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Engineering management is the application of the practice of
management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...
to the practice of
engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...
. Engineering management is a career that brings together the technological problem-solving ability of
engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...
and the organizational, administrative, legal and planning abilities of
management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...
in order to oversee the operational performance of complex engineering driven enterprises. A
Master of Engineering Management Master of Engineering Management (MEM) (or Master of Science in Engineering Management (MSEM)) is a professional master's degree that bridges the gap between the field of engineering or technology and the field of business management. Engineering ...
(MEM) is sometimes compared to a
Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
(MBA) for professionals seeking a graduate degree as a qualifying credential for a career in engineering management.


History

Stevens Institute of Technology Stevens Institute of Technology is a Private university, private research university in Hoboken, New Jersey. Founded in 1870, it is one of the oldest technological universities in the United States and was the first college in America solely ded ...
is believed to have the oldest engineering management department, established as the School of Business Engineering in 1908. This was later called the Bachelor of Engineering in Engineering Management (BEEM) program and moved into the School of Systems and Enterprises. Syracuse University established the first graduate engineering management degree in the United States, which was first offered in 1957. In 1967 the first university department explicitly titled "Engineering Management" was founded at the
Missouri University of Science and Technology Missouri University of Science and Technology, or Missouri S&T, is a public research university in Rolla, Missouri. It is a member institution of the University of Missouri System. Most of its 7,645 students (fall 2020) study engineering, busin ...
(Missouri S&T, formerly the University of Missouri-Rolla, formerly Missouri School of Mines). In 1959,
Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a Public university, public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the tr ...
began offering the predecessor to the modern engineering management bachelor's degree (titled "Industrial Supervision") and in 1977, Western Michigan University started its MS degree in Manufacturing Administration, later renamed as Engineering Management. Outside the United States, in Germany the first department concentrating on Engineering Management was established 1927 at
Technical University of Berlin The Technical University of Berlin (official name both in English and german: link=no, Technische Universität Berlin, also known as TU Berlin and Berlin Institute of Technology) is a public research university located in Berlin, Germany. It wa ...
. In Turkey the
Istanbul Technical University Istanbul Technical University ( tr, İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi, commonly referred to as ITU or The Technical University) is an international technical university located in Istanbul, Turkey. It is the world's third-oldest technical university ...
has a Management Engineering Department established in 1982, offering a number of graduate and undergraduate programs in Management Engineering (in English). In UK the
University of Warwick , mottoeng = Mind moves matter , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £7.0 million (2021) , budget = £698.2 million (2020� ...
has a specialised department WMG (previously known as Warwick Manufacturing Group) established in 1980, which offers a graduate programme in MSc Engineering Business Management.
Michigan Technological University Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech, MTU, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Houghton, Michigan, founded in 1885 as the Michigan Mining School, the first post-secondary institution in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. ...
began an Engineering Management program in the School of Business & Economics in the Fall of 2012. In Canada,
Memorial University of Newfoundland Memorial University of Newfoundland, also known as Memorial University or MUN (), is a public university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook, elsewhere in Newfoundland and i ...
has started a complete master's degree Program in Engineering Management. In Denmark, the Technical University of Denmark offers a MSc program in Engineering Management (in English). In Pakistan,
University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila The University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila (UET Taxila) is a public university located in Taxila, Punjab, Pakistan. It was established in 1975 as a campus of the University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore and chartered as an ind ...
,
University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore The University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore (UET Lahore) is a public university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan specializing in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects. It is the oldest and one of the most ...
and National University of Science and Technology (NUST) offer admission both at Master and Doctorate level in Engineering Management while
Capital University of Science & Technology The Capital University of Science & Technology ( ur, ) is a private university located in Islamabad, Pakistan. Established in 1998 under the banner of Muhammad Ali Jinnah University Islamabad Campus, the university offers undergraduate and pos ...
(CUST), NED University of Engineering & Technology, Karachi and Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology have been running a Master of Engineering/MS in Engineering Management program. A variant of this program is within Quality Management. COMSATS (CIIT) offers a MSc Project Management program to Local and Overseas Pakistanis as an on-campus/off-campus student. In Italy, the first Engineering Management program was established in 1972 at the
University of Calabria The University of Calabria ( it, Università della Calabria, UNICAL) is a state-run university in Italy. Located in Arcavacata, a hamlet of Rende and a suburb of Cosenza, the university was founded in 1972. Among its founders there were Beniamin ...
by
Beniamino Andreatta Beniamino "Nino" Andreatta (11 August 1928 – 26 March 2007) was an Italian economist and politician. He was a member of Christian Democrat, and one of the founders of the Italian People's Party in 1994 and of the Olive Tree coalition in 1996. ...
.
Politecnico di Milano The Polytechnic University of Milan () is the largest technical university in Italy, with about 42,000 students. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and higher education courses in engineering, architecture and design. Founded in 18 ...
offers degrees in Management Engineering., among many other public or private (and publicly-accredited) universities belonging to the same post-secondary academic degrees'classification. In Russia, since 2014 the Faculty of Engineering Management of The
Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration The Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA) is a federal state-funded institution of higher education located in Moscow, Russia. With the merger of ANE, RAPA, 12 other regional civil service academies ...
(RANEPA) offers bachelor's and master's degrees in Engineering Management. In France, the EPF will offer, from January 2018, a 2-year Engineering & Management major in English for the 4th and 5th years of its 5-year Engineering master's degree. The final 2 years are open to students who have completed an undergraduate engineering degree elsewhere.


