Industry background
From boilers to boots and wiring to woks, mechanical engineers lead the production of a million different products and components, as well as developing the industrial machinery that drives the production line. Almost everything you use, from the chair you’re sitting on to the screen you’re reading this on, will have been produced under the guiding hand of a manufacturing engineer.
What’s involved?
Mechanical engineers are involved from start to finish in the manufacturing process; they plan the process by which a product is made, implement that process in a production line, and even work on the packaging of the finished product.
The main challenge for a manufacturing engineer in today’s market is to improve efficiency, and as a result they are constantly examining work flows and methods, looking for ways to reduce costs, streamline production and decrease turnaround time.
Often, this will mean a meticulous approach to evaluation and a stringent attitude will be required, as well as a creative approach to finding new workflow solutions.
Challenges of the future
With the well-connected global market we have today, it is becoming ever more important for manufacturing industries to maximise cost-efficiency, and this is the key challenge manufacturing engineers will face over the coming years.
Equally, with increasing consumer and industry awareness of the need for sustainable production and use of energy, the insights manufacturing engineers can provide into new industry processes will become ever more valuable, as companies respond to changing attitudes and seek to reduce dependence on finite resources.
Career opportunities
The broad range of manufacturing industries that require mechanical engineers mean there are always opportunities for new people with new ideas to make their mark.
In order to ensure the most competitive edge possible for your employer, it’s vital to keep informed of developments in the field and new technology and processes being implemented by manufacturing engineers on a global scale. The events, networking opportunities and support that IMechE offers help engineers achieve this.
The big players
General Electric, Procter and Gamble, Corus, Sony, Unilever
Industry specific events
Click here to find out about IMechE events relating to Manufacturing.