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Copyright of Journal of Guangdong University of Technology is the property of Journal of Guangdong University of Technology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose: In the current market, the Portuguese industry faces strong competition from countries with substantially lower operating costs. The agri-food industry is also subject to increasing competition, both nationally and internationally. The utilization of methodologies that, in addition to continuous improvement, provide the development of creative and innovative solutions may be relevant for highlighting and differentiating between organizations. In this work, Teoriya Resheniya Izobretatelskikh Zadach and Lean Philosophies have been implemented together. Methodologies as Matrix of Ideality Matrix of Contradiction, Single Minute Exchange of Die, 5S and the Substance-Field analyses were used as complementary tools to improve the production management activities of agri-food sector. Strongly focused on the issues of time wastage and the organization and management of the filling line, the implementation of these methodologies led to a reduction of setup times, of the operators’ movement and an improvement in the line’s management and organization, and improve the results of 5S audits, depending on the work station. The aims of this study is the implementation of diferent methodologies, philosophies and tools to improve management activities. Methodology/Approach: The methodology presented in this work involves using Lean and TRIZ methodologies together. Namely Matrix of Ideality, the Matrix of Contradictions, SMED, 5S and the Substance-Field Analysis, were used to optimize the management activities, in agro-food industrial sector. The methodology strongly focused on the issues of time wastage, organization and management of an filling line. Findings: The implementation of methodologies led to a reduction of setup times by 60% to 70%, a reduction of the operators’ movement during format changes by 26.2%, and an improvement in the line’s management and organization by 9% to 12%, depending on the work station. Research Limitation/implication: In the management activities, the results are not universal. Therefore, the same methodology applied in another industrial sector will present differents results. Nevertheless, the application of this methodology and the tools choosen only make sense if it facilitates the management of improvements. Originality/Value of paper: There is a need and demand for innovative solutions that lead to continuous improvement, production processes optimization and resource saving. The combination of different validated methologies, with new concrete studies, is always in scientific and technical interest and continuously sought-after (demanded, welcome) by academic and industrial sectors.

Purpose: In the current market, the Portuguese industry faces strong competition from countries with substantially lower operating costs. The agri-food industry is also subject to increasing competition, both nationally and internationally. The utilization of methodologies that, in addition to continuous improvement, provide the development of creative and innovative solutions may be relevant for highlighting and differentiating between organizations. In this work, Teoriya Resheniya Izobretatelskikh Zadach and Lean Philosophies have been implemented together. Methodologies as Matrix of Ideality Matrix of Contradiction, Single Minute Exchange of Die, 5S and the Substance-Field analyses were used as complementary tools to improve the production management activities of agri-food sector. Strongly focused on the issues of time wastage and the organization and management of the filling line, the implementation of these methodologies led to a reduction of setup times, of the operators' movement and an improvement in the line's management and organization, and improve the results of 5S audits, depending on the work station. The aims of this study is the implementation of diferent methodologies, philosophies and tools to improve management activities. Methodology/Approach: The methodology presented in this work involves using Lean and TRIZ methodologies together. Namely Matrix of Ideality, the Matrix of Contradictions, SMED, 5S and the Substance-Field Analysis, were used to optimize the management activities, in agro-food industrial sector. The methodology strongly focused on the issues of time wastage, organization and management of an filling line. Findings: The implementation of methodologies led to a reduction of setup times by 60% to 70%, a reduction of the operators' movement during format changes by 26.2%, and an improvement in the line's management and organization by 9% to 12%, depending on the work station. Research Limitation/implication: In the management activities, the results are not universal. Therefore, the same methodology applied in another industrial sector will present differents results. Nevertheless, the application of this methodology and the tools choosen only make sense if it facilitates the management of improvements. Originality/Value of paper: There is a need and demand for innovative solutions that lead to continuous improvement, production processes optimization and resource saving. The combination of different validated methologies, with new concrete studies, is always in scientific and technical interest and continuously sought-after (demanded, welcome) by academic and industrial sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problem-solving is a key engineering skill, yet is an area in which engineering graduates underperform. This paper investigates the potential of using web-based tools to teach students problem-solving techniques without the need to make use of class time. An idea generation experiment involving 90 students was designed. Students were surveyed about their study habits and reported they use electronic-based materials more than paper-based materials while studying, suggesting students may engage with web-based tools. Students then generated solutions to a problem task using either a paper-based template or an equivalent web interface. Students who used the web-based approach performed as well as students who used the paper-based approach, suggesting the technique can be successfully adopted and taught online. Web-based tools may therefore be adopted as supplementary material in a range of engineering courses as a way to increase students’ options for enhancing problem-solving skills. