Abstract:
This is an unorthodox project. The purpose of the project is to display the importance of utilizing
Industrial Engineering philosophy in the practical application of Industrial Engineering techniques.
The purpose of the project will be achieved by solving problems and optimizing processes through
using Industrial Engineering techniques while analyzing the effects of various proposed solutions on
the greater system.
The project will show that the application of Industrial Engineering techniques to solve problems may
in fact produce adverse effects on the greater system if there is a lack of appreciation for the greater
system in using these techniques. The results from which conclusions are drawn will not be abstract;
conclusions will only be based on empirical evidence. The issue of psychology will be cautiously
addressed because it is of too great an importance to Industrial Engineering to be ignored. The method
of dealing with matters of psychology is discussed.
The format of the project will be modular – several separate processes will be analysed as opposed to
choosing a single problem. Several Industrial Engineering techniques will be employed; the choices of
Industrial Engineering techniques utilized being based on the insights provided by the analyses of the
processes. The generic method for analysis of processes that will be employed is included under the
heading of “Project Scope”.
The development of an Industrial Engineering philosophy is beyond the scope of this project, therefore
the Deming Method will be used for reference to Industrial Engineering philosophy. The reasons for
choosing the Deming Method are given. In short the aim of this project cannot be achieved without
reference to an Industrial Engineering philosophy; therefore since the formulation of an Industrial
Engineering philosophy is not within the scope of this project an external philosophy had to be adopted
as a rubric. The Deming Method is by no means assumed to be inerrable, it is however a rare example
of a generic and complete methodology for the field of Industrial Engineering.
This project must strive to be perfectly objective due to the improvable and contentious nature of much
of Deming’s work. A result of this dynamic is that although it is not the aim of the project; the project
will take on the form of a contemporary analysis of the practical value of the Deming Method.