Areas of practice

Engineering Management is a broad field and can cover a wide range of technical and managerial topics. An important resource is the Engineering Management Body of Knowledge (EMBoK). The topics below are representative of typical topics in the field.


Leadership and Organization Management

Leadership Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets view ...
and organization management are concerned with the skills involving positive direction of technical organizations and motivation of employees. Often a manager must shape engineering policy within an organization.


Operations, operations research, and supply chain

Operations management is concerned with designing and controlling the process of production and redesigning business operations in the production of goods or services.
Operations research Operations research ( en-GB, operational research) (U.S. Air Force Specialty Code: Operations Analysis), often shortened to the initialism OR, is a discipline that deals with the development and application of analytical methods to improve deci ...
deals with quantitative models of complex operations and uses these models to support
decision-making In psychology, decision-making (also spelled decision making and decisionmaking) is regarded as the cognitive process resulting in the selection of a belief or a course of action among several possible alternative options. It could be either rati ...
in any sector of industry or public services.
Supply chain management In commerce, supply chain management (SCM) is the management of the flow of goods and services including all processes that transform raw materials into final products between businesses and locations. This can include the movement and stor ...
is the process of planning, implementing and managing the flow of goods, services and related information from the point of origin to the point of consumption.University of Waterloo
, Management Engineering.


Engineering law

Engineering law Engineering law is the study of how engineering ethics and legal frameworks are adopted to ensure public safety surrounding the practice of engineering. California law defines engineering as "the professional practice of rendering service or creat ...
and the related statutes are critical to management practice and engineering. Engineering legislation makes engineering a controlled activity and an engineering manager must know which statutes apply to their practice. Codes of ethics can be enshrined in law. Professional misconduct and negligence are defined in law. An engineering manager must be licensed as an engineer and may have engineers, technicians and natural scientists reporting to her or him. Understanding how licensed engineers supervise non-licensed technicians and natural scientists is critical to safe practice. An engineering manager must always use engineering legislation to push back against schedule pressure or budget pressure to ensure public safety.


Management of technology

Introducing and utilizing new technology is a major route to cost reduction and quality improvement in production engineering. The
Management of Technology Technology management is a set of management disciplines that allows organizations to manage their technological fundamentals to create customer advantage. Typical concepts used in technology management are: * Technology strategy (a logic or role ...
(MOT) theme builds on the foundation of management topics in
accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "language ...
,
finance Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...
, economics,
organizational behavior Organizational behavior (OB) or organisational behaviour is the: "study of human behavior in organizational settings, the interface between human behavior and the organization, and the organization itself".Moorhead, G., & Griffin, R. W. (1995) ...
and organizational design. Courses in this theme deal with operational and organizational issues related to managing
innovation Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or services or improvement in offering goods or services. ISO TC 279 in the standard ISO 56000:2020 defines innovation as "a new or changed entit ...
and technological change.


