Unlocking the Potential of Industrial Engineering in Cost Optimization

Industrial engineering involves application of engineering principles and techniques of scientific management to ensure high levels of productivity at optimum cost in industrial enterprises. Industrial engineers (IEs) work on productivity improvement and this has to lead to decreased cost at the unit level for activities and in turn for the products that are consumed in these activities. The ultimate proof of productivity improvement is reduced costs reflected in the reported unit cost of products. IEs must be able to identify and target areas that would yield the greatest in terms of cost savings. They should be able to visualize the consequences of their current action clearly and also check whether it has yielded the desired results in terms of cost savings. This article outlines the areas for IEs to focus upon to achieve real and permanent reduction of cost.