Overview

The study in the Industrial Engineering department began in the academic year 1434H\2013 AD. The main aim behind initiating the industrial engineering specialization in the College of Engineering at Al Qunfudah campus is to offer the residents of this region and adjacent areas the opportunity to enroll in a modern specialization in engineering. Besides, the region in question witnesses an industrial growth that would help the college alumni find job opportunities easily. That specialization aims at qualifying specialized industrial engineers working in different fields:

1. Design and manufacturing engineering

2. Management systems and industrial engineering

3. Maintenance engineering

According to the Institute of Industrial Engineers, the profession of industrial engineering is defined as: «That profession which is concerned with designing, developing and creating integrated systems of individuals, materials, and equipment; based on specialized knowledge and skill in integrated mathematics, physics, and social sciences, with a focus on the engineering principles and methods of analysis and design. The aim is to predict and assess the results that can be achieved through those systems».

It is clear from this general and comprehensive definition the competence of the specialist, and his skill in working in various industrial fields and technical services; where he can design production and test its means, plan proper processes of designing operation, measurement, and control methods, by connecting engineering sciences and industrial techniques to modern social sciences related to industry. As a result, industrial countries, like Japan and United States, have benefited greatly from this profession in all economic and productive fields and applications in order to develop their industrial systems. It has become so rare for an educational or industrial institution not to include industrial engineering programs.

On the onset of the modern industrial revolution, many industrial engineering functions were employed; like deciding on factory sites, internal organization of factories, production planning and scheduling. The process was emphasized by the inception of the Institute of Industrial Engineers in the United States after the Second World War.