Maintenance plan workbench and method

• US 20050187721A1
• Filed: 05/14/2004
• Published: 08/25/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Poledna, Marek, Baust, Christian, Peter, Ferenc
• Granted Patent: US 7,082,383 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention provide a method for managing a maintenance plan of a machine. The method may include analyzing data, retrieved from a plurality of sources, that makes up a maintenance plan for the machine or any of its components. The method may also include displaying the analysis in a consolidated view to a user. The embodiments may be implemented using a workbench, which is an analytical tool, implementable by processor software, hardware, or a combination thereof. Exemplary applications include aircraft maintenance.

Claims

1. A method for managing a maintenance plan of a machine, comprising:

responsive to a request, analyzing maintenance data, retrieved from a plurality of sources, comprising the maintenance plan of at least one equipment component of the machine; and

displaying a consolidated view of the analyzed maintenance plan of the at least one equipment component to a user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the analyzing comprises:

responsive to a request to display a maintenance status of the at least one equipment component,

searching the maintenance plan for the maintenance status of the at least one equipment component, and

retrieving the maintenance status of the at least one equipment component from a database.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the analyzing comprises:

responsive to a request to generate a maintenance compliance report for the at least one equipment component,

searching a database for the maintenance plan of the at least one equipment component,

retrieving the maintenance plan,

comparing maintenance status to maintenance requirements in the maintenance plan for the at least one equipment component, and

generating the maintenance compliance report to indicate the results of the comparison.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the analyzing comprises:

responsive to a request to update the maintenance plan of the at least one equipment component,

searching a database for the maintenance plan of the at least one equipment component,

retrieving the portion of the maintenance plan to be updated,

updating the retrieved portion, and

storing the updated portion in the database.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the analyzing comprises:

responsive to a request to create the maintenance plan for the at least one equipment component,

receiving maintenance data for the at least one equipment component,

creating the maintenance plan to include the received maintenance data, and

storing the created maintenance plan in a database.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the consolidated view comprises:

documents that include maintenance requirements for the at least one equipment component, equipment specifications of the at least one equipment component and subcomponents of the at least one equipment component, planning task lists to describe activities to be performed in accordance with the maintenance requirements, reports to be generated about maintenance compliance of the at least one equipment component, and relationships between the documents, the equipment specifications, the planning task lists, and the reports consistent with a design of the at least one equipment component.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the documents comprise at least one of maintenance requirements, an engineering order, a regulatory directive, a manufacturer service bulletin, an operator service request, and an operator maintenance program.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the equipment specifications comprise at least one of materials that comprise the at least one equipment component and the subcomponents, component and subcomponent parts, and functional locations of the at least one equipment component within the machine and of the subcomponents in the at least one equipment component.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the planning task lists comprise at least one of a maintenance activity list of a portion of the maintenance plan and a maintenance activity list of the at least one equipment component.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein the reports comprise at least one of a notification that the at least one equipment component is in compliance with the maintenance requirement, a notification that the at least one equipment component is due for maintenance, a notification that the maintenance plan has been modified, a notification that a new maintenance plan has been created, a notification that maintenance on the at least one equipment component is complete, a notification that maintenance on the machine is complete, and an order to perform maintenance on the at least one equipment component.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the displaying comprises:

graphically displaying the analyzed maintenance plan of the at least one equipment component.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the displaying comprises:

hierarchically displaying the analyzed maintenance plan of the at least one equipment component.

13. A method for managing a maintenance plan of a machine, comprising:

receiving a maintenance request;

if the maintenance request is to display maintenance data of an equipment component of the machine,

searching a database for the maintenance plan for the maintenance data of the equipment component, and

retrieving the maintenance data of the equipment component;

if the maintenance request is to generate a maintenance compliance report for the equipment component,

searching the database for the maintenance plan of the equipment component,

retrieving maintenance requirements in the maintenance plan and current maintenance status of the equipment component,

comparing the current maintenance status to the maintenance requirements for the equipment component,

generating the maintenance compliance report to indicate the comparison results, and

storing the maintenance compliance report in the maintenance plan;

if the maintenance request is to update the maintenance plan of the equipment component,

searching the database for the maintenance plan of the equipment component,

retrieving the portion of the maintenance plan to be updated,

updating the retrieved portion, and

storing the updated portion in the database;

if the maintenance request is to create the maintenance plan of the equipment component,

receiving maintenance data for the equipment component,

creating the maintenance plan to include the received maintenance data, and

storing the created maintenance plan in the database; and

displaying at least one of the maintenance data, the maintenance compliance report, and the updated or created maintenance plan of the equipment component.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the maintenance plan includes at least one of the maintenance requirements, equipment specifications, maintenance activities, and the maintenance compliance reports of the equipment component.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the maintenance request is analyzed in real-time.

