Learning a Design Thinking Approach to Participatory Ergonomics: An Exploratory Study of OHS Professionals in Denmark

Participatory ergonomics (PE) does not provide a coherent framework for how ergonomists and occupational health and safety (OHS) professionals can plan and facilitate a participatory process for complex problems. We propose Design Thinking (DT) as a novel approach for temporary PE interventions to solve complex problems. This study investigated if Design Thinking can provide an overall framework and process model for OHS professionals in PE interventions. We were pursuing the research question: How can DT be transformed into an overall approach for temporary PE interventions on complex problems in organisations? We investigated the research question in an explorative case study with six OHS professionals in Denmark. After a full-day DT training course and being equipped with a DT guide, we followed the OHS professionals in applying DT to real-world problems within organisations. Our findings indicate that OHS professionals find DT methods, especially the double diamond process model, highly useful when planning, organising, and participating in PE interventions. The results further indicate that OHS professionals can learn DT and the double diamond process in a compact hands-on training course followed by a learning-by-doing process and supported by a guide to DT.