An engineer is the person who transforms the theoretical knowledge produced by scientists into practical knowledge that technicians and technicians can apply. The first branch of Engineering was mechanical engineering and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers was established in 1880.
According to the definition made by the American Institute of Industrial Engineers established in 1948, industrial engineering deals with the design, development and establishment of integrated systems consisting of human, machine and material. It combines the special knowledge and skills in mathematics, physics and social sciences with the principles and methods of engineering analysis and design in determining, estimating and evaluating the results to be obtained from such systems.
Industrial engineering is a branch of engineering which deals with the optimization of complex processes or systems. It is concerned with the development, improvement, and implementation of integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information, equipment, energy, materials.it can be described as a scientific approach to the solution of problems in the management of complex systems. In a rapidly changing environment an understanding is sought which will facilitate the choice and the implementation of more effective solutions which, typically, may involve complex interactions among people, materials and money. In other words, industrial engineering deals with the creation and management of systems that will effectively bring energy, raw materials and workforce together. This branch of engineering connects engineering science with business science. In industrial engineering, while improving business processes, it is worked to achieve the desired quality by saving time and cost. An industrial engineer designs systems that produce goods or services. He/she continuously improves the systems and enables them to be used more effectively and efficiently. He/she is also responsible for managing such systems.
Initially, industrial engineering subjects were thought of as private courses to be given within mechanical engineering. However, following World War II, separate industrial engineering departments began to be established throughout the United States. Today, there are industrial engineering departments in many universities around the world. In some places it is also known as systems engineering, manufacturing engineering, manufacturing systems engineering or engineering management.
The first industrial engineering department in Turkey was established in 1969 at ITU and METU. In 2020, there are a total of 124 universities in Turkey, 79 of which are state and 45 of which are foundations. In addition to basic engineering training, operations research, production systems, production planning, stochastic modeling, supply chain management, modeling and optimization methods, organization and management, quality management, simulation, work study, job security, human resources management, project management, entrepreneurship and feasibility study, management ınformation systems are main cources of the industrial engineering.
Industrial engineers can work in different industries such as automotive, textile, manufacturing and industrial products, information systems, finance, consulting, mining and the metal industry, electrical and electronics, construction, food, chemical, service, education, transport, FMCG, health care, household goods, energy and telecommunication. The field of industrial engineering is a very wide profession due to employment opportunities in various departments such as business development and planning, production and Manufacturing, Engineering, Quality, Management, Sales, IT, marketing, logistics, finance, purchasing and administrative jobs.