This course introduces students to industrial engineering and provides students with foundational tools used in the profession. The course is intended to prepare students for their first co-op experience in industrial engineering by exposing them to tools and concepts that are often encountered during early co-op assignments. The course covers specific tools and their applications, including systems design and integration. The course uses a combination of lecture and laboratory activities to cover hands-on applications and problem-solving related to topics examined in lectures.

Development of the fundamental engineering management principles of industrial enterprise, including an introduction to project management. Emphasis is on project management and the development of the project management plan. At least one term of previous co-op experience is required.

A first course in mathematical modeling of production-inventory systems. Topics included: Inventory: Deterministic Models, Inventory: Stochastic Models, Push v. Pull Production Control Systems, Factory Physics, and Operations Scheduling. Modern aspects such as lean manufacturing are included in the context of the course.

Supply chain management is unique in that it is one of the oldest business activities and yet has been recently discovered as a potentially powerful source of competitive advantage. Supply chain system activities, such as planning production levels, forecasting demand, managing inventory, warehousing, transportation, and locating facilities have been performed since the start of commercial activity. It is difficult to visualize any product that could reach a customer without a consciously designed supply chain. Yet it is only recently that many firms have started focusing on supply chain management. There is a realization that no company can do any better than its supply chain and logistics systems. This becomes even more important given that product life cycles are shrinking and competition is intense. Logistics and supply chain management today represents a great challenge as well as a tremendous opportunity for most firms.

This course ensures progress toward objectives, proper deployment and conservation of human and financial resources, and achievement of cost and schedule targets. The focus of the course is on the utilization of a diverse set of project management methods and tools. Topics include strategic project management, project and organization learning, chartering, adaptive project management methodologies, structuring of performance measures and metrics, technical teams and project management, risk management, and process control. Course delivery consists of lectures, speakers, case studies, and experience sharing, and reinforces collaborative project-based learning and continuous improvement.