Industrial Engineer Mock Interview

Master 51 Industrial Engineer interview questions covering process optimization, lean systems, and data analysis.

Question 29 of 51

Tell me about a time and motion study you have done. What did you learn from it?

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Holly Chavez
Holly Chavez

Holly Chavez is a multidisciplinary freelance writer and news columnist. She has a BS in Industrial Engineering Technology. Holly specializes in writing about business, engineering, and sustainability.

It's important to note that a task taking just seconds too long can make or break a business. For instance, millions could be lost for an automobile manufacturing plant that utilizes rapid assembly lines and automation if it all doesn't fall into place in seconds. In light of that, you can see just how important time & motion studies can be to organizations. Luck has it that during college, internships, and on the job you most likely performed time & motion studies. There are probably endless things you learned from them, too.

Here is an example of something you can say about motion studies, 'I learned through a motion study and diagram that employees on the manufacturing floor were reaching too far at a disorganized workstation. After a redesign of the workstation, the set up was much more ergonomic and made workers (76%) more productive.'

Regarding time studies, you can say, 'Me knowing how to properly conduct a stopwatch study allowed me to identify when tasks in a process were taking too long or were inefficient. I used my findings as baseline samples to later use for continuous improvement on the current processes, thereby improving Cycle and Takt times.

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