Application of TRIZ in ergonomics problem solving

Abstract

All ergonomics injuries are handled in a reactive manner whereby corrective actions are thought of after the fact when injuries occur. Even at times, wrong root causes were identified and as a result, incorrect preventive actions were implemented causing repeated ergonomics injuries. Therefore, identifying the right root cause is very important to ensure effective preventive action is in place. This paper is to study the application of TRIZ (Theory of Inventive Problem Solving) tool as part of proactive ergonomics problem solving to identify effective root cause(s). TRIZ is a structured methodology based on the laws of physics and what innovative patents have presented as ways of solving problems.