New product development and product engineering

New product development In business and engineering, new product development (NPD) covers the complete process of bringing a new product to market, renewing an existing product or introducing a product in a new market. A central aspect of NPD is product design, along wi ...
(NPD) is the complete process of bringing a new product to market.
Product engineering Product engineering refer to the process of designing and developing a device, assembly, or system such that it be produced as an item for sale through some product manufacturing process. Product engineering usually entails activity dealing with ...
refers to the process of designing and developing a device, assembly, or system such that it be produced as an item for sale through some production manufacturing process. Product engineering usually entails activity dealing with issues of cost, producibility, quality, performance, reliability, serviceability, intended lifespan and user features.
Project Management Project management is the process of leading the work of a team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project documentation, created at the beginning of the development process. Th ...
techniques are used to manage the design and development progress using the phase-gate model in the product development process.
Design for manufacturability Design for manufacturability (also sometimes known as design for manufacturing or DFM) is the general engineering practice of designing products in such a way that they are easy to manufacture. The concept exists in almost all engineering discipli ...
(also sometimes known as design for manufacturing or DFM) is the general engineering art of designing products in such a way that they are easy to manufacture.


Systems engineering

Systems engineering Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering and engineering management that focuses on how to design, integrate, and manage complex systems over their life cycles. At its core, systems engineering utilizes systems thinking ...
is an interdisciplinary field of engineering and engineering management that focuses on how to design and manage complex systems over their life cycles.


Industrial engineering

Industrial engineering Industrial engineering is an engineering profession that is concerned with the optimization of complex processes, systems, or organizations by developing, improving and implementing integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information an ...
is a branch of engineering which deals with the optimization of complex processes, systems or organizations. Industrial engineers work to eliminate waste of time, money, materials, man-hours, machine time, energy and other resources that do not generate value.


Management science

Management science Management science (or managerial science) is a wide and interdisciplinary study of solving complex problems and making strategic decisions as it pertains to institutions, corporations, governments and other types of organizational entities. It is ...
uses various scientific research-based principles, strategies, and analytical methods including
mathematical modeling A mathematical model is a description of a system using mathematical concepts and language. The process of developing a mathematical model is termed mathematical modeling. Mathematical models are used in the natural sciences (such as physics, ...
, statistics and numerical algorithms to improve an organization's ability to enact rational and meaningful management decisions by arriving at optimal or near optimal solutions to complex decision problems.


Engineering design management

Engineering design management represents the adaptation and application of customary management practices, with the intention of achieving a productive
engineering design process The engineering design process is a common series of steps that engineers use in creating functional products and processes. The process is highly iterative - parts of the process often need to be repeated many times before another can be entere ...
. Engineering design management is primarily applied in the context of engineering design teams, whereby the activities, outputs and influences of design teams are planned, guided, monitored and controlled.


Human factors safety culture

Critical to management success in engineering is the study of human factors and safety culture involved with highly complex tasks within organizations large and small. In complex engineering systems, human factors safety culture can be critical in preventing catastrophe and minimizing the realized hazard rate. Critical areas of safety culture are minimizing blame avoidance, minimizing power distance, an appropriate ambiguity tolerance and minimizing a culture of concealment. Increasing organizational empathy and an ability to clearly report problems up the chain of management is important to the success of any engineering program. Managing an engineering firm is in opposition to the management of a law firm. Law firms keep secrets while engineering firms succeed when information is deiminated clearly and quickly. Engineering managers must push against a culture of concealment which may be promoted by the law department. Managers in an engineering firm must be ready to push back against schedule and budget constraints from the executive suite. Engineering managers must use
engineering law Engineering law is the study of how engineering ethics and legal frameworks are adopted to ensure public safety surrounding the practice of engineering. California law defines engineering as "the professional practice of rendering service or creat ...
to push back against the executive suite to ensure public safety. The executive suite in an engineering organization can become consumed with financial data imperiling public safety.