16. A graphical user interface for managing a maintenance plan of a machine, comprising:

a first interface to receive a maintenance request;

a second interface, triggered in response to the maintenance request, to display the maintenance plan including maintenance documents, equipment specifications, maintenance tasks, and maintenance compliance reports of at least one portion of the machine.

17. The graphical user interface of claim 16, wherein the maintenance request is one of a request to display maintenance status, a request to display the maintenance compliance reports, a request to update the maintenance plan, and a request to create the maintenance plan.

18. The graphical user interface of claim 16, wherein the second interface is further to display relationships between the maintenance documents, the equipment specifications, the maintenance tasks, and the maintenance compliance reports of the at least one portion of the machine.

19. A system for managing a maintenance plan of a machine, comprising:

a memory having embodied therein the maintenance plan; and

a processor in communication with the memory, the processor to;

simultaneously analyze maintenance data from a plurality of sources comprising the maintenance plan to determine whether the machine'"'"'s maintenance requirements are met; and

selectively display portions of the analyzed maintenance plan based on the determination.

20. The system of claim 19, further comprising:

a plurality of distributed processors to communicate with the processor; and

a network to couple the distributed processors to the processor and to send and receive the maintenance data comprising the maintenance plan between the distributed processors and the processor.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein the plurality of sources includes at least one of a database, a floppy disk, a CD-ROM, and a hard drive.

22. The system of claim 19, wherein the selected portions of the analyzed maintenance plan include at least one of maintenance status, maintenance compliance reports, maintenance tasks, and machine specifications.

23. A machine readable medium containing program instructions for execution on a processor, which when executed by the processor, the processor to perform:

responsive to a maintenance request, analyzing a maintenance plan of a machine to determine whether the machine is in compliance with maintenance requirements; and

displaying results of the analysis to a user in a single display.

24. The machine readable medium of claim 23, wherein the results comprise maintenance data received from a plurality of sources and the relationships therebetween.

25. The machine readable medium of claim 24, wherein the maintenance data comprises at least one of documents including the maintenance requirements, equipment specifications of the machine and the machine'"'"'s components and subcomponents, planning task lists comprising the activities to be performed in accordance with the maintenance requirements, and compliance reports.

26. The machine readable medium of claim 23, wherein the maintenance request comprises at least one of a request to display maintenance status of the machine, a request to generate a maintenance compliance report of the machine, a request to update the maintenance plan, and a request to create the maintenance plan.

27. A maintenance plan workbench, comprising:

a graphical user interface to receive a maintenance request from a user and to display a consolidated view of a maintenance plan in response to the maintenance request;

an application interface to receive the maintenance request from the graphical user interface and to analyze the maintenance plan, in response to the maintenance request; and

a database interface to transmit data in the maintenance plan between the application interface and one or more databases.

28. The maintenance plan workbench of claim 27, wherein the one or more databases store the maintenance plan.

29. The maintenance plan workbench of claim 27, wherein the maintenance request is one of a request to display maintenance data, a request to generate a maintenance compliance report, a request to update the maintenance plan, and a request to create the maintenance plan.

30. The maintenance plan workbench of claim 27, wherein, in response to the maintenance request to display maintenance data, the application interface is to send a request to the database interface to retrieve the maintenance data from the one or more databases and is to cause the graphical user interface to display the retrieved maintenance data.

31. The maintenance plan workbench of claim 27, wherein, in response to the maintenance request to generate a maintenance compliance report, the application interface is to send a request to the database interface to retrieve maintenance requirements from the one or more databases and, upon receipt of the maintenance requirements, is to compare maintenance status to the maintenance requirements, generate the maintenance compliance report to show the comparison results, and cause the graphical user interface to display the generated maintenance compliance report.

32. The maintenance plan workbench of claim 27, wherein, in response to the maintenance request to update the maintenance plan, the application interface is to send a request to the database interface to retrieve the maintenance plan from the one or more databases and, upon receipt of the retrieved maintenance plan, update the maintenance plan, and cause the graphical user interface to display the updated maintenance plan.

33. The maintenance plan workbench of claim 27, wherein, in response to the maintenance request to create the maintenance plan, the application interface is to receive maintenance plan data from the graphical user interface, create the maintenance plan with the received maintenance plan data, send the created maintenance plan to the database interface to store in the one or more databases, and cause the graphical user interface to display the created maintenance plan.