An ontology for unifying behavior-change literature

Changing the behavior of human operators is an underutilized approach to reduce the resource consumption of manufacturing. We created an ontology to make more accessible the existing work on behavior change, and categorized current knowledge under the headings: Problem Types, Barriers, Principles, Strategies, Mechanisms, Applications and Authors. Constructed using a web ontology language, the structure allows free navigation from any of the above category headings, and enables design practitioners better access to the strategies most relevant to their problem. We provide an example of how researchers can identify useful strategies for a specific problem in manufacturing.