Education

Engineering management programs typically include instruction in
accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "language ...
, economics,
finance Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...
,
project management Project management is the process of leading the work of a team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project documentation, created at the beginning of the development process. Th ...
,
systems engineering Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering and engineering management that focuses on how to design, integrate, and manage complex systems over their life cycles. At its core, systems engineering utilizes systems thinking ...
,
industrial engineering Industrial engineering is an engineering profession that is concerned with the optimization of complex processes, systems, or organizations by developing, improving and implementing integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information an ...
,
mathematical model A mathematical model is a description of a system using mathematical concepts and language. The process of developing a mathematical model is termed mathematical modeling. Mathematical models are used in the natural sciences (such as physics, ...
ing and optimization,
management information systems A management information system (MIS) is an information system used for decision-making, and for the coordination, control, analysis, and visualization of information in an organization. The study of the management information systems involves peop ...
,
quality control Quality control (QC) is a process by which entities review the quality of all factors involved in production. ISO 9000 defines quality control as "a part of quality management focused on fulfilling quality requirements". This approach places ...
& six sigma, operations management,
operations research Operations research ( en-GB, operational research) (U.S. Air Force Specialty Code: Operations Analysis), often shortened to the initialism OR, is a discipline that deals with the development and application of analytical methods to improve deci ...
,
human resources management Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, an ...
, industrial
psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...
,
safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...
and
health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...
. There are many options for entering into engineering management, albeit that the foundation requirement is an engineering license. Undergraduate degrees Although most engineering management programs are geared for graduate studies, there are a number of institutions that teach EM at the undergraduate level. Over twenty undergraduate engineering management related programs are accredited by
ABET The ABET (incorporated as the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc.) is a non-governmental organization that accredits post-secondary education programs in applied and natural sciences, computing, engineering and engineerin ...
including: West Point ( United States Military Academy),
Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a Public university, public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the tr ...
(ABET-accredited by ETAC of ABET),
Stevens Institute of Technology Stevens Institute of Technology is a Private university, private research university in Hoboken, New Jersey. Founded in 1870, it is one of the oldest technological universities in the United States and was the first college in America solely ded ...
,
Clarkson University Clarkson University is a private research university with its main campus in Potsdam, New York, and additional graduate program and research facilities in the New York Capital Region and Beacon, New York. It was founded in 1896 and has an enr ...
,
Gonzaga University Gonzaga University (GU) () is a private Jesuit university in Spokane, Washington. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Founded in 1887 by Joseph Cataldo, an Italian-born priest and Jesuit missionary, the uni ...
,
Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six regi ...
,
Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the U ...
,
Missouri University of Science and Technology Missouri University of Science and Technology, or Missouri S&T, is a public research university in Rolla, Missouri. It is a member institution of the University of Missouri System. Most of its 7,645 students (fall 2020) study engineering, busin ...
. Graduates of these programs regularly command nearly $65,000 their first year out of school. Outside the US,
Istanbul Technical University Istanbul Technical University ( tr, İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi, commonly referred to as ITU or The Technical University) is an international technical university located in Istanbul, Turkey. It is the world's third-oldest technical university ...
Management Engineering Department offers an undergraduate degree in Management Engineering, attracting top students. The University of Waterloo offers a 4-year undergraduate degree (5 years including co-op education) in the field of Management Engineering. This is the first program of its kind in Canada. In Peru, Pacifico University offers a five-year undergraduate degree in this field, the first program in this country. In Germany, ESB Business School offers a 4-year undergraduate program which consists of five semesters at ESB Business School, two mandatory internships, one is mandatory to be in another country than Germany, and also one mandatory semester abroad. In the annual applied university ranking of the magazine
