Production Engineers develop, advance, and improve products, processes, or materials and build or supervise the building of prototypes. May operate machinery, equipment, or hand tools to produce their prototypes. Production Engineers must spend part of their workday using computers to plan production schedules and budgets for specific projects. They might also use their planning time to develop new procedures for items already in production or to be produced in the future, and meet with other departments to discuss product development. Engineers must also familiarize themselves with the types of equipment they might have to order and install for new projects, always keeping track of costs. Their jobs are similar to that of industrial and mechanical engineers as they study, monitor, test, and make recommendations for the manufacturing process. Apart from the manufacturing process, they are extremely versed on the products or services developed by the company and the needs that they fill. They understand consumer requirements and may even conduct focus group testing. Every Production Engineer is responsible for the procedures or protocols that are used in the manufacturing process. One of their main duties is troubleshooting all steps in this process, and seeking improvement in procedures wherever necessary. They must be able to determine from where in the production line a problem originates, such as issues with machinery needing to be fixed, cleaned or redesigned, or if a worker is not adhering to the proper steps in manufacturing, such as using the equipment incorrectly or not assembling products properly. The duties of Production Engineers includes to assisting in the design of a product to make sure that it can be produced as quickly and cheaply as possible, comparing different materials to find the right balance of quality and cost. They are also engaged in Creating computer simulations to model different ways in which manufacturing could be made more efficient. They also make sure that the factory is able to meet its demands and deadlines and debugging problems in the manufacturing process and acting as a go-between for different departments to make sure those problems are fixed.