Walailak University Students Win National Safety Innovation Award 2026 with Computer Ergonomic Risk Assessment Tool

Third-year students from the Occupational Health and Safety Program, School of Public Health, Walailak University, have won first prize in the Process Innovation – Educational Institution Category at the Safety Innovation Awards 2026, a national competition organized by the Thailand Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (Public Organization), or T-OSH. Their winning project, CERA: Computer Ergonomic Risk Assessment Tool, was developed as an integrated screening tool for people who work with computers. The system brings several dimensions of ergonomic risk into a single assessment, allowing users to identify potential problems and use the results to guide workplace improvements and preventive action. At the final presentation, the student team demonstrated how CERA evaluates three main components: workstation-related risk factors, exposure time, and the severity of reported symptoms. These inputs are processed to generate an Ergonomic Risk Score (ERS) and classify the level of risk associated with musculoskeletal disorders and computer vision syndrome. The project addresses a practical limitation in computer-workstation assessment. Existing evaluations may require separate tools or trained assessors, while CERA was designed as an all-in-one approach that can support initial self-assessment, ergonomic surveillance, and decisions on workstation modification. Before entering the competition, the team tested CERA using a comparative study design with 30 participants and benchmarked the tool against ROSA (Rapid Office Strain Assessment), an established method for evaluating office ergonomics. The evaluation covered criterion-related validity, reliability, usability, and the time required to complete the assessment. The students also presented plans to refine the scoring thresholds and reduce potential bias in self-assessment through visual guidance and reference postures. The developers are Ms. Nattarika Jina, Ms. Jantakan Khunchee, Ms. Kanchana Sitthisang, and Ms. Jiraporn Prompruek, all third-year students in Occupational Health and Safety. The project was led and supervised by Dr. Thatsanu Rueangsuwan, lecturer in the Occupational Health and Safety Program. The winning team received a trophy from the Prime Minister, a certificate from the Prime Minister. CERA is also being prepared for further development. The team plans to convert the assessment into a web- and mobile-based platform with real-time self-assessment, automated scoring, dashboards, and exportable reports. Longer-term plans include testing its use as a screening and monitoring tool in organizations. From identifying a common workplace problem to developing, testing and presenting a working assessment system before a national judging panel, the project gave the students experience across the full innovation process. It also shows how undergraduate training in ergonomics, occupational health, risk assessment and digital technology can be brought together around a problem faced by a growing number of computer-based workers.