Wirtschaftswoche ''Wirtschaftswoche'' is a German weekly business news magazine published in Germany. “Wirtschaft” means economy (including business) and “Woche” is week. History and profile For many years, ''Wirtschaftswoche'' was published weekly o ...
, the
Engineering Management Engineering management is the application of the practice of management to the practice of engineering. Engineering management is a career that brings together the technological problem-solving ability of engineering and the organizational, admini ...
course of ESB Business School is ranked on place five of all applied universities in Germany. The magazine surveyed more than 500 recruiters in the German industry from which university they are most likely to recruit students and which universities satisfy their needs regarding experience in working with projects, multilingual education, and ability to communicate most.m University of technology poznan. Graduate degrees Many universities offer Master of Engineering Management degrees.
Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Chart ...
offers the Master in Engineering Management (MEM) program since 1976. The program is administered out of the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences. Students take courses across different schools of the university such as McCormick school of Engineering,
Kellogg School of Management The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University (also known as Kellogg) is the business school of Northwestern University, a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1908, Kellogg is one of the oldest and most ...
, Farley Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Segal Design Institute. Graduates students are admitted based on eligibility criteria that includes minimum work experience of 3 years. Missouri S&T is credited with awarding the first Ph.D. in Engineering Management in 1984. The
National Institute of Industrial Engineering National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE) formerly National Institute for Training in Industrial Engineering, is a graduate business school under Ministry of HRD, Government of India located in Powai near Vihar Lake in Mumbai, and ...
based in
Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...
has been awarding degrees in the field of Post Graduate Diploma in Industrial Engineering since 1973 and the Fellowship (Doctoral) degrees have been awarded since 2008.
Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a Public university, public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the tr ...
began offering the MS in Manufacturing Administration degree in 1977 and later renamed the degree as Master of Science in Engineering Management. WMU's MSEM alumni work in the automotive, medical, manufacturing, and service sectors, often in roles of project manager, engineering manager, and senior leadership in engineering and technical organizations. Cornell University started one of the first Engineering Management Masters programs in 1988 with the launch of their Master of Engineering (M.Eng.) in Engineering Management. The program allows students access to courses and programs in the College of Engineering, Johnson School of Management, and across Cornell University more broadly. Massachusetts Institute of Technology offers a Master in System Design and Management, which is a member of the Consortium of Engineering Management. Lamar University offers a Master of Engineering Management degree with flexible content to adjust to diverse engineering fields, with core content that includes operations management, accounting, and decision sciences. Netaji Subhas Institute of technology (NSIT, website as http://www.nsit.ac.in/ under University of Delhi)New Delhi also provides M.tech degree in Engineering management. Admission to this program happens through GATE(Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering) examination. Students in the University of Kansas' Engineering Management Program are practicing professionals employed by over 100 businesses, manufacturing, government or consulting firms. There are over 200 actively enrolled students in the program and approximately 500 alumni.
Istanbul Technical University Istanbul Technical University ( tr, İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi, commonly referred to as ITU or The Technical University) is an international technical university located in Istanbul, Turkey. It is the world's third-oldest technical university ...
Management Engineering Department offers a graduate degree, and a Ph.D. in Management Engineering. According to the
American Society for Engineering Education The American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) is a non-profit member association, founded in 1893, dedicated to promoting and improving engineering and engineering technology education. The purpose of ASEE is the advancement of education ...
(ASEE) PRISM Magazine (March 2008) the largest Master's of Engineering Management (MEM) programs (in terms of degrees awarded for 2005–2006) are shown in the following chart.


