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Chinese Journal of Mechanical Engineering
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Interactive training model of TRIZ for mechanical engineers in China

Chinese Journal of Mechanical Engineering volume 27, pages 240–248 (2014)Cite this article

Abstract

Innovation is a process of taking an original idea and converting it into a business value, in which the engineers face some inventive problems which can be solved hardly by experience. TRIZ, as a new theory for companies in China, provides both conceptual and procedural knowledge for finding and solving inventive problems. Because the government plays a leading role in the diffusion of TRIZ, too many companies from different industries are waiting to be trained, but the quantity of the trainers mastering TRIZ is incompatible with that requirement. In this context, to improve the training effect, an interactive training model of TRIZ for the mechanical engineers in China is developed and the implementation in the form of training classes is carried out. The training process is divided into 6 phases as follows: selecting engineers, training stage-1, finding problems, training stage-2, finding solutions and summing up. The government, TRIZ institutions and companies to join the programs interact during the process. The government initiates and monitors a project in form of a training class of TRIZ and selects companies to join the programs. Each selected companies choose a few engineers to join the class and supervises the training result. The TRIZ institutions design the training courses and carry out training curriculum. With the beginning of the class, an effective communication channel is established by means of interview, discussion face to face, E-mail, QQ and so on. After two years training practices, the results show that innovative abilities of the engineers to join and pass the final examinations increased distinctly, and most of companies joined the training class have taken congnizance of the power of TRIZ for product innovation. This research proposes an interactive training model of TRIZ for mechanical engineers in China to expedite the knowledge diffusion of TRIZ.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Technological Innovation Method and Tool Engineering Research Center, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin, 300401, China

    Runhua Tan & Huangao Zhang

Authors
  1. Runhua Tan
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  2. Huangao Zhang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Runhua Tan.

Additional information

This project is supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos. 51275153, 51105128), National Innovation Project of China(Grant No. 2011IM010200), and Social Science Planning Fund Program of Hebei Province, China(Grant No. HB13GL050)

TAN Runhua, born in 1958, is currently a professor at Hebei University of Technology, China, and the director of National Technological Innovation Method and Tool Engineering Research Center, China. He received his PhD degree from Zhejiang University, China, in 1998. His research interests include innovative design, TRIZ theory and application, technological innovation process management and design for mass customization.

ZHANG Huangao, born in 1973, is currently a vice-professor at Hebei University of Technology, China. He received his PhD degree from Hebei University of Technology, China, in 2009. His research interests include innovative design and product platform design.

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Tan, R., Zhang, H. Interactive training model of TRIZ for mechanical engineers in China. Chin. J. Mech. Eng. 27, 240–248 (2014). https://doi.org/10.3901/CJME.2014.02.240

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.3901/CJME.2014.02.240

Keywords

  • TRIZ
  • interactive training model
  • innovative abilities for mechanical engineers
  • knowledge diffusion