Engineering Management

What’s it all about?

Engineering management concerns company organisation: it connects an engineering approach with multidisciplinary skills (technical-scientific, economic, management) in order to analyse, reorganise and optimise the structure and processes of a given company. The aim of this field is to maximise company efficiency in order to adapt to the continuously changing competitive environment.

An engineering manager is responsible for analysing the company’s existing situation – such as the performance of employees, work teams and departments – and controlling the quality, safety and security of internal processes. After due evaluation, the analytical stage is followed by that of the design and development of the structural and organisational measures deemed necessary. For example, during this second stage, the engineering manager plans and oversees the restructuring of company sectors or departments; he/she analyses the suitability of the various investment or financing possibilities for said restructuring; he/she studies the company’s supply and target markets. With one end final objective: to develop the company’s business potential as much as possible.

What kind of knowledge is required to work in this area?

In engineering management, all those activities that help build the perfect efficiency framework for a company’s business are of paramount importance. Therefore, good organisation and a global, overall vision are essential characteristics for this role. An engineering manager must organise company planning and programming, intervening in the coordination of work teams and in the analysis and reorganisation of the production process to optimise times and costs, proposing solutions for the improvement of logistics flows and customer service flows.

Simultaneously, he/she must have excellent management control skills, great flexibility and problem-solving ability. These characteristics are useful, for example, for evaluating any discrepancy between set economic goals and actual results, investigating the reason for any changes and planning solutions. Good knowledge of business risk assessment and risk management is also essential, as is the ability to manage technological transformation processes and corporate restructuring (change management).

Who works in this sector?
  • Engineering manager - Degree in engineering management, mechanical or industrial engineering