**7. Summary**

For over a century, industrial engineering has arguably been responsible for much of the economic progress in the manufacturing and service industries. Industrial engineering serves people and can lead all workers to improved productivity and to a higher standard of living. The needs for change and continuous improvement are too important, and there is no other profession with the breadth of industrial engineering available to meet them. Of particular importance is the range of directions which the profession can follow. Many threads about the future have been woven into this chapter. Subsequent chapters in this book will illustrate the full range of industrial engineering possibilities.
