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Application of TRIZ 40 during SARS crises in Singapore APPLICATION OF 40 INVENTIVE PRINCIPLES DURING SARS CRISIS IN SINGAPORE Based on an article by Iouri Belski, Len Kaplan, Vladimir Shapiro, Leonid Vaner, Wong Peng Wai (TRIZ4U associates and friends) on net This is a case study of how the 40 Inventive Principles of TRIZ can be applied to any situation. It does two things simultaneously – problem solving & opportunity spotting. The reactive and proactive modes normally operate together. In real life, the problems are not as crytallized as in an academic examination. Many a time, the approach of looking at some master keys can be a good trigger to realize that you too have a problem that these master keys can open. You may call this as problem solving or opportunity spotting, but it works. Case Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) hit the world in 2003. Republic of Singapore took several effective measures to handle SARS. It is not sure that these measures were thought up through conscious use of the TRIZ tool of 40 inventive principles. However, it is clear that proactive use of the tool would bring up exactly these very solutions. At least 19 of the original 40 principles have found echo in the measures taken by Singapore to combat SARS. Normally, 40 Inventive solutions are used as a result of diagnosis through the 39 X 39 Contradiction Matrix. However, as can be seen from details below, it is also possible to apply each of the 40 solutions to every major situation that we are faced with. Actions taken in Singapore and the Principles 1.	1. Principle of Segmentation: a. If an object is uniform, make it modular. b.. If an object is already modular, subdivide it further. •	To stop spreading the virus, the Singapore Government identified three groups of people: o	those who are already infected or who might be infected, o	those who are not infected, and o	those entering Singapore who might bring in the virus. o	Critical business operations (e.g. banks, treasuries) split up their teams into different groups and located them in different office buildings on the island. o	The Institutes of Higher Learning segmented their large campuses into smaller sections, to reduce movement across the campus and to facilitate contact tracing, should a SARS case occur. o	The Pasir Panjang wholesale market, which was quarantined earlier, was physically reconfigured so that if one area of the market needs to be quarantined, the whole market may not have to. 6. Principle of Universality: Design an object to perform multiple functions so that some other objects are no longer needed. •	Use of temperature tests that utilized infrared sensors, excluded the need of many nurses to manually measuring temperature at Changi Airport. By mid May 2003 there were 29 infrared detectors at the airport. 7. Principle of Nesting: a. Place an object inside another one, which, in turn, is placed inside a third object, b. Arrange an object to pass through a hole or a cavity of another object. •	Isolation at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (major SARS facility in Singapore) was improved by creating a number of enclosed areas from the non-infected to the areas containing SARS-infected patients. 9. Principle of Preliminary Counter-Action: a. If an object experiences a damaging or undesirable stress it has to be pre-stressed in the direction opposite to the damaging forces. b. If the circumstances require carrying out some undesired action, the counteraction must be executed in advance. •	From mid-April, Singapore authorities closed about 80 markets (small shops and food outlets) for a day of cleaning and disinfecting. They were reopened in a day or two after the clean-up. •	Medication that strengthens the immune system was adopted. •	The National Environment Agency agreed to pay half the costs of upgrading the toilets, to the owners of food outlets up to a cap of $5,000. 10. Principle of Preliminary Execution: a. Accomplish the required action fully or partly in advance. b. Prearrange objects to act from the most convenient positions and with no time loss. •	From late April, in order to chase up all the possible SARS suspects, every company asked their visitor to fill in a form to keep visitor’s contact details (address, passport number, etc). •	From the 14th of May, SIA passengers received contact slips on which they can fill in personal details. These were to be left at restaurants or shops they visit in Singapore, and would enable them to be contacted if there wasany outbreak. 11. Principle of “Expecting the Worst” ( Beforehand Cushioning) : If an object’s reliability is poor, have the emergency gear ready in advance. •	From late April, web-cameras were installed in the homes of the quarantined in order to randomly check their presence at home. •	Many companies provided every employee with his/her own thermometer. •	On top of checking the temperature of every passenger at Changi Airport, medical personnel were also on hand to offer assistance to those who are visibly ill. •	Empty apartment blocks and chalets were set up for occupation, should residents of an entire apartment block be required to be quarantined. •	From 12th May 2003 onwards, Singaporeans under Home Quarantine Orders were permitted to choose to serve their quarantine at the government chalets at Loyang instead of at home. •	SIA gave out health kits to passengers travelling to and from SARS-affected cities (two surgical masks, three antiseptic wipes and one single-use clinical thermometer). •	To deter foreign students from leaving Singapore during the school holidays in June, they were made to put up a refundable deposit of 1000$ before leaving and also to re-apply for their student passes.The $1,000 deposit was to cover the cost of accommodation or medical screening if the student has to be quarantined on his return. 15. Principle of Adjustability ( Dynamics ): a. Make an object (or its environment) automatically adjustable to the changing conditions so as to function optimally through its operational cycle. b. Divide an object into parts capable moving and changing relative position. c. Convert a stationary object into a mobile one. •	SIA continuously adjusted its flights schedule in accordance to the situation with SARS in Singapore and other countries. 