| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Production |
| Level | Mid level |
| Reports to | Production Manager |
| Direct reports | None |
| Experience | 2 to 6 years of industrial engineering on assembly, sewing or packing lines |
Industrial Engineer job description template
Copy this job description, replace the text in square brackets and post it on your careers page or a job portal.
Job title: Industrial Engineer
Department: Production
Reports to: Production Manager
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
An Industrial Engineer improves how work is done on the shop floor. They measure work through time and motion studies, set standard minutes and manpower norms, balance lines, redesign layouts and remove waste so the plant produces more with the same people, space and machines. The role is common in garment, automotive, electronics and FMCG plants. A good industrial engineer produces standards that supervisors trust and improvements that stay in place after the project ends.
Key responsibilities
- Carry out time and method studies on operations, and set standard minutes (SAM or SMV) for each operation and product.
- Work out manpower and machine requirements for each line or cell from the production plan and standard times.
- Balance assembly and sewing lines by redistributing work elements, and publish the line balance chart for supervisors.
- Design or revise shop layouts and material flow to cut walking, handling and waiting time.
- Measure line and operator efficiency daily, and study the causes of losses with supervisors.
- Prepare operation bulletins and work instructions for new products before bulk production starts.
- Run kaizen, 5S and waste elimination projects, and record the savings in hours or cost.
- Provide standard times and efficiency data to HR and production for incentive schemes.
- Evaluate proposals for new equipment, fixtures or automation with capacity and payback workings.
- Train supervisors and operators on standard methods and the reasons behind them.
Requirements
- BE or BTech in Industrial, Mechanical or Production Engineering
- B.Tech in Apparel or Textile Technology, for example from NIFT, for garment plants
- Lean Six Sigma Green Belt is an advantage
- 2 to 6 years of industrial engineering on assembly, sewing or packing lines
KRAs and KPIs for a Industrial Engineer
Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.
| Key result area | How to measure it |
|---|---|
| Line efficiency | Average efficiency of each line raised to its monthly target |
| Standards coverage | Standard minutes approved for every new style or product before bulk production |
| Productivity gains | Documented manpower or cost savings from IE projects meeting the quarterly target |
| Line balancing | Balance loss below 15 percent on key lines after each style or model change |
| Material flow | Handling distance or time reduced in every area redesigned during the quarter |
| Efficiency reporting | Daily efficiency report published by 11 am with no unexplained gaps |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: Stopwatch and time study sheets, GSD or other predetermined time systems, Excel, AutoCAD for layouts, Minitab, Video recording for method study.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: Continuous Improvement Engineer, Business Excellence Manager, Production Manager
Interview questions for a Industrial Engineer
- How do you calculate the standard minute for an operation? Take me through the allowances you add.
- A line has 20 operators and one station takes twice as long as the rest. What would you do?
- How do you convince a supervisor who says your standard time is unrealistic?
- Explain line efficiency and how you calculate it for a day.
- Tell me about a layout change you made and what it saved.
- How would you set manpower for a product that has never been run before?
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What does an industrial engineer do in a factory?
An industrial engineer studies how work is done and makes it more productive. They measure operations with time and motion studies, set standard minutes, calculate manpower, balance lines, improve layouts and run waste reduction projects. In garment, automotive and electronics plants the IE team's standards drive daily targets and manpower plans.
What is the difference between an industrial engineer and a production engineer?
A production engineer focuses on making the product: process parameters, output, quality and troubleshooting on a line. An industrial engineer focuses on the method and the people: standard times, manpower norms, line balance and layout. They work closely, but the IE sets the standards that production is measured against.
What is SAM in garment industrial engineering?
SAM stands for standard allowed minutes: the time a trained operator needs to complete an operation at normal pace, including allowances for fatigue and personal needs. Industrial engineers use SAM to set line targets, plan manpower and calculate efficiency. The total SAM of a garment also helps estimate daily output and cost.