Management engineering consulting

Large and small engineering driven firms often require the expertise of external
management consultant Management consulting is the practice of providing consulting services to organizations to improve their performance or in any way to assist in achieving organizational objectives. Organizations may draw upon the services of management consultant ...
s that specialize in companies where engineering practice and product development are key drivers of value. Most engineering management consultants will have as a minimum a professional engineering qualification. But usually they will also have graduate degrees in engineering and or business or a
management consulting Management consulting is the practice of providing consulting services to organizations to improve their performance or in any way to assist in achieving organizational objectives. Organizations may draw upon the services of management consultant ...
designation. It involves providing
management consulting Management consulting is the practice of providing consulting services to organizations to improve their performance or in any way to assist in achieving organizational objectives. Organizations may draw upon the services of management consultant ...
service that is specific to professional
engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...
practice or to the engineering industry sector. Engineering management consultancies, are typically boutique firms and have a more specialized focus than the traditional mainstream consulting firms, A T Kearney,
Boston Consulting Group Boston Consulting Group, Inc. (BCG) is an American global management consulting firm founded in 1963 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the Big Three (or MBB, the world’s three largest management consulting firms by rev ...
,
KPMG KPMG International Limited (or simply KPMG) is a multinational corporation, multinational professional services network, and one of the Big Four accounting firms, Big Four accounting organizations. Headquartered in Amstelveen, Netherlands, alth ...
,
PWC PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounting ...
, and
McKinsey McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm founded in 1926 by University of Chicago professor James O. McKinsey, that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. McKinsey is the oldest and ...
.
Applied science Applied science is the use of the scientific method and knowledge obtained via conclusions from the method to attain practical goals. It includes a broad range of disciplines such as engineering and medicine. Applied science is often contrasted ...
and
engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...
practice requires a combination of "management art", science, and engineering practice. There are many professional service companies delivering services in a consultancy type relationship to the engineering industry, including
law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...
,
accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "language ...
,
human resources Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include m ...
,
marketing Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to empha ...
,
politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studie ...
, economics,
finance Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...
, public affairs, and communication. Commonly, engineering management consultants are used when firms require a combination of special technical knowledge, and
management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...
know how, to enhance
knowledge Knowledge can be defined as awareness of facts or as practical skills, and may also refer to familiarity with objects or situations. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is often defined as true belief that is distinc ...
or transform organizational performance and also keep any
intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, c ...
developed confidential. Engineering management consulting is concerned with the development, improvement, implementation and evaluation of integrated systems of organizations, people, money, knowledge, information, equipment, energy, materials and/or processes. Management Engineering Consultants strive to improve upon existing organizations, processes, products or systems. Engineering management consulting draws upon the principles and methods of engineering analysis and synthesis, as well as the mathematical, physical and
social sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of socie ...
together with the principles and methods of engineering design to specify, predict, and evaluate the results to be obtained from such systems or processes. Engineering management consulting can focus on the social impact of the product, process or system that is being analyzed. There is also an overlap between engineering management consulting and
management science Management science (or managerial science) is a wide and interdisciplinary study of solving complex problems and making strategic decisions as it pertains to institutions, corporations, governments and other types of organizational entities. It is ...
in services that require the adoption of more analytical approaches to problem solving. Examples of where engineering management consulting might be used include developing and leading a company wide
business transformation In management it has been said that business transformation involves making fundamental changes in how business is conducted in order to help cope with shifts in market environment. However this is a relatively narrow definition that overlooks ot ...
initiative, or designing and implementing a
new product development In business and engineering, new product development (NPD) covers the complete process of bringing a new product to market, renewing an existing product or introducing a product in a new market. A central aspect of NPD is product design, along wi ...
process, designing and implementing a
manufacturing engineering Manufacturing engineering or production engineering is a branch of professional engineering that shares many common concepts and ideas with other fields of engineering such as mechanical, chemical, electrical, and industrial engineering. Manufa ...
process, including an automated assembly workstation. Management engineers may specialize in the acquisition and implementation of Computer aided design (CAD),
Computer-aided manufacturing Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) also known as computer-aided modeling or computer-aided machining is the use of software to control machine tools in the manufacturing of work pieces. This is not the only definition for CAM, but it is the most ...
(CAM) and
Computer-aided engineering Computer-aided engineering (CAE) is the broad usage of computer software to aid in engineering analysis tasks. It includes , , , durability and optimization. It is included with computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) ...
(CAE) applications. Services may include strategizing for various operational logistics, new product introductions, or consulting as an efficiency expert. It may include using
management science Management science (or managerial science) is a wide and interdisciplinary study of solving complex problems and making strategic decisions as it pertains to institutions, corporations, governments and other types of organizational entities. It is ...
techniques to develop a new financial algorithm or loan system for a bank, streamlining operation and emergency room location or usage in a hospital, planning complex distribution schemes for materials or products (referred to as
Supply Chain Management In commerce, supply chain management (SCM) is the management of the flow of goods and services including all processes that transform raw materials into final products between businesses and locations. This can include the movement and stor ...
), and shortening lines (or queues) at a bank, hospital, or a theme park. Management engineering consultants typically use
computer simulation Computer simulation is the process of mathematical modelling, performed on a computer, which is designed to predict the behaviour of, or the outcome of, a real-world or physical system. The reliability of some mathematical models can be deter ...
(especially
discrete event simulation A discrete-event simulation (DES) models the operation of a system as a (discrete) sequence of events in time. Each event occurs at a particular instant in time and marks a change of state in the system. Between consecutive events, no change in the ...
), along with extensive mathematical tools and modeling and computational methods for system analysis, evaluation, and optimization.


