What are the specialties of Industrial Engineering?
Industrial Engineering at the undergraduate level is generally seen as a composition of four areas. First is operations research, which provides methods for the general analysis and design of systems. Operations Research (OR) includes optimization, decision analysis, stochastic processes, and simulation. Production generally includes such aspects as economic analysis, production planning and control, quality control, facilities design, and other aspects of world-class manufacturing. Third is manufacturing processes and systems. Manufacturing process deals directly with materials forming, cutting, shaping, planning, etc. Manufacturing systems focus on the integration of manufacturing process, usually through computer control and communications. Finally ergonomics deals with the human equation. Physical ergonomics view the human as a biomechanical device while informational ergonomics examines the cognitive aspects of humans.