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents the results of the idea generation experiment that repeats the study originally conducted at RMIT. In order to establish the influence that the experimental treatments make on the number and the breadth of solution ideas proposed by problem solvers with different knowledge levels, students from different years of study were recruited. Ninety students from the Offenburg University of Applied Sciences, Germany were divided into three groups. All students were asked to generate ideas on cleaning lime deposits from the inside of a water pipe and were given 16 minutes to record their individual ideas. Students of two experimental groups were shown some words for two minuted each. The Su-Field group was exposed to the eight fields of MATCEMIB. The Random Word group was shown eight random words every two minutes. The Su-Field group outperformed both the Control group and the Random Word group in the number of ideas generated. It was also found that the students from the Su-Field group proposed significantly broader solutions than the students from the Control and Random Word groups. The overall results of the experiment support the conclusions made by the RMIT researchers that simple ideation techniques can significantly improve idea generation and that the systematised Substance-Field Analysis is a suitable heuristic for engineering students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various efforts have been done so far to develop ontology for engineering functions in order to support functional modeling in design processes. The efforts focused on identifying a minimal set of functions that did not overlap and yet encompass the space of designed products. In this study, we use Substance Field analysis of biological systems acting in various fields and environments to define an ontology for biological functions. Comparing our ontology for biological functions, derived from the Su-Field analysis, to other ontologies for engineering functions reveals similarity and suggests an efficient generalization of system function ontologies. The process of the Su-Field analysis is provided together with examples and demonstrations. The implication of the results for functional modeling design in general and for biomimetic design in particular is further discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to understand problems well, often referred as problem finding, is identified as the most important aspect of engineering problem solving. The use of some ideation tools can assist in this endeavor. The effective utilization of certain tools can even impact the long-term development of problem solving ability. This study investigates how different tools of TRIZ can be helpful for problem finding. This paper considers the following: 1) What functionality are required in a problem solving tool to ensure effective problem finding?; 2) Which tools of TRIZ can assist problem finding?; and 3) How does the use of these TRIZ tools enhance the process of problem finding? The tools explored in this paper are: Situation Analysis, Substance – Field Analysis, Method of the Ideal Result, ARIZ, OTSM and IDM-TRIZ. Discussions are also made as to why these tools of TRIZ offer benefit for problem finding. The results from this paper have implications on the design of training programs in TRIZ for both educational and professional settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a simplification of one of the TRIZ methods, the Substance-Field Analysis (SFA). Applying TRIZ methods is often time consuming and therefore a barrier to its application in the industry. Our research group strives to simplify TRIZ methods to make their use more widespread. This SFA simplification was obtained during the implementation of a computer aided SFA. This implementation implies an ontological phase, which leads to the translation of the SFA terminological and conditional knowledge in a computer language. In addition to their operational interest, the chosen computer languages (Description Logics and First Order Logic) have formal interest for the SFA. The complexity of the application of SFA has regularly been reported by the TRIZ community. The SFA terminology suffers from a lack of normalization and the 76 Standards deployment is an empirical process. We propose a clarification of the Substance-Field Modeling terminology and a systematic process for deploying the 76 Standards. Thanks to Description Logics, the SFA terminology is formalized in an automatically consistency checked model and First Order Logic ensures the systematization of the 76 Standards deployment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous researchers have extensively studied two causes of problem solvers’ inflexibility which impede creativity: the Einstellung effect [1] and design fixation [2] . The former has been demonstrated experimentally on numerous occasions and is induced by prior experience. The latter is a result of our fixedness on the functions of things which we regularly use. This paper focuses on the third cause of inflexibility, which has not been researched adequately – the detrimental effect of professional expertise on creativity [3] . This detrimental effect is a natural consequence of extensive professional experience and the possession of large amounts of domain knowledge. After approximately 10 years in a profession, due to the construction of effective knowledge schemas, the short-term memory limitations which normally impede effective idea generation can partly or even completely disappear. As a result, experts attain an ability to search for solutions to problems quickly – without significant cognitive and time effort. Although this ‘quickness’ of experts in suggesting solutions is advantageous, it also creates negative consequences. Experts’ solutions are usually confined to their domain-specific knowledge and do not utilize novel ideas. This study reviews existing evidence related to the detrimental influence of expertise on creativity and discusses how the application of TRIZ tools of Substance-Field Analysis and Method of the Ideal Result can minimize this negative influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Forty two engineering students at RMIT were enrolled in a course on the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ), which was conducted over 13weeks in semester 2, 2006. It was found that most of the students were unaware of any thinking and problem solving tools before the course. Results of the student surveys showed that students’ perceptions of their abilities in problem solving changed vastly as a result of the course. Many students believed that their thinking had changed as a result. Students reflected that they would have never expected themselves to come up with the ideas they thought of and suggested while conducting their final project, if they had not been formally taught the tools of problem solving. It was also found that this course on TRIZ thinking tools impacted students’ problem solving ability much more than the discipline-based courses. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]