Industrial Engineering Technicians use the principles and theories of science, engineering and mathematics to solve technical problems in research and development, manufacturing, sales, construction, inspection and maintenance.
Primary Objectives of Industrial Engineering Technicians:
- The Industrial Engineer Technician is concerned with solving technical problems in research development, manufacturing, sales and construction.
- The Industrial Engineer Technician is concerned with the theories that science provide in engineering and mathematics to solve technical problems.
- The Industrial Engineer Technician uses all of his knowledge along with modern technology to resolve research problems.
The work of an Industrial Engineer Technician is more narrowly focused and application-oriented than that of scientists and engineers. Many of the Industrial Engineer Technician assists engineers and scientists, especially in research and development. Other Industrial Engineer Technicians work in quality control, inspecting products and processes, conducting tests, or collecting data. In manufacturing, Industrial Engineer Technicians may assist in product design, development, or production. Industrial Engineer Technicians who work in research and development build or set up equipment, prepare and conduct experiments, collect data, calculate or record results, and help engineers or scientists in other ways. The Industrial Engineer Technicians make prototype versions of newly designed equipment for other engineers. The Industrial Engineer Technicians also assists in design work, often using computer-aided design and drafting (CADD) equipment.
Most Industrial Engineer Technicians specialize learning skills and working in the same disciplines as engineers. Occupational titles, therefore, tend to reflect this similarity. The title that they hold may vary but the job functions usually are based on the same principles. Many Industrial Engineer Technicians are educated in their profession and are accepted in other fields without question except in the field of Chemical Engineering Technology and Bioengineering Technology for which they must take a special accredited program of study for these fields. Otherwise they are able to work in most fields that have to deal with Industrial Engineering as a Technician.
Aerospace Engineers and Operations Technicians operate and maintain equipment used to test aircraft and spacecraft. These Technicians usually are trained in the Industrial Engineer Technicians fields and are capable of working in the aerospace industry. It is noted that new aircraft designs are subjected to years of testing before they are put into service, since failure of key components during flight can be fatal. Industrial Engineer Technicians may calibrate test equipment, such as wind tunnels, and determine causes of equipment malfunctions. Industrial Engineer Technicians program and run computer simulations that test new designs virtually. Using computer and communications systems, aerospace engineering and operations technicians often record and interpret test data. Civil Engineering Technicians help civil engineers plan and oversee the construction of highways, buildings, bridges, dams, wastewater treatment systems, and other structures. Some Civil Engineers estimate construction costs and specify materials to be used, and some may even prepare drawings or perform land-surveying duties. Industrial Engineer Technicians may set up and monitor instruments used to study traffic conditions.
Industrial Engineer Technician work in fields such as:
- An Industrial Engineer Technician may work as an Electrical Engineer Technician, helping design, develop, test and manufacture electrical equipment such as communication equipment, medical monitoring devices, navigational equipment, and computers.
- An Industrial Engineer Technician may work as an Environmental Engineer Technician working closely with scientists in developing methods and devices used in the prevention, control, or remediation of environmental hazards. They inspect and maintain equipment related to air pollution and recycling. Some Environmental Engineer Technicians inspect water and wastewater treatment systems to ensure that pollution control requirements are met.
- Some Industrial Engineer Technician work as Mechanical Engineer Technicians help engineers design, develop, test, and manufacture industrial machinery, consumer products, and other equipment. They may assist in product tests by, for example, setting up instrumentation for auto crash tests. These types of Industrial Engineer Technicians make sketches and rough layouts, record and analyze data, make calculations and estimates, and report on their findings. When planning production, Mechanical Engineering Technicians prepare layouts and drawings of the assembly process and of parts to be manufactured. They estimate labor costs, equipment life, and plant space. Some Industrial Engineer Technicians test and inspect machines and equipment or work with engineers to eliminate production problems.
The field of Industrial Engineer Technicians is vast and it goes into many different types of work depending on how the Technician decides to specify their work. These are just a few examples of the different types of work that they can do and there are many other fields that they may decide to chose for their profession once they have been properly trained as an Industrial Engineer Technician.