By the end of this week you should be able to:
- Trace the major eras of industrial engineering.
- Connect historical ideas to practices still used today.
These lecture notes will be written from the instructor’s Week 2 draft. The topics below are a working outline.
Planned topics
- Assembly line — A production arrangement in which work moves from station to station in a fixed sequence, with each station adding parts or operations.
- Automation — Using machines and control systems to perform tasks with reduced human intervention.
- Industry 4.0 — The fourth industrial revolution, in which connected sensors, data analytics, and automation create smart, adaptive production systems.
- Mass production — Making large volumes of standardized products, often on assembly lines, to achieve low unit cost.
- Motion study — The analysis of the body motions used to perform a task in order to eliminate unnecessary motions and reduce effort, pioneered by Frank and Lillian Gilbreth.
- Scientific management — A management approach, associated with Frederick W. Taylor, that uses systematic observation and measurement to find better methods of work.
- Time study — A work measurement technique that times a qualified worker performing a task to establish a standard time.
- Toyota Production System — Toyota’s integrated approach to production built on just-in-time flow and jidoka (automation with a human touch); the origin of lean.