In the application of principles and methods of engineering analysis and design, it is distinguished from other engineering disciplines in its concern with problems which involve human effort and energy, production systems, economy in the use of money, materials and time, and a high utilization of the social sciences.

Using the scientific method, industrial engineers establish factual information from which alternatives are defined, problems recognized and solved. In their concern for the design, improvement and control of systems, they collect, analyze, arrange and statistically examine data. They introduce new techniques and tools into the organization and into the decision-making process.

Areas of specialty associated with industrial engineering are administrative engineering, production and inventory control, automation, plant location and layout, methods engineering, quality control, data processing, operations research, cost forecasting and control.