16.Principle of Deficient, Partial or Excessive Solution: If it is difficult to achieve the desired effect fully, it is required to accomplish “a bit less” or “a bit more” of it. The task may well get significantly simplified. •	Every passenger entering and leaving the country was inspected (temperature check and SARS symptoms form). •	From 31st of March, every passenger looking unwell and arriving to Changi Airport from SARS affected areas was checked by a nurse. Those who have fever were sent to Tan Tock Seng Hospital(major SARS facility in Singapore) for assessment. •	Every person suspected of being in contact with SARS-infected patients was asked to stay under home quarantine. •	Fines of up to $20,000 and imprisonment were established for breaching the quarantine rules. •	Ten days “out of work” quarantine was made compulsory for everyone returning from SARS affected areas. •	All schools in Singapore were closed from late March to early April. •	Businesses set up more centres and offices and spread them around the island instead of combining them into one or two centres. If one was required to shut down for quarantine purposes, the rest could still function to keep the economy and business running. •	All visits to hospitals were cancelled from early May. 19. Principle of Periodic Action: a. Replace a continuous action with a periodic (pulsed) one. b. If an action is already periodic, change its frequency. c. Utilise breaks between pulses to carry out other helpful actions. •	Temperature of people involved with the public (schools, taxi drivers, hotel staff and shopkeepers, etc.) was measured a few times a day. •	SIA flight attendants measured their temperature every 6 hours during flights. •	Airport cleaners doubled the frequency of the cleaning in the terminal buildings. •	Streets, markets, drains etc. were cleaned at least twice a day to prevent SARS from spreading inother ways (e.g. through pests, rodents, insects, stray cats or dogs). •	Housing estates and common areas like lifts, were cleaned at least three times a day. 20. Principle of Continuous Useful Action: a. Carry out operations continuously (all object parts must always operate at full power). b. Eliminate idle runs and transitional movements. •	Toilets at Changi Airport were cleaned continuously. A cleaner was in the toilet at all timescleaning the spills. •	A new television channel dedicated entirely to the SARS issue started on the 20th of May, in afirst-time partnership between three local media rivals – Media Corporation of Singapore(MediaCorp), StarHub Cable Vision and Singapore Press Holdings (SPH). Apart from the latestupdates on SARS, it aired re-runs of programmes about SARS by MediaCorp and SPHMediaWorks. 21. Principle of Haste ( Rush through ) Carry out a process or some stages of it, particularly if harmful or hazardous, very quickly. •	Fast-reading thermometers were used more widely in order to minimise nurses’ contact time with patients. 22. Principle of Turning Harm Into Benefit ( Blessing in Disguise ): a. Utilise harmful factors (such as destructive influence of the environment) to gainan advantage. b. Eliminate a harmful factor by combining it with another harmful factor. c. Boost a harmful factor till it ceases to be harmful. •	Singapore authorities tried to raise public awareness of the importance of personal andenvironmental hygiene, and to improve the overall cleanliness of the country. Due to fear ofSARS, the campaign became very effective. •	Many residents become alarmed when they found out that one of their neighbours may be a SARSsuspect and is quarantined at home. The government changed this fear into an opportunity by educating the neighbours on SARS (moreawareness and education) with the longer-term aim of promoting neighbourliness and bondingamongst neighbours. 23. Principle of Feedback: a. Introduce feedback. b. If feedback is already employed, alter it. •	SARS updates and recommendations on many levels (the world, the country the community andthe company) were to be be found in newspapers, TV and radio. •	SAR website: www.sars.gov.sg was started and Singaporeans were invited to visit it. •	Pamphlets providing travelers with information on the measures taken at Changi Airport tosafeguard their health, were made available throughout the airport. •	Web-based solutions (eg. cameras linked to the Internet) were made available for communication withpeople who were in quarantine. 24. Principle of Middleman ( Intermediary ) : a. Employ an intermediary object as a carrier of an action. b. Attach an object to another one, which is easily detachable at the end of an operation. •	Most professionals wore protective masks and glasses. •	Supermarkets sold individually wrapped fruits and vegetables. 25. Principle of Self-Service: a. Make an object take care of itself, accomplishing auxiliary, maintenance andrepair operations. b. Utilise a system’s waste and unused resources (substance and energy). •	School students and employees of many companies measured their temperature a few times a dayto monitor their health condition. •	Taxi drivers received personal thermometers for fever detection, instead of trooping daily toauthorised fever-checking kiosks. •	Because of SARS, the hospitality industry (travel, hotels, transportation) was down and many people working in this industry were not doing very much. The authorities used some of the tourist coaches in the hospitality industry to ferry suspected SARS cases from their homes to the hospitals. Using tourist buses also removes the “alarm” that would have been caused if an ambulance turned up instead of a tourist bus. 26. Principle of Copying: a. If an object is complex, expensive, fragile or uncomfortable in operation, use simplified and low-cost copies instead. b. Substitute an optical copy (or a picture) of an object (system of objects) for a realobject (system of objects). Utilise scaling (reduced or enlarged copies). c. If picture is taken in the visible range, get it in infrared or ultraviolet spectrum instead. •	Video- and telephone- conferences with hospital patients rather than the direct visits wereintroduced from early May •	Video- and telephone- business conferences gradually replaced face-to-face meetings. 27. Inexpensive, Short-Lived in Place of Expensive, Long-Lasting: Use a set of inexpensive objects instead an expensive one, trading off some of the object’s properties (like durability). •	Food outlets used more disposable cutlery to minimise cleaning. 28. Replacement of Mechanical System: a. Replace mechanical system by optical, acoustical or “odour” system. b. Utilise electric, magnetic or electromagnetic fields for interaction with an object. c. Change stationary fields to mobile fields; constant fields to altering fields;unstructured fields to structured fields. d. Utilise fields in combination with ferromagnetic particles. •	A new face mask incorporating an additional ionised layer was introduced. 32. Principle of Changing Colour: a. Change the colour of an object or its environment. b. Change the degree of transparency of an object or its environment. c. If it is required to monitor hardly-visible objects or processes, utilise colouredadditives. d. If such additives are already in use, employ tracer elements or attach fluorescent markers. •	Colour-stickers were worn by taxi drivers, hotel and shop staff indicating that they had passed the temperature test that morning/afternoon. •	Health of passengers at Changi Airport was monitored by means of comparing their face colour (on the LCDscreen connected to the infrared camera) with the threshold picture.