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Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering is a blending of natural sciences, engineering science, mathematics, business administration, computers, and management. This fusion of diverse skills allows industrial engineers to design and implement what are called socio-technical systems — complex combinations of people and technology brought together to solve problems. With its diversity, industrial engineering is used in a wide variety of areas in both manufacturing and service areas.
Industrial engineers in a manufacturing organization address many issues including designing workplaces considering not only the capabilities of machines, but also the physiological and psychological capabilities of humans; designing computer-integrated manufacturing systems with robots and computer systems to control production; managing inventory and quality of complex products; determining plant and warehouse locations; developing sales forecasts; evaluating proposals to produce new products; and building new or improved production facilities.
The same skills used by an industrial engineer to design manufacturing systems are also useful in designing better systems to care for patients in hospitals, to facilitate the judicial process, to provide faster and more accurate mail distribution, to improve airline routing and reservation methods, to control large construction projects and to reduce air and water pollution. In effect, an industrial engineer may be involved in the design of many systems that provide beneficial services at a cost that society can afford.
Industrial and manufacturing systems engineering undergraduates take a curriculum similar to all engineering students during the first two years. The objective of this curriculum is to give the student a rigorous foundation in mathematics, natural sciences, basic engineering sciences, applied probability, and computer science, as well as a complementary and meaningful exposure to the humanities and social sciences.
In addition to the foundational courses, students will gain a knowledge of optimization methodologies, static and dynamic modeling, and evaluation techniques for the modeling and evaluation of integrated systems of people, technology and information in the areas of strategic planning, production systems, control systems, quality systems, information systems, product and process design.
These fundamental skills provide the foundation from which students learn to develop systematic and integrated solution approaches to large-scale problems in industrial and manufacturing enterprises. In order to be successful as they begin their careers (or graduate study) students learn to communicate effectively in both oral and written forms, and become proficient in working in diverse teams of individuals.
Lastly, the curriculum prepares the students to practice in an ethical and professional manner, to serve as well as benefit from the engineering profession, and to continue the learning of and the contribution to the advancement of industrial and manufacturing systems engineering concepts.
In summary, graduates of the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering (IMSE) at the University of Missouri-Columbia will possess a strong foundation upon which they can grow professionally, and continue to build a focused set of fundamental and engineering knowledge and skills that are integrated and applicable to real-world problems in industrial and manufacturing systems.
Because industrial engineering graduates are capable of solving complex problems requiring understanding of an entire organization, they become prime candidates for top management or administrative positions.