SOUTHFIELD – More than 300 experts in industrial engineering from around the world are expected at Lawrence Technological University Sept. 23-25 for the Industrial Engineering and Operations Management (IEOM) Society Detroit Conference.
Today’s industrial engineering has gone far beyond its roots in the early assembly line to industries as diverse as healthcare and finance.
Industrial engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with the optimization of complex processes or systems. Industrial engineers work to eliminate wasted time, money, materials, energy and other resources, eliminating parts of processes that do not generate value.
The IEOM Detroit conference provides a forum for academics, researchers and practitioners to exchange ideas and recent developments in the fields of industrial engineering, service engineering, manufacturing engineering, systems engineering, operations research, engineering management, operations management and more. There will also be student and professional paper competitions, with selected papers published in the International Journal of Industrial Engineering and Operations Management.
LTU President Virinder K. Moudgil will deliver a welcome, and keynote speakers will include top industrial engineers from companies including Airbus, Eaton Corp., Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Ford Motor Co., General Motors, and Siemens, as well as international academic experts in the field. Breakout sessions and workshops will include topics such as data analytics, engineering education, energy conservation, entrepreneurship, production planning, and quality improvement.
Attendees will also have the chance to tour Ford Motor Co.’s Rouge factory and Michigan landmarks such as Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village
For more information on the conference, visit www.ieomsociety.org/ieomdetroit.
The tools of industrial engineers include concepts like just-in-time delivery, Six Sigma programs, lean and total quality management concepts, simulations, and time studies.
“The toolbox is different than other engineering disciplines because we’re solving different problems,” said Don Riemer, university professor in the A. Leon Linton Department of Mechanical Engineering at LTU, which houses the industrial engineering program.
Ahad Ali, LTU associate professor and director of LTU’s bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in industrial engineering, reports that enrollment is rising in the program – by a third this year in industrial engineering, from 50 students last fall to 75 this fall. Ali is co-chair of the conference, along with Steven Sibrel, chair of the American Society for Quality (ASQ) Greater Detroit chapter.
Lawrence Technological University, www.ltu.edu, is a private university founded in 1932 that offers more than 100 programs through the doctoral level in Colleges of Architecture and Design, Arts and Sciences, Engineering, and Management. The Brookings Institution ranks Lawrence Tech fifth nationwide for boosting graduates’ earning power, PayScale lists it among the nation’s top 100 universities for graduates’ salaries, and U.S. News and World Report places it in the top tier of best Midwestern universities. Students benefit from small class sizes and a real-world, hands-on, “theory and practice” education with an emphasis on leadership. Activities on Lawrence Tech’s 107-acre campus include more than 60 student organizations and NAIA varsity sports.