Professional organizations

There are a number of societies and organizations dedicated to the field of engineering management. One of the largest societies is a division of IEEE, the Engineering Management Society, which regularly publishes a trade magazine. Another prominent professional organization in the field is the American Society for Engineering Management (ASEM), which was founded in 1979 by a group of 20 engineering managers from industry. ASEM currently certifies engineering managers (two levels) via th
Certified Associate in Engineering Management (CAEM)
o
Certified Professional in Engineering Management (CPEM)
certification exam. The Master of Engineering Management Programs Consortium is a consortium of nine universities intended to raise the value and visibility of the MEM degree.Master of Engineering Management Programs Consortium
/ref> Also, engineering management graduate programs have the possibility of being accredited by
ABET The ABET (incorporated as the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc.) is a non-governmental organization that accredits post-secondary education programs in applied and natural sciences, computing, engineering and engineerin ...
, ATMAE, or
ASEM Asem (also spelled Aasem, Assem, Asim ar, عاصم ') is a male given name of Arabic origin, which means "savior, protector, guardian, defender." Asem is also a female given name of Kazakh origin, which means "beauty, beautiful, refined, gracefu ...
. In Canada, the Canadian Society for Engineering Management (CSEM) is a constituent society of the Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC), Canada's oldest learned engineering society.


See also

*
Business engineering A business process, business method or business function is a collection of related, structured activities or tasks by people or equipment in which a specific sequence produces a service or product (serves a particular business goal) for a parti ...
*
Business manager The Oxford English Dictionary defines a business manager as "a person who manages the business affairs of an individual, institution, organization, or company". Compare manager. Business managers drive the work of others (if any) in order to op ...
*
Construction management Construction management (CM) is a professional service that uses specialized, project management techniques and software to oversee the planning, design, construction and closeout of a project. The purpose of Construction management is to control ...
*
Engineering Information Management Engineering information management (EIM) is the business function within product development and specifically systems engineering that allows engineers to collaborate on a single source of truth of engineering data. Contrary to product data managem ...
*
Engineering law Engineering law is the study of how engineering ethics and legal frameworks are adopted to ensure public safety surrounding the practice of engineering. California law defines engineering as "the professional practice of rendering service or creat ...
*
Enterprise engineering Enterprise engineering is the body of knowledge, principles, and practices used to design all or part of an enterprise. R.E. Giachetti (2010). ''Design of Enterprise Systems: Theory, Methods, and Architecture''. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. An enterp ...
*
Industrial engineering Industrial engineering is an engineering profession that is concerned with the optimization of complex processes, systems, or organizations by developing, improving and implementing integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information an ...
* List of engineering topics *
List of management topics The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to management: Business management – management of a business. Business management rule #1 is delegation, assign the best qualified people to each position and trust ...
*
Remote laboratory Remote laboratory (also known as online laboratory or remote workbench) is the use of telecommunications to remotely conduct real (as opposed to virtual) experiments, at the physical location of the operating technology, whilst the scientist is ...
*
Systems Engineering Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering and engineering management that focuses on how to design, integrate, and manage complex systems over their life cycles. At its core, systems engineering utilizes systems thinking ...
;Associations ;
American Society for Engineering Management (ASEM)
;*
INFORMS The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) is an international society for practitioners in the fields of operations research (O.R.), management science, and analytics. It was established in 1995 with the merger of ...


References


Further reading

*Eric T-S. Pan, Pan, Eric T-S. ''Perpetual Business Machines: Principles of Success for Technical Professionals''


External links


American Society for Engineering Management (ASEM)IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management JournalEngineeringDone All about EngineeringASEM International Annual Conference (IAC)Canadian Society for Engineering Management, CSEM
;Associations
Society of engineering and management systems

Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers
{{Authority control Management by type Engineering disciplines Design Product development