是否是最好的Characterize problem， identify prospective providers/bidders and submit requests for proposals歸類問題，確定潛在的供應商/投標商，并且提交方案申請evaluate bid responses， select successful bidder(s) and establish technical feasibility評估投標反饋，選擇合適的投標商，確定技術可行性Conduct small scale/medium scale tests to determine operational feasibility， implementation methods and training requirements進行小規(guī)模/中等規(guī)模的測試來確定操作的可行性、實施方法和培訓要求Conduct enterprise wide implementation企業(yè)范圍內實施Transition support activities/responsibilities to long term business and technology owners為長期業(yè)務和技術所有者提供轉讓支持9.Strategic Planning戰(zhàn)略規(guī)劃Develop long range planning models， typically 5-10 years in scope制定長期規(guī)劃，一般是5-10年的規(guī)劃Model all areas affected by operation為操作會影響到的各個方面做模型Identify anticipated investment in plant， capacity， network， etc判斷在工廠、容量、網絡等方面的預期投資Tie to preliminary production cost， operational cost， sales forecasts與初步的生產成本、經營成本、銷售預測捆綁Develop preliminary financial impacts， including profitability and ROI明確初步的財務影響，包括盈利能力和投資回報率10.Management of Change變革管理Ensure that change programs are coordinated， support one another and move along the critical path確保變革項目的執(zhí)行，互相支持并且在關鍵步驟共同前進Create and maintain the imperative for the change， establish priorities and provide visible sponsorship for the change確保變革的執(zhí)行，確定優(yōu)先事項，并為變革提供可見的贊助Provide the skills， knowledge， processes， organization structure and tools required to deliver the change提供變革所需的技能、知識、流程、組織結構和工具Ensure that the individuals involved buy into the change， actively support it and adopt their behavior accordingly確保每個相關的人融入變革、積極支持并采取相應的行動11.Financial Engineering金融工程Determine production costs using specific cost based methodology采用具體的基于成本的方法來確定生產成本Develop budgets， forecasts for operating cost centers為運營成本中心制定預算和預測Measure actual performance vs budget goals and investigate variance測試實際表現vs預算目標和調查差異Develop capital and expense budgets for capacity expansion為擴大生產能力制定資本開支和費用預算Perform cost analysis/justification for capital and expense expenditures對資本開支和費用預算進行成本分析和調整Perform make vs buy vs lease analyses 執(zhí)行制造，購買與租借分析