Industrial Engineer

In Canada, the federal government groups and organizes occupations based on a National Occupational Classification (NOC) system. This alis occupation may not reflect the entire NOC group it is part of. Data for the NOC group can apply across multiple occupations.

The NOC system is updated every 5 years to reflect changes in the labour market. Government forms and labour market data may group and refer to an occupation differently, depending on the system used. Here is how this occupation has been classified over time:

• 2006 NOC: Industrial and Manufacturing Engineers (2141) 
• 2006 NOC-S: Industrial and Manufacturing Engineers (C041) 
• 2011 NOC: Industrial and manufacturing engineers (2141) 
• 2016 NOC: Industrial and manufacturing engineers (2141) 

Industrial engineers design, improve and implement integrated systems of human beings, materials, energy, information, and equipment to produce goods or services efficiently. For example, they may be involved with:

• Planning how production or service systems will work
• Measuring work performance
• Establishing work standards and specifications
• Establishing and managing quality standards
• Designing logistics and supply chain networks
• Analyzing project benefits and costs
• Enhancing systems operations

Industrial engineers apply knowledge and skills from social as well as physical disciplines (for example, mathematics, statistics, engineering, chemistry, physics, psychology and sociology) to solve problems in a wide variety of industries (for example, education, agri-food, environment, distribution and transportation, health care, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing). They may specialize in facility layout and design, production planning, logistics systems design, ergonomics, manufacturing, project management or operations research.

Facility layout and design specialists:

• Evaluate proposed sites for facilities
• Design new buildings or redesign existing ones, taking into account factors such as product and people flow through the workplace (for example, shipping and receiving requirements, packaging methods), energy consumption and employee safety
• Decide where machines, equipment and offices should be located to achieve maximum production at minimum cost
• Create ergonomic workstation designs that reduce worker fatigue, eliminate unnecessary work steps and increase productivity

To evaluate proposed sites, they investigate:

• Labour supplies
• Transportation options for moving people, raw materials and finished goods
• Fuel, power, water and utility costs and supplies
• Sanitary and waste disposal systems
• Fire protection
• The cost of land, buildings, and taxes

Production planning specialists:

• Evaluate production systems, equipment, work methods and products
• Develop operating systems that reduce costs and increase quality and production
• Use computers to analyze information about existing systems and simulate new ones
• Devise work methods and determine how much work each machine or employee must produce to meet production targets
• Establish methods of paying employees for the kind and amount of work they do
• Plan systems to check the quality of finished products

Logistics systems specialists are concerned with:

• The movement of materials and information from the purchasing of raw materials through to production, distribution, servicing and recycling
• Preventative maintenance systems design and planning
• Customer service
• Inventory development
• Transportation
• Development of effective information systems
• Market needs analysis and strategic planning

Management and operations specialists plan work patterns, systems and procedures, and make recommendations regarding improvements. They:

• Develop and set up systems to control workflow, materials flow, paperwork and quality assurance of products and services
• Set costs and arrange budgets
• Assess, on an ongoing basis, how well methods, systems and procedures are working

For information about ergonomics, manufacturing engineering and operations research, see the Ergonomist, Manufacturing Engineer and Operations Research Analyst occupational profiles.

Because this engineering discipline is so varied in its applications, working conditions also vary. Some industrial engineers spend most of their working day observing production, asking questions and watching how work is done. Some work primarily in an office environment, writing specifications and meeting with other engineers and technologists. Others manage large projects.

Some overtime may be required to meet deadlines. Extended periods of travel may be required for international projects.

Industrial engineers can use their skills in almost any type of organization and are more widely distributed among industries than other engineers. They may work for:

• Consulting firms
• Financial institutions
• Government institutions
• Health care institutions
• Manufacturing and industrial plants
• Transportation companies
• Insurance companies
• Department stores

Industrial engineers are part of the larger 2011 National Occupational Classification 2141: Industrial and manufacturing engineers. In Alberta, 80% of people employed in this classification work in the following industries:

• Manufacturing [pdf]
• Professional, Scientific and Technical Services [pdf]
• Mining and Oil and Gas Extraction [pdf]
• Wholesale Trade [pdf]

The employment outlook [pdf] in this occupation will be influenced by a wide variety of factors including:

• Trends and events affecting overall employment (especially in the industries listed above)
• Location in Alberta
• Employment turnover (when people leave existing positions)
• Occupational growth (when new positions are created)
• Size of the occupation

In Alberta, the 2141: Industrial and manufacturing engineers occupational group is expected to have a below-average annual growth of 1.2% from 2019 to 2023. In addition to job openings created by employment turnover, 20 new positions are forecasted to be created within this occupational group each year.

Note
NOC groups often include several related occupations. Although there is labour market data for the larger NOC group, this occupation makes up only a part of that group. It means data for this occupation may be different than the data shown. For example, only some of the 20 new positions to be created will be for this occupation. It also applies to other data for the NOC group such as number of people employed.

Employment turnover is expected to increase as members of the baby boom generation retire over the next few years.

Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) website: www.apega.ca

Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers Chapter 889 website: iieuoft.weebly.com/iise-u-of-t.html

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